Shirley Curry (born April 2, 1936), also known by her nickname Skyrim Grandma, is an American

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

and

gamer A gamer is someone who plays interactive games, either video games, tabletop role-playing games, skill-based card games, or any combination thereof, and who often plays for extended periods of time. Originally a hobby, gaming has evolved in ...

. She gained popularity for her '' Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...

videos.

Biography

Curry was born on April 2, 1936. She worked as a secretary in a candy factory, and for several years as an associate in a women's clothing department of

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

before retiring at the age of 55 in 1991. Curry got into video games after her son taught her how to play the 1996

turn-based strategy Strategy video game is a major video game genre that focuses on analyzing and strategizing over direct quick reaction in order to secure success. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, the strategy genre is most commo ...

video game ''

Civilization II ''Sid Meier's Civilization II'' is a turn-based strategy video game in the ''Civilization'' series, developed and published by MicroProse. It was released in 1996 for PCs, and later ported to the PlayStation by Activision. Players build a ...

''. In 2011, she joined YouTube to follow gaming channels, and in 2015, she uploaded her first ''Skyrim'' gameplay video. By 2020, she had over 900,000 subscribers on YouTube. In 2022, Curry surpassed 1 million subscribers and was awarded a Gold Play Button by YouTube. After followers started a petition to include her in the following game of the series, the studio creator of the Elder Scrolls franchise,

Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...

, promised to include her as a character in '' The Elder Scrolls VI''. In 2022, Curry suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

while sleeping, forgetting many details of her experiences in gaming. Despite expressing frustration for its impact on her video game play, she began to recover from the stroke and expressed hope for the future. After the news broke, many of her fans united to wish her good health, and Bethesda Softworks sent her a bouquet of flowers. On September 22, 2024, she published a video announcing her retirement from gaming videos, citing age, physical health challenges, and creation burnout as factors. On December 6, 2024, she published a new video asking her subscribers whether or not they would be interested in viewing a new Skyrim series and, subsequently, released the first episode of this new series the following day on December 7. On May 30, 2025, she began playing ''Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered''.

Personal life

Curry is a widow and has four children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, Shirley American gaming YouTubers Living people 1936 births