lilsimsie

Early Life and The Sims Discovery

Kayla Marie Sims was born on August 14, 1999, in Chicago, Illinois, before moving to Orlando, Florida, at age six^[1]. Her journey with The Sims began during a challenging period in her teenage years when her father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer^[2]. During this difficult time, she stayed with her grandparents and discovered MySims Kingdom, which she received as a Christmas gift in 2008^[3]. This initial introduction to the franchise sparked what she describes as a life-changing obsession with The Sims series^[3].vidiq+2 The coincidence of her surname matching the game series she would eventually become famous for playing seemed almost destined. As she writes in her bio: "My real last name is Sims and now I am a Sims YouTuber…it was fate"^[4].speakrj

YouTube Career Launch

Sims launched her YouTube channel on December 7, 2015, just one year after the release of The Sims 4^[5]^[6]. Her channel has grown exponentially since its creation, reaching over 2.17 million subscribers and accumulating more than 1 billion total video views as of August 2025^[7]. With approximately 3,200 videos uploaded and a consistent posting schedule of about 6.25 videos per week, she has maintained one of the most active daily upload schedules in the gaming content space^[7].wikipedia+1 youtube Her content primarily focuses on The Sims 4, ranging from building challenges and speed builds to gameplay series and community challenges. She has become particularly known for her blue suburban house builds, which became such a recognizable trademark that it evolved into a running joke on her channel^[4].speakrj

Signature Series and Community Challenges

Among her most notable content series is the 100 Baby Challenge, which she completed over the course of five years^[8]^[9]. This challenge required her to have 100 babies with different fathers, and the series spanned nearly 200 episodes, becoming one of her most popular and long-running series^[9].ea youtube Sims co-created the Not So Berry Challenge with fellow content creator Zoe (alwaysimming), which became a widely popular legacy challenge in the Sims community^[10]^[11]. She has also created other challenges including the Wolf Pack Challenge and the Verry Veggie Legacy challenge^[10].streamscharts+1 Her Build Newcrest project represents another significant undertaking, where she attempts to fill every empty lot in the base game's Newcrest neighborhood with custom builds^[12]^[13]. Another beloved character in her content is Stanley Humphrey, a recurring sim she uses for various rags-to-riches challenges and storylines^[14]^[15].twitchmetrics+3

Twitch Streaming Success

Beyond YouTube, Sims has built a substantial presence on Twitch, where she streams The Sims 4 daily to nearly 930,000 followers^[16]^[17]. Her Twitch streams average around 2,500 viewers and she maintains consistent streaming schedules, typically broadcasting for several hours each day^[16]^[18]. Her subscriber count on Twitch peaked at over 8,000 active subscribers in May 2025^[19].streamscharts+2 youtube

Official EA Collaborations

Sims has established herself as one of EA's most trusted content creator partners. Her most significant collaboration involved building official lots that shipped with The Sims 4: Snowy Escape expansion pack, working alongside fellow creators James Turner, Deligracy, and SimLicy^[20]^[21]. She later contributed builds to The Sims 4: Growing Together expansion pack as well^[4]. youtubestreamscharts+1 In January 2025, EA released The Sims 4 Comfy Gamer Kit, which was created in collaboration with Sims^[22]^[23]. The kit features cozy gaming-themed items that reflect her personal streaming setup and love of cluttered, lived-in spaces^[23]^[24]. youtube+1reddit Perhaps one of her most endearing impacts on the game came through her campaign for the ability to name cowplants in The Sims 4. Through her #JusticeForCowplants campaign, she successfully lobbied EA to add this feature^[25]. As a tribute to her efforts, EA set the default name for all cowplants to "Little Simzee" in a July 2020 patch^[10]^[26]. youtubenoxinfluencer+1

Charitable Impact

Sims has leveraged her platform for significant charitable causes, particularly through her annual fundraising campaigns for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Her connection to this cause stems from her father's cancer diagnosis during her teenage years^[27]. She has conducted annual May fundraising streams since 2020, with her community's donations growing each year^[28]. youtube+1 Her fundraising achievements include approximately $200,000 in 2020, $320,000 in 2021, $366,000 in 2022, over $500,000 in both 2023 and 2024^[28]^[29]^[30]. The 2024 campaign culminated in raising over $600,000^[30]. Beyond St. Jude, she has also fundraised for organizations including AbleGamers ($360,000), the Transgender Law Center ($28,000), and the National Center for Transgender Equality ($39,000)^[28]. youtube+1gamepressure

Industry Recognition and Influence

The Sims 4 has acknowledged Sims' influence in various ways beyond the cowplant naming tribute. The "All-In-One Gemology Table By Humphrey, Inc." item in The Sims 4: Crystal Creations expansion was named after her popular character Stanley Humphrey^[10]. She also served as a judge on YouTube's gaming creator competition show uTure, which ended in August 2022^[10].streamscharts Her content consistently ranks among the top gaming channels, with her engagement rate of 5.91% considered excellent for YouTube gaming content^[7]. Analytics platforms estimate her monthly earnings in the range of $8,000 to $23,900 from YouTube alone^[7], though her actual income likely varies significantly based on sponsorships, merchandise, and other revenue streams.speakrj

Content Style and Community Building

Sims has cultivated a reputation for educational content that doesn't feel like instruction manuals. Her building tutorials and gameplay videos demonstrate techniques while maintaining an entertaining, conversational style^[31]. She's particularly known for exploring aspects of The Sims 4 that many players haven't experienced, such as specific career paths, challenge rules, and building restrictions^[31].ea Her average video length of nearly 24 minutes exceeds that of similar gaming channels, reflecting her detailed approach to content creation^[7]. She maintains active engagement across multiple platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, and her merchandise shop, fostering a comprehensive community ecosystem around her content^[32]. youtubespeakrj