Pokimane Biography 2026: Age, Net Worth, Career, Family, Relationship

Pokimane, whose real name is Imane Anys, is a Moroccan-Canadian Twitch streamer, YouTuber, podcaster, and co-founder of OfflineTV. Born on May 14, 1996, the 30-year-old is the most-followed female streamer on Twitch, with more than 9.4 million followers, and is best known for her League of Legends, Fortnite, and Valorant streams. In the past few weeks, she has been in the headlines after the death of her cat Mimi and a rough trip to China that she described as her “worst week ever.”

Pokimane Quick Facts

Why Is Pokimane Trending in 2026?

Two things have kept her name in the news. On September 28, she abruptly ended a Valorant stream and later revealed that her eight-year-old cat, Mimi, had died after falling from her balcony. Then on October 15, she posted a TikTok update about what she called her worst week ever: grieving Mimi, then heading to Shanghai for a trip she had planned for months, only to find out her best friend’s visa had been rejected and that someone had taken her luggage at the airport.

Pokimane Early Life

Imane Anys was born in Morocco on May 14, 1996, to two academic parents. Her mother has Berber ancestry. When Imane was four years old, her family moved to Quebec, Canada, and she later grew up in Ontario. French is her first language, since she went to a French school, and she learned English at school. She has said that she speaks “two and a half” languages: English, French, and a little bit of Moroccan Arabic, which she continues to improve with help from her mom, a teacher.

Gaming came through her older brother Mo, who is three years older. They started with a Game Boy, a Nintendo DS, and a Wii. In middle school, she moved to online games like MapleStory and Endless Online, where she liked customizing characters and chatting with other players. In high school, she found Twitch, and after school each day she would watch streamers, especially women, because she found them more relatable.

Pokimane Family

Pokimane’s parents are both academics, and her mother taught Arabic dialects. At first, they wanted her to finish a college degree, but they came around after her career took off, and she has said it became easier to explain what she does once she was successful. In 2021, her mom called during a livestream, and the two chatted in French while her mother cheerfully introduced herself to the audience. She has said her mom is “so much like me.” Her older brother Mo is the person who first introduced her to games.

On her identity, she has talked about her Moroccan and Canadian roots, and says she likes the term MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) to describe herself.

Pokimane Education

After high school, Pokimane enrolled at McMaster University in Ontario, where she studied chemical engineering. She dropped out after two years to stream full time, saying she felt she was at a crossroads and had to give up one path or the other. The decision wasn’t an easy one, given her parents’ hopes for a degree.

Pokimane Career

Starting on Twitch (2013 to 2016)

Pokimane created her Twitch account in June 2013 and began streaming later that year. She was about 17. She had just reached Platinum rank in League of Legends, and she bought a $250 computer on Kijiji, a Canadian classifieds site, to start streaming. The name Pokimane came from combining Pokémon with her first name, Imane. In the early days, she mostly streamed League of Legends, chatting with viewers while she played.

Breakthrough (2017 to 2018)

2017 was the year everything took off. She gained about 450,000 followers on Twitch that year, which put her among the platform’s 100 most-followed channels, and the Shorty Awards named her Twitch Streamer of the Year. That same year, she became one of the early members of OfflineTV, a group of creators who lived and worked together. She has said it isn’t much fun to be a streamer living alone, so the group was a way to keep each other company and work on content together.

In 2018, she added Fortnite to her streams, first as part of a sponsorship, and played in a celebrity pro-am event at E3. Twitch chose her as one of 15 ambassadors for TwitchCon and partnered her with its Creator Camp program. She was also nominated for Content Creator of the Year at The Game Awards.

Becoming a Twitch Giant (2019 to 2022)

In 2020, she signed a multi-year exclusive deal with Twitch and got her own Fortnite emote, based on one of her TikTok dances. She also became creative director and partner at the gaming clothing brand Cloak, which Markiplier and Jacksepticeye started, and moved out of the OfflineTV house in June 2020. That October, she joined Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and other streamers for an Among Us session meant to encourage young people to vote.

In 2021, she was honored in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for games. That year, she also made a cameo in the film Free Guy with Ryan Reynolds, appeared in Bella Poarch’s “Inferno” music video, and launched a more personal YouTube channel simply called “imane.” By then she had around 8.5 million followers on Twitch, and she had brand deals with Samsung, HyperX, Verizon, and Cash App, as well as an investment in Therabody, the maker of percussive massage devices. In October 2021, she helped launch RTS, a talent management and brand consulting company, where she served as chief creative officer; she later sold her stake and left.

Business and Podcasts (2023 to 2026)

In May 2023, OfflineTV announced her “graduation” from the group in a farewell video, though she stayed on friendly terms. In November 2023, she launched Myna, a cookie brand that sells what she calls healthy snack alternatives. The same year, on December 12, she started her first podcast, Don’t Tell Anyone, a solo show where she promised to tell her most embarrassing stories. It ended in June 2024, with her saying she’d run out of stories.

