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Perhaps there’s a big chunk of America with little knowledge about YouTubers, despite many of the latter making millions of dollars for the last 10-15 years. Out of many, one arguably had one of the more relatable channels out there: Hannah Hart.

Maybe many know her from TV and nearly every other form of media as a kitchen/lifestyle guru. She got her start on YouTube, something she still continues under her channel name MyHarto. Her show there that started her empire is My Drunk Kitchen, something still going nearly nine years after it began.

The concept was/is simple: Make the kitchen a place for conversation with viewers as if talking to a good friend. Also, getting drunk and making food was the initial plan. Since then, she’s made millions off this very idea, outside of not getting stone drunk on camera.

Sharing culinary disasters has become a Hannah Hart trademark

Hannah Hart on the red carpet
Hannah Hart | Jemal Countess/WireImage

When Hart posted that first My Drunk Kitchen video on YT in 2011, she did it merely as a prank. Titled Butter Yo Shit, the video went viral practically overnight.

Few had ever put together a video where someone drinks a bottle of wine and then tries to make gourmet food. A lot of people related to Hart’s candor and being able to share imperfections in the kitchen while making meals. In other words, she was like an anti-Martha Stewart.

Out of the demand for more, she turned My Drunk Kitchen into a regular YT series. Her followers became so significant, she was soon able to earn a decent living right off her channel, allowing her to quit her regular job.

Even though she reportedly made only $46,000 per year doing the videos (which isn’t bad making only videos every week), her empire expanded fast. Within a couple of years, she was doing a live stage show of her videos, making her close to a millionaire in a short time.

Moving to TV…and everything else

Let’s be clear that Hannah Hart was only really drunk on video in her above debut. Building an empire on her culinary adventures requires being very sober, and she has been. Not that she still doesn’t drink a little when shooting her episodes.

Once she established herself on YouTube and on the stage, TV was the next evolutionary step. The Food Network came calling with a new show: I Hart Food. This show expanded on her food curiosity, including visiting under-the-radar delicacies throughout America.

Before this occurred, she started going into the world of comedy, including going on tour with Grace Helbig and Mamrie Hart. Hannah Hart connected her own touring show with the comedy stint, opening her up to success in another unexpected field.

At least her food-related properties were already funny in numerous ways. She’s managed to translate this into a podcast, a bestselling memoir, plus a parody cookbook.

Knocking perfection in the world of culinary arts

Hart has expanded a little beyond food in many of her media properties, though she’s also nurtured a friendship with Ellen DeGeneres after Hart also came out as a lesbian. As a result, it led to a deal with DeGeneres to do a new show on the streaming Ellen Digital Network. It’s called A Decent Proposal and focuses on proposal planning for all romantic couples.

At the same time, My Drunk Kitchen keeps on going, driving Hart’s earnings even higher. Supposedly worth $2 million today, there’s all possibility this number tilts low considering how ubiquitous she’s become, if likely rising exponentially this year.

With the lifestyle category arguably one of the most lucrative of any media category, Hannah Hart may dominate the category soon and usurp Martha Stewart in telling people it’s ok to not be perfect in living life.

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