Facts You May Not Know About Marzia Bisognin
Marzia Bisognin is a YouTube sensation, perhaps better known by just her first name. With over 6.9 million subscribers and more than 535 million views, she is best known as an Italian writer, fashion designer and internet personality.
And since 2011, she's also been romantically linked to another YouTube star: PewDiePie. Because Bisognin used to be a fan of PewDiePie's, sometimes the focus on her fame remains tied to their relationship, but this YouTube pro has become a viral vlogger in her own right. So let's take a look at this leading lady, and some facts you may not know about "CutiePieMarzia".
She lived in her mother's closet
So what made this 24-year-old originally want to be a part of the fashion industry? It's been a long time coming. During an interview, Bisognin shared that fashion has been an interest of hers since childhood. She continued on to say, "As a little kid I loved spending time in my mother's closet, trying on shoes and clothes obviously too big for me at the time, but it didn't matter: I was so fascinated by each piece that I could spend hours in there and feel like I was in a magical world."
Her attention to detail now, when it comes to all things fashion, makes perfect sense. As someone who is such a pro, when it comes to her style choices, she must have major couture crushes! During the interview, she shared, "I find Alexa Chung to be a true font of inspiration for me: she is so different, yet so classy and feminine, but never over the top."
She never shops for clothes
Being such a fashion pro, Bisognin must shop non-stop, right? Well, you might be surprised. She shared with The Telegraph, "I used to buy new clothes quite often in my teenage years, but now I don't go shopping too often: to be fair, companies send me clothes all the time, but I enjoy checking out vintage and charity stores every once in a while, and that's where I get my clothes from."
Although vintage shops are a favorite, she admits her go-to site for shopping is ASOS.com. But for Bisognin, it's not just about getting, but giving as well. She said during the interview that she will donate her older clothing to local charity shops, but she definitely gets YouTube involved as well. She launched the #haulternative video — a clothing swap with another very popular vlogger, Grav3yardgirl. And we can't talk about Bisognin and fashion without mentioning her own fashion line. The designer has her own website, CutiePieMarzia, dedicated to her subscription-box offering, along with her signature designs for your retail pleasure.
She has struggled with body image
Bisognin always seems so confident and happy in her photos and videos, but, the YouTuber opened up about her challenges with body image on her blog, Marzia's Life, which she calls her "diary." A photo of her wearing a beret, embroidered with "I'm Ugly" received some backlash, and she chose that opportunity to discuss her past. She wrote, "It's no secret that growing up I was very insecure about my body: all the girls in school started to develop, and I had no meat on me. All the clothes were too big, boys made fun of me for not having curves, girls teased me as well — and worst of all — teachers and grown-ups did so too."
She is now able to look back at that time with clarity. Addressing that infamous photo, she wrote: "When I wear that beret, I see it as an achievement. Because I wish that when I was younger I had the confidence to wear it and laugh about people's opinions about me and not let them influence me so deeply." By being honest about her own insecurities and how she continues to overcome them, Bisognin has earned her status as a role model for her fans.
It took her three years to make one dress
Bisognin is a force to reckoned with and she is proud of her accomplishments so early in life. With her fashion line, popular YouTube channel, and published book, there are many successes to choose from, but one stands out to Bisgonin. As she told LinkedIn in 2016, "I would say that so far, my biggest accomplishment this year was to finally create my dream dress, as I have been working on it since October 2013."
And with great accomplishments, come life-lessons learned. When asked what the most important lesson she had learned so far was, Bisognin had an answer ready. "I have always been an extremely shy person, afraid to tell my opinion or express my feelings. With time, thanks to YouTube, I have learned to speak up for myself, go for something if I really want to, but at the same time never let anyone push me to do things I'm not okay with."
PewDiePie kept her from studying art in Paris
Bisognin hasn't had very much privacy in her relationship with Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg (aka, PewDiePie) due to both of them being giant YouTube stars. But many do not know about the beginning of their relationship. As the couple shared in a YouTube video, when they first started dating, it began as four or five months of long-distance. And as Bisognin shared, it definitely wasn't easy.