In January 2024, she announced she was leaving Twitch exclusivity, saying she was done with the platform’s “messy behavior,” but she continued to stream there. That same month, she appeared at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event to show off gaming features on the Galaxy S24. In September 2024, she and fellow creator LilyPichu launched a weekly podcast called Sweet n Sour, which ran for 68 episodes before ending in April 2026.

On October 22, 2024, she and Valkyrae hosted a livestream with Senator Bernie Sanders in support of Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. In March 2025, she appeared in the music video for d4vd’s “What Are You Waiting For.” In June 2025, she visited Capitol Hill to help recruit members of Congress for the new Creator Economy Caucus, which she said felt like the result of years of speaking out for creators’ rights.

Pokimane Appearances Table

Pokimane Awards and Nominations

Pokimane Controversies

Pokimane has been involved in a few public disputes. In January 2022, her Twitch account was suspended for 48 hours during a watch stream of Avatar: The Last Airbender after a copyright claim from ViacomCBS. Later that month, her stream was hit by a hate raid from viewers of streamer JiDion, who was banned. When Ninja offered to help get the ban reversed, she criticized his response and his choice of words. Pokimane and JiDion later made peace.

In November 2023, she was criticized after Myna’s four-pack of cookies was priced at $28, with some calling it overpriced. In a livestream, she responded by saying math is hard and told people who couldn’t afford it to say they were broke, which was widely seen as insulting and led to more backlash. She later started an apology effort.

Pokimane Personal Life and Relationship

Pokimane is very private about her love life. In 2024, she told fans on YouTube that she was going through a breakup with a long-term partner, without naming anyone. In February 2025, after she moved in with fellow streamer Ellum, fans assumed they were dating, and she responded on X that she was “happily single” and asked people to stop assuming she’s dating anyone she interacts with. She has said she doesn’t plan to make her relationships public.

In May 2024, she shared that she had been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). On faith, she has said she grew up in a Muslim household and still observes traditions like Ramadan and Eid, but she describes herself as spiritual without being religious, and doesn’t want to share her religion because she wouldn’t want to become a role model for it. She lives in Los Angeles.

Pokimane Net Worth

Pokimane has never shared her finances, so net worth figures are estimates. Her income comes from Twitch subscriptions and ads, YouTube, brand partnerships with companies like Samsung, HyperX, and Verizon, and her business ventures, including Myna.

Pokimane Social Media

10 Interesting Facts About Pokimane

1. Her name is a mix of Pokémon and her first name, Imane.
2. French is her first language, and she says she speaks “two and a half” languages.
3. She started streaming on a $250 computer she bought on Kijiji.
4. Her older brother Mo introduced her to gaming through a Game Boy, DS, and Wii.
5. She played MapleStory and Endless Online in middle school.
6. She started streaming at about 17, after reaching Platinum in League of Legends.
7. She dropped out of McMaster University’s chemical engineering program after two years.
8. She got her own Fortnite emote in January 2020, based on one of her TikTok dances.
9. She appeared in Free Guy with Ryan Reynolds as herself.
10. In 2025, she helped recruit members of Congress to the Creator Economy Caucus.

Pokimane Recent News

On September 28, she cut a Valorant stream short after learning her cat Mimi, whom she’d had for eight years, was in the emergency room. She later said that cleaners had opened the balcony door, that Mimi went out and fell, and that she did not blame anyone. She posted on X that she loved Mimi forever, and fellow streamers like Valkyrae sent condolences.

On October 15, she posted a TikTok about her “worst week ever.” She said that the first half of her trip, spent with friends, helped her feel better, but the second half, a Shanghai trip she’d planned for months, got complicated when her best friend’s visa was rejected. Her tickets were non-refundable, so she went alone, and when she landed, she found that someone had taken her luggage and left their own, which looked just like hers. She said she was trying to find the silver lining and enjoy the solo trip anyway.

Pokimane FAQs

How old is Pokimane?
She was born on May 14, 1996, so she is 30 in 2026.

What is Pokimane’s real name?
Imane Anys.

Where is Pokimane from?
She was born in Morocco, raised in Canada, and now lives in Los Angeles.

What is Pokimane known for?
Twitch streaming, especially League of Legends, Fortnite, and Valorant, and co-founding OfflineTV.

How many followers does Pokimane have?
About 9.5 million on Twitch, making her the most-followed female streamer on the platform.

What happened to Pokimane’s cat?
Her cat Mimi died on September 28, 2026, after falling from a balcony.

Is Pokimane dating anyone?
She said in February 2025 that she was single and has kept her relationships private.

What is Pokimane’s net worth?
Estimates put it at around $6 million.