James Charles Dickinson (born May 23, 1999) is an American YouTuber and makeup artist. While working as a local makeup artist in his hometown of Bethlehem, New York, Charles started a YouTube channel, where he began uploading makeup tutorials. In 2016, he became the first male brand ambassador for CoverGirl after a tweet featuring his makeup went viral online.
In 2020, Charles hosted, directed, and co-produced the YouTube Originals reality competition series Instant Influencer. He has released an eyeshadow palette and created a makeup line in collaboration with Morphe Cosmetics, and has received numerous awards for his work on social media, including two People’s Choice Awards, three Streamy Awards, one Shorty Award, and one Teen Choice Award.
His career has included multiple online controversies, including a widely publicized feud with fellow beauty YouTuber Tati Westbrook in 2019 and accusations of sexting with underage boys in 2021; he later stated that he was unaware of their ages at the time.
Early life
James Charles Dickinson was born on May 23, 1999, in Bethlehem, New York, to parents Skip, a contractor, and Christine Dickinson. His younger brother, Ian Jeffrey, works as a model. In 2010, James started a YouTube channel called JaysCoding, where he made song covers and videos about being in the Mario Kart Wii competitive modding community.
He attended Bethlehem Central High School, where he graduated in 2017. Describing his high school experience, he stated, “I did get bullied a lot in high school and personally, I just ignored it.” Charles began working as an amateur hairstylist and started doing makeup after being asked by a friend to do her makeup for a school dance. After teaching himself how to apply makeup, he soon began doing it professionally for girls in his area.
Career
IIn December 2015, Charles started a YouTube channel where he began posting makeup tutorials. A tweet of him retaking his senior portrait with a ring light and makeup went viral in September 2016. In October 2016, when he was 17, he became the first male brand ambassador for cosmetics brand CoverGirl. The appointment was met with significant praise on social media.
His first appearance was in advertisements for CoverGirl’s So Lashy mascara. He also started a clothing line, Sisters Apparel, and a makeup collection, the Sister Collection, made in collaboration with a cosmetics brand.
By early 2019, he had 10 million subscribers on YouTube. His January 2019 visit to Birmingham for the opening of Morphe Cosmetics’ second United Kingdom store caused gridlock in the city center. Charles did Australian rapper Iggy Azalea’s makeup for promotional art for her single “Sally Walker” in March 2019 and appeared in the song’s music video.
He announced he would go on the Sisters Tour throughout the US in April 2019. However, the tour was canceled the following month following a highly publicized feud with American social media personality Tati Westbrook.
Charles hosted the first season of the YouTube Originals reality competition series Instant Influencer, which premiered on his YouTube channel in April 2020. For his work on the show, he won the award for Show of the Year at the 10th Streamy Awards.
In March 2021, YouTube announced that he would not return to host the second season of the show. In October 2020, Charles made a cameo appearance in the music video for American social media personality Larray’s single “Canceled”.
Since the launch of his channel, Charles has made a number of collaborative videos, doing makeup on and with various public figures including Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Lil Nas X, Kesha, Madison Beer, Doja Cat, JoJo Siwa, Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, Trixie Mattel, Avani Gregg, and Bretman Rock.
In January 2021, Charles sang a cover of “Drivers License.” He released his debut single, “Call Me Back,” in February 2024.
Public image
_(cropped).png)
Early in his career, Charles received attention for being a young male makeup artist. Todd Spangler of Variety called him “YouTube’s most famous beauty vlogger”. Writing for the Irish Independent, Caitlin McBride remarked that he “spearheaded a makeup revolution among men”, while Amelia Tait of The Guardian wrote that his online platform was “arguably revolutionary”.
Teen Vogue referred to him in 2019 as “one of the most famous YouTube makeup artists and beauty influencers around”, while Noelle Faulkner of Vogue Australia wrote in 2018 that he had “one of the most engaged followings on YouTube”.
Charles refers to his fans as “sisters.” He has cited Jaclyn Hill and Nikkie de Jager as his biggest influences. He has said that, for him, makeup is “a creative outlet and an art form.”
In May 2021, he was sued by a former employee for wrongful termination. Charles lost more than 130,000 followers after posting a photo of himself tucking and twerking in May 2022. In April 2025, after influencer Kayla Malec accused her ex-boyfriend Evan Johnson of physical abuse and he pleaded guilty to domestic assault, Johnson’s former friend Zach Sellers
claimed in an interview with YouTuber Bee Better that Charles had been sexually involved with Johnson, invited him to his home, and gave him counsel amid the accusations. Charles stated in a response on TikTok that he had been unaware of Johnson’s alleged abusive behavior during their brief friendship, which Malec refuted, claiming that she had informed him of it soon after the couple separated.