"When you know you want to be together, it's hard to be apart, but we Skyped every day." And even with the difficulty of a long-distance relationship, Bisognin knew this relationship was right. In one of her videos, she described this further, saying, "Before I met Felix, my plans were to move to Paris and study art at a university, and none of that happened, but I am extremely happy and have no regrets...I couldn't be happier to be where I am right now."
She sees herself as a twig
As has been reported by StealHerStyle, Bisognin sports at least 17 known tattoos, and as the designer has shared on her blog, they each contain important meaning to her. In one blog post, she went into detail about a few of her tattoos and where their meanings came from. For example, her "shy" tattoo has to do with her being able to open up more throughout the years. She wrote, "I got it last year, after realizing how much progress I made in opening up to people and pushing myself to do things I wanted to do but had always been to afraid to even try. ... A few years ago I had such troubles doing anything that I just closed myself inside the house: I would see nobody other than Felix [PewDiePie]. It was a dark period, I thought I was going to have to see someone about it, but then something changed, and I got out of it."
Another one of her tattoos is the "twig." As previously mentioned, Bisognin has struggled with body image in the past. In her blog, she wrote in more detail about this tattoo and the story behind it. "This is related to my body image. As I previously stated, growing up I felt awkward about my body, no matter how much I tried to eat I could not gain enough weight to look like the other girls. But now I cherish my body. ... And so that fragile twig represents me, and it reminds me that everything has its own beauty."
She's not a gold-digger
Bisognin has worked very hard for her success. And many have questioned if her accomplishments were a result of her relationship with YouTube sensation PewDiePie. Well, that is just not the case. Back in 2014, Bisgonin posted a video addressing this very issue. Although this video is no longer available for viewing, her commentary from the video has remained.
As she said (via SuperFame), "Probably at least 90 percent of the people on the internet know me as PewDiePie's girlfriend, and they do not even know that my name is Marzia. I kind of grew accustomed to that, and tried not to be bothered by it — but there is always someone in every single one of my videos that has to point that out, reminding me about it...The funny thing about it is, there are so many YouTube couples on the internet, but for some reason I am the only person that doesn't get seen as an individual. That is what really hurts sometimes." Bisognin has worked hard and it's a shame that her efforts are often overshadowed by her very public relationship.
She's got some serious wanderlust
Originally from Italy, Bisognin now lives in Brighton, England. And travel has been an important part of her life for a long time. She spoke of her favorite places to travel, noting, "My trips to Asia, Tokyo and Singapore specifically, both have the high score in my heart. Growing up I have always dreamt to be able to go to Asia, one day, and when I finally got the chance to, my expectations were exceeded and my mind was blown away by these amazing places."
And what about her travel bucket list? New Orleans comes out on top. "I have developed an obsession with this city because of the beauty of the architecture, the history, and, I'm not going to lie, the horror side of this place. Other locations on my list are Scotland and Iceland." Transitioning from life in Italy, to kicking it in England, has been a big change — and Bisognin is the first to tell you that. "Living in England is exactly how I expected it to be: it's fun and exciting, the only downside of it is the weather, which – being Italian – is hard to cope with sometimes!"
She's sharing advice for aspiring YouTubers
By now it's pretty clear just how talented Bisognin is — and she continues to excel and expand her brand each year. For aspiring YouTubers, she's a source of legit inspiration. So, what would her advice be?
She shared her thoughts, saying, "I get this question asked a lot, and my answer is always the same: don't be afraid to put yourself out there, don't be discouraged by big, established channels, and most importantly, don't compare yourself to others: you are different, you have your own story to tell, and as long as you tell it in your own way, people will listen. Just have fun with it!" Wise words from a wise woman. While fans anxiously await this designer, YouTuber, and writer's next venture, it's a sure thing: no matter what this star's got on her plate, she's bound to slay it!