Imane Anys was born in Morocco on 14 May 1996.[6][7] Her mother has Berber ancestry.[8] Her parents, two academics, immigrated to Quebec, Canada, when she was four years old.[6] She grew up in Ontario, Canada.[9] She stated she speaks "two and a half" languages: English, French and Moroccan Arabic.[10] French is her first language as she studied in a French school and it is also a language spoken in Morocco.[11][12] While she described her Moroccan Arabic proficiency as "a little bit",[12] she continues to improve.[13] She learned English at school.[12] In middle school, Anys began playing massively multiplayer online games such as MapleStory and Endless Online, where she focused on customization and socializing with other players. Anys studied chemical engineering at McMaster University but later dropped out to pursue her streaming career full-time. Pokimane (Imane Anys) is known for her laidback yet enthusiastic and witty personality. Balancing a charismatic on-screen persona with a focused, ambitious drive, she effortlessly engages her audience. Beneath the entertainment, she is candid about the pressures of massive internet fame.

Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter is an American online streamer, podcaster, and YouTuber. She's known for her Fortnite streams and became popular in 2018. Hofstetter's gaming career began in college when she posted clips of herself playing on Instagram and YouTube. While working at GameStop, she started live streaming on Twitch in 2015 and later uploaded her videos to YouTube. Rachell "Valkyrae" Hofstetter is known for her energetic, bubbly, and highly expressive on-screen personality. She is widely celebrated for her authenticity, emotional transparency, and strong competitive drive in gaming. Over time, her online persona has evolved to balance her natural extroversion with an increasingly introverted demeanor. Rachell is of Filipino and German descent[5] and has three brothers and one younger sister.[6] She cites her mother as the reason she became interested in video games, who encouraged her to pursue it as a hobby from a young age.[7] She attended community college and worked a job at GameStop to support herself,[8] later graduating with an associate degree in arts and science.