Markiplier is known to many as a YouTube star, a creator whose horror gameplay has drawn millions of subscribers over more than a decade. But his career has grown well beyond gaming videos. He has podcasts, television credits, interactive storytelling projects, and now a feature film: Iron Lung, which he wrote, directed, produced, financed, and starred in.
Photo: Markiplier/YouTube
Born Mark Edward Fischbach on June 28, 1989, in Honolulu, Hawaii, he grew up moving between his father, Cliffton Morris Fischbach Jr., a German-American military officer, and his mother, Sunok Frank, who is of Korean descent. Markiplier’s family background is interesting: his maternal grandfather was a North Korean defector. His mother’s book, Markiplier From North Korea, offers insight into his family history and the experiences that shaped him.
After his parents’ divorce, he and his family settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he would later attend the University of Cincinnati to study biomedical engineering.
Life in 2012 was a turning point. Fischbach faced a series of personal setbacks—a breakup, losing his job, an emergency appendectomy, financial strain, and being kicked out of his mother’s home. After dealing with a tumor, he decided to try something new. He started uploading videos to YouTube, initially comedy sketches, under the name Markiplier, a combination of his first name and “multiplier,” reflecting the multiple characters he played in his sketches.
Gaming soon became his main focus, beginning with Amnesia: The Dark Descent and later the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, where his long-form playthroughs and expressive reactions helped him build a dedicated following.
By 2016, he signed with William Morris Endeavor and expanded into larger projects, including A Heist with Markiplier (2019) and In Space with Markiplier (2022), interactive series that combined scripted storytelling with audience choice and production teams. Podcasts followed: he co-hosts Distractible and Go! My Favorite Sports Team, both of which have reached the top of the Spotify charts. He also starred in The Edge of Sleep, a podcast drama later adapted into a television series that debuted on Amazon Prime Video in 2024.
Iron Lung, based on the 2022 indie horror game, marks his theatrical debut. The story follows a former convict on a mission inside a confined vessel beneath a blood-filled ocean on a distant moon. It earned $23 million at the box office and is set for international screenings, including in the Philippines.
Beyond creative work, Markiplier has engaged in philanthropy and business. He has raised millions for cancer charities, including through livestreams and a charity calendar, co-founded the gaming-focused clothing brand Cloak, joined the board of comic book publisher Red Giant Entertainment, and launched an OnlyFans account with proceeds going to charity.
In September 2025, he married longtime partner Amy Nelson. He has described himself as not religious and has largely kept his personal life private.
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