Shirley Curry (born April 2, 1936), also known by her nickname Skyrim Grandma, is an American YouTuber and gamer. She gained popularity for her The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim gameplay videos.[2]

Shirley Curry
Personal information
Born (1936-04-02) April 2, 1936 (age 88)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationInternet celebrity
YouTube information
Channel
GenreGaming
Subscribers1.31 million[1]
Total views30.47 million[1]
100,000 subscribers2015
1,000,000 subscribers2022

Last updated: 14 October, 2024

Biography

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Curry was born on April 2, 1936.[3] She worked as a secretary in a candy factory, and for several years as an associate in a women's clothing department of Kmart before retiring at the age of 55 in 1991.[2]

Curry got into video games after her son taught her how to play the 1996 turn-based strategy video game Civilization II. In 2011, she joined YouTube to follow gaming channels, and in 2015, she uploaded her first Skyrim gameplay video. By 2020, she had over 900,000 subscribers on YouTube.[2] In 2022, Curry surpassed 1 million subscribers and was awarded a Gold Play Button by YouTube.[4] After followers started a petition to include her in the following game of the series, the studio creator of the Elder Scrolls franchise, Bethesda Softworks, promised to include her as a character in The Elder Scrolls VI.[2][5][6][7]

In 2022, Curry suffered a stroke while sleeping, forgetting many details of her experiences in gaming. Despite expressing frustration for its impact on her video game play, she began to recover from the stroke and expressed hope for the future.[6][7] After the news broke, many of her fans united to wish her good health, and Bethesda Softworks sent her a bouquet of flowers.[8]

On September 22, 2024, she published a video announcing her retirement from gaming videos, citing age, physical health challenges, and creation burnout as factors.[9]

Personal life

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Curry is a widow and has four children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "About Shirley Curry". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b c d e Winkie, Luke (September 1, 2020). "This 84-Year-Old Gamer Has More Than 900,000 'Grandkids'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "La increíble historia de la abuela "gamer" que todo nieto quisiera tener". Ayayay (in Spanish). November 29, 2015. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "Skyrim Grandma Passes Major YouTube Milestone and Gets Gold Play Button". Game Rant. June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "82-year-old gamer Skyrim Grandma will be in Elder Scrolls 6". TweakTown. March 31, 2019. Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Obedkov, Evgeny (March 1, 2022). "85-year-old YouTuber reveals she survived stroke: "I cannot remember much about how to play Skyrim!"". Game World Observer. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Skyrim Grandma Shirley Curry Confirms She Recently Had a Stroke". Game Rant. February 27, 2022. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "Bethesda Sends Flowers to Skyrim Grandma". Game Rant. March 3, 2022. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  9. ^ "'I'm just doing it for fun, and it isn't fun anymore': Skyrim Grandma Shirley Curry is hanging up her gauntlets and retiring from making gaming videos". PC Gamer. September 23, 2024. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2024.