Anna Akana

Anna Akana was once in a relationship with Ray William Johnson. Following their break-up, she began dating comedian Brad Gage. She loves all animals, especially cats! She is the proud “mom” to six kitties and encourages her fans to adopt and rescue cats as well. Her cats are often featured on her YouTube videos and Instagram posts.

Anna Kay Akana was born on August 18, 1989 to William, an officer in the United States Marine Corps, and his wife, Mia Akana. She is of mixed ancestry. As a result of her father’s job the family moved often, due to which Anna got the chance to learn different languages. As a young girl Anna wanted to become a veterinarian as she loves animals a lot. A tragedy befell the happy family when Anna’s 13-year-old sister Kristina committed suicide in 2007. Following her death, Anna stopped laughing completely. It was only after watching a comedy show did she start laughing again, thus realizing the healing power of comedy. She now dropped her dreams of pursuing a veterinary career and focused instead on becoming a comedian.

Anna Akana started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 19. However, she suffered from panic attacks and anxiety before going on stage which forced her to take a break from live performances. Around this time she started her own YouTube channel and began posting her videos. Her funny videos soon started gaining attention and before long she was a popular online personality. By this time she had regained her confidence as well and restarted giving live performances on stage.

In the early 2010s, she also ventured into acting and appeared in minor roles in TV shows, such as ‘Awkward,’ ‘Shake It Up,’ and ‘The Fosters.’ In 2013, she made her film debut with a small role in ‘Inappropriate Comedy,’ followed by a supporting role in ‘Kids vs Monsters’ (2015), ‘Dirty 30’ (2016), and ‘You Get Me’ (2017). She also had a recurring role in the 2015 web series ‘Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures.’ She is also very popular online, with over 1.8 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, 312k followers on Instagram, and 141k fans on Twitter.

In addition to being a YouTuber and actress, Anna Akana also owns a clothing line called Ghost & Stars, which features several cat-themed designs and a range of other clothing. In 2014, she was presented with the Digital Pioneer award at the San Diego Asian Film Festival.