Lisa Donovan (born June 11, 1980) is an American former YouTuber. She is a founder of Zappin Productions,[2] a production company that specialized in viral videos, as well as the founder and CEO of The Pattern, an astrology-based personality app.[1]
Lisa Donovan | |
|---|---|
 Donovan in 2021 | |
| Born | June 11, 1980 New York City, U.S.[1] |
| Other names | LisaNova (on YouTube) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, actress, YouTuber |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Known for | The Pattern, Maker Studios |
| Website | thepattern |
Donovan began her career as one of YouTube's earliest content creators and was subsequently one of the co-founders of Maker Studios, a YouTube video network which was purchased in 2015 by The Walt Disney Company for $675M.[3] The network was absorbed by Disney in 2017 to become Disney Digital Network.
Early life
Donovan grew up in Scarsdale, New York.[4] She was a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder before moving to Los Angeles, California.[5]
Career
YouTube
Donovan made her first YouTube channel in September 2005[6] and uploaded her first video, "Introducing LisaNova," a reel of facial clips in black-and-white accompanied by the Charles Aznavour song Non, je n'ai rien oublié, to YouTube on June 7, 2006.[7] She has parodied a number of celebrities and public figures; her impersonation of Sarah Palin was praised in Wired as "ruthlessly hilarious", and in 2008 Ralph Nader made a guest appearance in one of the skits.[8] In a Forbes magazine article, YouTube founder Chad Hurley highlighted Donovan's success as an example of the changing paradigm of entertainment.[9] Donovan is also a co-creator of the popular YouTube channel 'The Game Station', which led to her co-founding the YouTube network Maker Studios.
Acting
Donovan was one of the first YouTube content creators to cross over to mainstream Hollywood when she was cast on MADtv in 2006.[10] She debuted in a spoof of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she played Salma Hayek, the producer of the ABC comedy Ugly Betty, and Rosie O'Donnell.[11] The episode aired on February 17, 2007. After signing a contract and only appearing in four episodes of MADtv, she left the following season.
In 2015, she played the role of the flight attendant in Jeremy Garelick's The Wedding Ringer.[12]
Maker Studios
Donovan co-founded and served as a board member for Maker Studios, a multi-channel network. Maker Studios was sold to The Walt Disney Company in 2014.[13]
The Pattern
Donovan is the founder and CEO of The Pattern, an astrology-based personality app.[1] In 2021, Donovan announced that The Pattern intends to launch a dating product called Connect.[14]
See also
References
External links
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
