How YouTube turned 13 ordinary people (and 1 cat) into superstars

YouTube's first video may have been an awkward 19-second clip of the platform's co-founder standing in front of some elephants at the zoo,but in the 10 years since the service's inception, somesavvy video makers have figured out how to launch multimillion-dollar careers.

Here are some of thepeople who have risento fame through YouTube.

1. Justin Bieber

The new face of Calvin Kleinhas sold millions of albums and playedNew York's Madison Square Garden when he was only 16. But the pop star's beginnings can betraced back to an accidental click on one of his mother's YouTube videos.

In 2007, Patricia Malletteuploaded a video of her12-year-old sonsinging Ne-Yo'shitSo Sickat a Stratford, Ont., singing competition. Legend has Bieber's current manager, Scooter Braun, stumbled upon the video while looking for something else on YouTube. Braun was so impressed by it and other uploads of the pint-sized, guitar-playing buskerperforming that he tracked Mallette down.

With Braun's help, Bieber landed a recording contract and has since amassed more than11 million YouTube subscribers and 63 million followers on Twitter. He's also released two documentarymovies, 2011'sNever Say Neverand 2013'sBelieve.

2. Jenna Marbles

JennaMourey, known to manyas funny girlJenna Marbles,is a self-proclaimed "maker of the YouTube videos on the internet machine."

The New York native's comedic clips haveamassed a following of nearly 15 million subscribers since she startedfive years ago.

In 2010, she uploaded a video titled "How to Trick People into Thinking That You're Good Looking."It has been viewed more than 61 million times.

Marbles nowhosts a weeklyradio show onSiriusXMabout what's trending onYouTube and sellsparaphernaliaadorned with her most famous quotes, such as"Team Legs!" and "What are this?"

WARNING: Some viewers may find the language in the video below offensive.

3. Grumpy Cat

It all started with a photo postedon Reddit inSeptember 2012 of an especially dour-looking feline. When skeptical Reddit users wondered if the cat's grumpy face was somehow PhotoShopped, its ownersuploading a video toYouTubeasproof that her sour puss was real.

Grumpy Cat's YouTubevideowas viewed more than 18 million times and spawned a media circuit as the cat made appearances on various daytime talkshows. Since then, Grumpy Cat has released two books, a festive film calledGrumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Everand even a namesake coffee(Grumpy Cat Grumppuccino). The cat's achieved all that before even hitting her fourth birthday.

4. The Gregory Brothers

Michael,Andrew and Evan Gregorystartedcreating comedicmixtapesas kids in theirRadford, Va., family home.Their comic andmusicaltalentseventually led to aYouTubechannel calledSchmoyoho, where they capitalize on trending news topics to make"songs out of stuff that wasn't intended to be a song," according to their website.

Recording as the Gregory Brothers (which also includes Evan's wife, Sarah),they're also known as Auto-Tune the News. Their mostpopular track isThe Bed Intruder Song,which remixes a local Alabamanews interview of a man describing a break-in. Ithas been viewed more than 126 million times.

But these guys are no one-hit wonders.Winning,a song about Charlie Sheen, has beenviewed more than 55 million times, whileDouble Rainbow Songreached nearly 34 million views.

They continue to songify the news, and recently recorded the theme song for Netflix comedy seriesUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

5. Lennon& Maisy

These precocious sister starlets fromOshawa, Ont., who now appear on the TV showNashville,got their start as a singing duo on YouTube.Their first clip five years agoshowcased the elder one,LennonStella, playing the piano and singing John Lennon'sImagine. Their second video introduced the younger sister, Maisy, singing Ingrid Michaelson'sYou and I while her sister plays along on the guitar.

The Stellas'big break came when their version ofCall Your Girlfriendwent viral, accumulating more than 26 million views. That led to theirspot on Nashville,where they've played sisters Maddie and Daphne Conrad for three seasons alongside actors Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton.

Nextweek,the Stellagirls who are now 15 and 11 arereleasingIn the Waves,a picture book based on one of their original songs.

6. Bo Burnham

Bo Burnhamhas longenjoyed serenading his friends with his musical comedy, and in December2006, he uploaded two songs to YouTube.My Whole Family...has been viewed more than eight million times, whileMy "little" secret...has nearly three million hits. My Whole Family...features Burnhamplaying the piano in his bedroom, his messy bed in the background, singing about how hisrelationsthinkhe's attracted to men.

He has continued uploading musical comedy videos on politically incorrect or off-colour subjects such as a ditty about a rehab centre for fictional characters and amassed nearly one million subscribers.

Burnhamhas alsoreleased three albumsfeaturing his comedy and doneseveral tours, including one that was filmed for his Netflix specialWhat.He also co-wrote and starred in the TV seriesZach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous, which ran for one season on MTVin 2013.

WARNING:Some viewers may find the subject matterinthe video below offensive.

7. HavardRugland

Havard Rugland'sNFLcareer wouldnever have happened were it not for a four-minute YouTube compilation.

The video, which earned Rugland the nickname "Kickalicious," shows the Norwegianmaking all kinds of tricky kicks with a football, including bootingit from a beach to a man in a slowly drifting boat and kicking two balls, one after the other, so that they hit each other in mid-air.

The video was viewed more than five million times and caught the attention of some NFL teams. He eventually signed with the Detroit Lions and competed for the starting placekicker position.

While he was eventually cut and no longer plays inthe NFL, Rugland teamed up with Pepsi to release a sequel to the video. Kickalicious part 2 shows Rugland making trick shots around Norwegian landmarks.

8. Sophia Grace (and Rosie)

Sophia Grace Brownlee, eight,and her sidekick (and cousin) RosieGrace McClelland, five,may not look like much as they don pink tutus and tiaras in their first YouTube video in September 2011. ButwhenBrownlee beltedout the lyrics toNicki Minaj'sSuper Bass,the internet took notice. The video of her singing, while hype girl Rosiedances and lipsyncs along, has been watched more than 48 million times.

Their video led to a guest appearance onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, where the host said the video "just may be the cutest thing I have ever seen." She alsointroduced the pair to Minaj. They continued to make guest appearances on Ellen'sshow, hosting a tea-time segment where they met celebrities such as JustinBieberand performing a number of covers.

With DeGeneres'shelp, they starred in a made-for-TV movie,Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure, and released a picture book,Tea Time with Sophia Grace & Rosie.

More recently,SophiaGrace seems to haveparted ways with Rosie at leastcreatively. Brownleehasreleased a single on her own called Best Friends, which has more than 14 million hits on YouTube.

9. Tetra Ninja

Nic Truong is known on YouTube as Tetra Ninja for his Let's Playsvideos, where he uploads clips of him playing new videogames with colourcommentary. Nearly 900,000 followers watch Truong maneuver through games such asBloodborne and Mortal Kombat X.

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His channel shot up in popularity after his 2011 series of Let's Plays ofZelda: Skyward Sword.

Gamers who upload Let's Plays make most of their profit from ad revenue. It's unclear how much YouTubers make from ads, but several sources estimate that 1,000 views on a video can generate about $5. (The YouTuber keeps half of that.)