Tati Westbrook feud
In 2019, Tati Westbrook, a fellow makeup artist and frequent collaborator with Charles, uploaded a 43-minute video titled Bye Sister, accusing him of disloyalty and attempting to seduce a heterosexual man despite knowing the man’s sexuality. YouTuber Jeffree Star and singer Zara Larsson supported Westbrook’s claims, and Charles became the first YouTuber to lose one million subscribers in 24 hours.
He uploaded an eight-minute apology video to Westbrook, which became one of the most disliked videos on YouTube before it was deleted. He later posted a second 41-minute video titled No More Lies addressing and refuting Westbrook’s statements, which led to renewed online support for Charles and criticism of Westbrook.
Westbrook later removed her original video and, in 2020, posted a follow-up video stating that Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson had manipulated her into making the initial accusations. This series of events sparked media analysis relating to cancel culture, allegations of toxicity within YouTube’s beauty community, stereotypes of gay men as predatory, and the profits generated from online feuds.
Underage sexting scandal
In February 2021, a 16-year-old boy named Isaiyah posted a video to TikTok alleging that Charles groomed him by sending him nude photos and pressuring him into sexting with him despite knowing his age. Charles responded to the video with a tweet denying the accusation of grooming, stating that the boy had claimed to be 18 years old.
In March 2021, other underaged boys accused Charles of sending unsolicited nude photos and pressuring them into sexting with him. In April 2021, Charles posted a 14-minute-long video titled Holding Myself Accountable, in which he stated that he sent sexually explicit messages to “two different people, both under the age of 18” who, according to him, had each told him that they were 18 years old.
Charles called his past behavior “reckless” and “desperate”, stating, “to the guys involved in the situation, I wanna say I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I flirted with you and I’m really sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable. It is completely unacceptable”.
Later that month, Morphe released a statement saying they would cut business ties with Charles and YouTube temporarily demonetized his channel. He returned to YouTube with a video titled An Open Conversation in July 2021. In a July 2023 interview with Cosmopolitan, Charles denied the allegations of grooming, saying that screenshots from several accusers that went viral on social media were faked.
He also stated that his brother had not spoken to him since the allegations were made and that he had contemplated suicide because of them. One of the initial underage accusers told Cosmopolitan that he had falsely told Charles he was 18 years old at the time and had privately apologized to Charles for his accusations.
Personal life
Charles came out as gay to his parents at age 12. Addressing questions about his gender identity, he stated, “I’m confident in myself and my gender identity – [I’m] happy being a boy. But at the same time, I love makeup. I have a full set of nails on all the time.”As of 2019, his net worth was estimated to be US$12 million. In 2020, he purchased a US$7 million mansion in Los Angeles.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Alone Together | Jasper | Episode: “Pop-Up” | [83] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | The Secret World of Jeffree Star | Himself | Episode: “Becoming Jeffree Star for a Day” | [84] |
| 2020 | Nikita Unfiltered | Himself | Episode: “James Charles Confronts Nikita” | [85][better source needed] |
| 2020 | Instant Influencer | Judge | Presenter and judge; season 1 |
Discography
All credits adapted from Spotify and Apple Music.
As lead artist
Singles
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | “Call Me Back” | TBA |
| “Can We Just Be Friends” | ||
| “Bring Me Water” | ||
| “Used to Love Me” | ||
| 2025 | “He Loves Me Not” |
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Iggy Azalea | “Sally Walker” | Colin Tilley |
| 2024 | James Charles | “Can We Just Be Friends” | James Charles and Strø Galang To |
| 2025 | James Charles | “He Loves Me Not” | No director credited |
Awards and nominations
| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kids’ Choice Awards | 2021 | Favorite Male Social Star | Himself | Won | [88] |
| People’s Choice Awards | 2018 | Beauty Influencer | Won | [89] | |
| 2019 | Nominated | [90] | |||
| 2020 | Won | [91] | |||
| Shorty Awards | 2017 | Breakout YouTuber | Won | [92] | |
| 2019 | YouTuber of the Year | Nominated | [93] | ||
| Streamy Awards | 2018 | Beauty | Won | [94] | |
| 2019 | Nominated | [95] | |||
| 2020 | Won | [96][23] | |||
| Creator of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Show of the Year | Instant Influencer | Won | |||
| Unscripted Series | Nominated | ||||
| Branded Content: Video | “James Charles Spills the Tea on His Glow” | Nominated | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | 2018 | Choice Fashion/Beauty Web Star | Himself | Won | [97] |
| 2019 | Nominated | [98] |
