Nikkie de Jager, better known by her YouTube name, NikkieTutorials, has revealed in a new video that she is transgender.
In a video titled, I’m Coming Out, the 25-year-old makeup artist explained that she had been forced into sharing her story after being blackmailed, but that she felt liberated by sharing her truth.
She told her 12.7 million subscribers: “I wanted to start the year off by finally revealing a part of my life that has made me who I am. It’s time to let go and be truly free.” She went on to say: “When I was younger I was born in the wrong body, which means that I am transgender.”
Fans have rallied round Nikkie, taking to YouTube and Twitter to share messages of support, as well as expressing horror that people threatened to leak her story.
Nikkie said she always knew who she was. “Ever since I was born, I’ve always thought that I was a girl, and I just couldn’t understand why I had short hair, or why I had to wear trousers, or couldn’t wear dresses. All of me was girly. My mum knew immediately that I either was going to be gay or a different type of story and it turned out to be a different type of story,’ she told her viewers.
By six, she had grown out her hair, she said, and by seven or eight, she wore only girls’ clothes. Nikkie told viewers that she fully transitioned at 19, in the midst of her YouTube career, after taking hormones and growth stoppers at 14.
She tearfully revealed how thankful she was to her mum. “Growing up my mum has been there for me since day one, she has always supported me, always accepted me, and that is everything you need as a kid.”
In the emotional 17 minute video, she described her journey to sharing her news as scary but freeing. “With this message I want to inspire little Nikkies around the world, who feel insecure and out of place, who feel misunderstood. I hope by me standing up and being free, that it inspires other to do the same... We need to accept each other, we need to respect each other but most of all we need to hear each other and understand,” she said.
Transgender beauty YouTuber Nikita Dragun tweeted her support, saying, “U don’t know how many people ur inspiring helping by sharing ur story.”
Nikkie finished her video with a special Dutch Word Of The Day – a recurring segment in her videos which she teaches her fans Dutch vocab – choosing the word ‘vrouw’, meaning woman.
She has millions of fans, but if you’re new to the makeup star, here’s everything you need to know.
Who is Nikkie?
Nikkie de Jager is a 25-year-old Dutch beauty vlogger, who started her makeup channel, NikkieTutorials 11 years ago. She is originally from Wageningen, Netherlands and speaks a mix of Dutch and English in her videos.
As the name of her channel suggests, Nikkie is known for her makeup tutorials. She uploaded her first video to Youtube on 29 June 2008 and has amassed a loyal audience of 12.7 million subscribers through weekly tutorials, reviews and collaborations with other YouTubers and celebrities.
“I’ve always wanted to live in a world where I saw myself as me, as Nikki, as a woman, as a girl, as a boss lady,” she said in her latest video. “I started my channel when I still got really really bullied for all of this and this was my way out. This was my world, where I could truly be free, but at the end of the day, my story is beautiful. I’m proud of my story.”
Nikkie is now based in Amsterdam. In August 2019, the star revealed she was engaged to her long-term boyfriend Dylan Drossaers in an Instagram post from their holiday in Italy. Fans were introduced to Dylan in a recent video, Fiance Does My Makeup In Dutch.
What is her trademark look?
Nikkie is well loved for her bold, bright and colourful looks. In 2017, her video entitled The Power Of Makeup went viral, in which she did half her face in full makeup and left the other side bare to show how transformative it can be. Explaining that she was inspired by RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nikki said she wanted to celebrate makeup as a tool for self-expression, while simultaneously calling out people who shame others for how much makeup they choose to wear.
In her latest video, she returned to this theme, saying: “I wanted my art to do the speaking for me, so I hope you understand that after all these years I’m sharing it with you now but nothing changes because at the end of the day my number one passion is the power of makeup. My number one passion is the power of transforming myself and in a way I’ve had a transformation.”
Nikkie also is known for her ‘beauty challenge’ videos, including her attempts to recreate her look with kids’ makeup, contouring with kitchen objects, using only highlighters for a full face, and recreating the makeup she wore to school.
What are her career highlights?
The Power Of Makeup video has clocked up 41 million views to day, catapulting Nikkie into greater success on the platform, with it becoming a trend on YouTube as many makeup artists and YouTubers followed with their own versions. It is still the most popular video on the NikkieTutorials channel.
Other career highs for the beauty vlogger included becoming the first-ever global artistry advisor for Marc Jacobs, teaming up with TooFaced to create her own face palette, and doing the makeup for Kim Kardashian West, Lady Gaga and fellow YouTuber Jeffree Star.
So, what next for Nikkie?
Nikkie spoke candidly of what’s to come: “I don’t know how this is going to go, I don’t know if people are going to hate me, I don’t know if people are going to accept me. I haven’t changed, you’ve seen the same Nikkie here now as you saw a couple years ago. I have grown into a self-respecting, loving woman.”