Lilly Singh

I'm actually not making fun of my real parents. I've taken stereotypical traits of my real parents, my aunts, my uncles and parents of every race and put them into these two characters, who are just over-the-top ridiculous and super-alpha parents about everything.

Honestly, I just wear what makes me feel good. So many people come up to me, and they're like, 'Did you know you're a tomboy? You should try wearing dresses.'

I always say that when I first started, my videos were very veered towards Indian people.

I'm a South Asian female that talks about relationships and periods and dating and all these things.

You have a character who is wearing a scarf on her head on a billboard in LA, New York, Sydney and Melbourne. That's how I would face barriers being thrown at me.

Growing up, I idolised Madhuri Dixit. She's my favourite actress, and I used to pretend I was her all the time.

You are not any different. You can do anything you want. So many times, I've been asked what I think of women stand-ups. If you actually look around, there are so many female comedians starring in the biggest TV shows.

I don't say no as much as I should. I'm an extreme workaholic. So I can be sick, and I still say yes to anything. When you are the CEO of your own company, editor of your own videos, your own writer ,and you do every role yourself, you have a hard time saying no to opportunities.

For anyone aspiring to be anything, I would like them to realise dreams require work. So work big time.

I'm the type of person who doesn't hope, dream or wish for things. I work and work and work.

When I posted my first video, I remember it hit 700 views after a week, and I was like, 'Oh my God, this is amazing.' I was over the moon.

My fans are honestly so unique and so similar. Wherever I travel, they are so, so different but so the same.

When I was younger, I had this fairy tale that you can have the eight hours of sleep and be a healthy, balanced person and still achieve your goals. The reality is, that hasn't always been the case.

The best way to describe my work is comedy in a very, very real way. I'm not scared to look silly on camera. I take everyday situations we all go through and put a very real twist on it - things people can relate to.

I still make videos in my bedroom by choice because that's the feel of my comedy, but the opportunity to make longer format content with a production company, with a team that's a bit more elevated in that sense, is really exciting for me because it's not that it's better than what I've already been doing, but it's different.

When I make my own videos, I am the writer, the editor, the lighting person, everything - that's why my videos are blurry.

Everyone can relate to the story of fighting for happiness.

My partnership with YouTube is one that I really, really treasure and I want to carry through. I mean, I don't just say it because I work with them; I genuinely am a fan of YouTube, so that's where I'd want to see my content.

If you want to make YouTube your career, you have to accept that it is also a business. I know everyone's like, 'It's my passion, it's my hobby.' And that's fine; I support that. But if you want to make it your career, it does have a business side.

You need to know who your ideal viewer is, and mine is a 14-year-old screaming female. And I'm thrilled about that. I am thrilled.

I really have this desire to make it known that the Internet exists and YouTubers are important. And not only are YouTubers important, our followings are incredible.

In my life I've gone through a lot of really hard times. I went through depression and had so many challenges that I overcame. And I overcame because I just decided to be happy.

Sometimes I'll be sitting on Facebook at home and see all these people getting married, having kids, having that life that I was told I should have. And sometimes I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Am I the stupid one here? Am I not doing what I'm supposed to do? And that's also equally as stressful.

When I first started YouTubeing, the idea was, 'Oh, YouTube is going to be a stepping stone to get to other places,' and I just totally don't agree with that. I think YouTube is amazing. The digital space is amazing.

I don't know who came up with this idea that it's cool to hate on other girls, 'cause it's not.

The sad reality is that girl-on-girl hate is such a big issue in schools, at work, or online, and it never made any sense to me because, as women, we know how awesome other women can be.

I will forever and always identify with Scarborough - no matter where I move.

I've discovered home is not a place anymore. It's the people around you.

It's everyone's responsibility to build up other women rather than tear them down. Be self-aware and proactive. It's not wrong to have those thoughts, but you can change how you respond to those feelings. Take a mental step back, and think about why you're feeling that way.

I recently caught myself giving a pretty girl the cold shoulder because I felt intimidated. She was so gorgeous, and it made me feel insecure. I wasn't even aware until someone pointed it out to me. I was so embarrassed! I recognized those thoughts and made a point to be more friendly to her because there was no reason to be cold.

Competition gives birth to a lot of success, and if no one ever challenged you, you wouldn't go anywhere. It makes sense to compete with others for a promotion at work. But so many women take it a step further and won't even support other women. They end up competing over things that don't make sense - like how we look.

Regardless of where life has taken me, I'm always excited to come back to Canada. I will forever be a proud Canadian. In fact, a lot of my success comes from the fact that I come from a diverse place, and that translates into my comedy. I will always be Team Canada.

I'm by no means an expert at giving advice on depression, but I would say that a lot of my show is about making the decision to be happy. We all think that happiness is something that just falls into our lap. But it's something you have to really work on.

When I uploaded my very first video, I was just looking for something to make me happy. I was confused about what I was doing in my life and had earned a degree that I didn't really enjoy. With that video, I was finally doing something I was passionate about. So it was my way of self-medicating.

Happiness is the only thing worth fighting for in your life.

I'm a Beyonce fan, and when I'm looking at her, I'll think 'Oh my God, her life is so awesome, and she made it.'

There is no casting director; there is no producer monitoring your upload button. Anyone that looks like anyone can upload a video. I think YouTube and the digital space does set a really good example for the rest of the industry in that sense.

I can go to my premiere at the Chinese Theatre, and everyone will know me, and everyone will cater to me. And then I'll go to an audition and get rejected left, right and centre. They don't watch my videos, and they don't really know who I am. It is like starting from scratch when it comes to traditional Hollywood.

When I used to live in Toronto, I would always be the busiest person out of all my friends... no one could relate to what I was doing. When I'm in L.A., I constantly feel like I'm keeping up with people, and I love that.

The platform got me out of a very dark period of my life, so I love YouTube genuinely.

I am absolutely terrified to move... I truly, truly believe that success lies outside of your comfort zone, and my house has been the greatest comfort zone for me.

I got into psychology simply because that's what my sister did, and I grew up in a family that was very, like, 'Follow your sister's footsteps.' I went to the same school she went to, did the same degree she did... really had no interest in it, to be honest.

I wanted to be a musician. I wanted to be a superstar. I wanted to be on stage. I wanted to perform. I wanted to be in movies. But as you grow up, those dreams kind of fade away, and you're hit with reality, and you're like, 'Oh, not everyone can be Lil' Bow Wow?' Fine.

Sometimes I'm having conversations with my friends, and I feel like they can't relate to me anymore. I'm like, 'Oh, my God, let me tell you about my experience on 'Fallon'!' And they'll be like, 'Oh, my God, let me tell you about my trip to the mall!' It sometimes feels lonely.

'Unicorn Island' is the synonym for my happy place. It's a really beautiful message: that happiness is one of the hardest things you'll ever fight for, but it's the only thing worth fighting for.

On an average day, I will spend 90 percent of my waking moments working on 'Superwoman.' I'm a huge workaholic. My hobby is 'Superwoman.'

I am pretty weird - as weird as in my videos. The only difference is Lilly is not a performer, and Superwoman is. So Superwoman is very fearless. You'll never see her nervous. You'll never see her sad. But Lilly is a human. She is the person behind Superwoman, who gets sad and tired sometimes.

When I was younger, I always wanted to be someone in the entertainment industry.

I just love what I do so much.

Everything I do with my day is related to Superwoman. I'm either doing conference calls or writing a script or reading a script, editing a video, shooting a video.