Lisa Donovan

Lisa Donovan
Lisa Donovan in 2008
Born	June 11, 1980 New York City, New York, United States
Occupation	Radio personality, actress
Years active	2006–present
Internet information
Web alias(es)	LisaNova
Web hosting service(s)	YouTube

Lisa Donovan (born June 11, 1980) is an American actress. As of September 2015, her YouTube channel has over 550,000 subscribers and 135 million video views.^[1] She is one of the co-founders of Maker Studios, a YouTube video network which provides production and marketing services for over 1,000 YouTube channels.^[2]

She is also a founder of Zappin Productions,^[3] a production company specializing in viral videos. She is currently in charge of Creative Development.^[4]

Early life

Donovan grew up in Scarsdale, New York.^[5] She was a student at the University of Colorado at Boulder before moving to Los Angeles, California.^[6]

On YouTube

Donovan uploaded her first video, "Introducing LisaNova," 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] Her 2010 half-hour interview of Katy Perry on Perry's official YouTube channel has received over 4.7 million views.^[9] In a Forbes magazine article, YouTube founder Chad Hurley highlighted Donovan's success as an example of the changing paradigm of entertainment.^[10] Donovan is also a co-creator of the popular YouTube channel 'The Station', which led to her co-founding the YouTube network Maker Studios.

Mainstream success and MADtv

Donovan was one of the first YouTube content creators to cross over to mainstream Hollywood when she was cast on MADtv in 2006.^[11] 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.^[12] 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 2010, she was given a role in Cosmopolitan's Fun & Fearless campaign for females.^[13]

In 2011, she was honored as Pioneer in New Media at the third annual Burbank International Film Festival^[14] alongside fellow honorees Bill Plympton, Mark Kirkland, Fred Willard, Al Jean, and Roger Corman.

In 2015, she played the role of the flight attendant in Jeremy Garelick's The Wedding Ringer. ^[15]

See also

• List of YouTube personalities

References

1. "LisaNova". YouTube. 2006-06-05. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
2. "Smaller Studios, for the Smaller Screen". The New York Times. April 10, 2011.
3. Morrissey, Brian (2007-01-01). "Lisa Nova On The Spot". Adweek. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
4. Zappin Productions (click 'contact' on website)
5. 15 Minutes of Fame: Becoming a Star in the YouTube Revolution by Frederick Levy, P. 75
6. "Lisa Donovan Joins the Cast of MADtv". 2007-01-31. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
7. Introducing LisaNova on YouTube
8. Wortham, Jenna (September 2, 2008). "YouTube Comedian LisaNova Packs Heat for Sarah Palin Spoof". Wired.
9. Donovan, Lisa (May 2, 2013). "The YouTube Interview with Katy Perry". YouTube.
10. "YouToo". Forbes. May 7, 2007.
11. Nova, Lisa. "Lisa Nova". Huffington Post.
12. Wallenstein, Andrew (2007-04-29). "How YouTube Helped LisaNova Start Her Career". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2007-07-07.
13. "Cosmo's Fun Fearless Female Campaign Video Clip". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
14. Burbank International Film Festival, 2011 Honorees
15. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0884732/fullcredits/

External links

• Lisa Donovan at the Internet Movie Database
• LisaNova at YouTube