I can't remember the first time I heard about Felicia Day, but I'm sure her name was used in relation to something YouTubey, Geeky, or Internety. You might know Felicia for her acting work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural. I know her as the Internet's Geek Queen, founder of Geek & Sundry.
Felicia's rise to Geek Queen status started in 2007 when she was spending her life playing video games between acting jobs. She decided to finally do something, so she wrote a TV pilot, which turned into season one of The Guild. The Guild just ended their sixth and final season on Felicia's YouTube channel, Geek & Sundry, last year. Geek & Sundry also produces several scripted and not-so-scripted shows like The Flog (in which Felicia vlogs and goes on adventures), Caper (scripted series about superheros trying to just make rent), and my favorites Co-Optitude (in which Felicia and her brother, Ryon, play retro console games) and TableTop (in which Wil Wheaton plays board games with friends). Geek & Sundry also has a vlogs channel, and several associated vloggers' channels. That's right, the geeks are indeed taking over the world, guys.
Aside from the simple fact that Felicia is a female in a male-dominated industry (aren't they all, though?), Felicia stands out to me as someone who never backed down from doing what she loves, liking what she likes, and doesn't take shit from anyone who thinks she's not [insert qualification here] enough. Being a geek and gamer is deemed pretty cool now, but when Felicia created The Guild, she was taking a big risk that there were enough gamers that would find this web series and that non-gamers would like it, too. (As a non-gamer, I can say that it is not a gamers-only series. It's hilarious and charming.)
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| Felicia as Tallis in Dragon Age: Redemption |
Felicia has become a huge inspiration & role model to me because of her "origin story" (writing The Guild and having the guts to make it happen) and everything she's done since. She's created her own niche on the Internet by just sticking with what she likes, not bending to short-lived trends. By being her awesome self, she's attracted an audience of people that share her interests as well as people like me, who are not gamers or geeks in all the same ways, but who have a penchant for geekiness and enjoy quality work. As a multi-passionate creative person, I also look to Felicia as an example of someone who has pursued multiple passions, and been able to incorporate them all into her creative work. Felicia is an accomplished violinist, singer, actor, writer, producer, gamer, and a reader of both comics and fantasy romance novels. With Geek & Sundry, and other projects, I've been able to see how Felicia has incorporated all of these talents into her work.
Felicia Day is a Girl I Love because she stands up for herself, she broke the mold of a gamer/geek, she pursues her passions unapologetically, and she does it all with gratitude & respect for the fans who helped her get where she is.
Check out Felicia Day in these places!
Geek & Sundry // YouTube // Twitter // Website // Wikipedia // IMDb
Check out Felicia Day in these places!
Geek & Sundry // YouTube // Twitter // Website // Wikipedia // IMDb
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