Vivienne Medrano

Last updated

Vivienne Medrano
Vivienne Medrano Photo Op GalaxyCon Richmond 2025.jpg
Medrano at GalaxyCon Richmond in 2025
Born (1992-10-28) October 28, 1992 (age 32)
Frederick, Maryland, U.S.
Other namesVivziePop
Alma mater School of Visual Arts (BFA)
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • animator
  • writer
  • director
  • television producer
Years active2011–present
Notable work
TitleFounder of SpindleHorse
YouTube information
Channel
Genres
Subscribers10.8 million [1]
Views1.6 billion [1]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2015 [2]
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers2018
YouTube Diamond Play Button.svg10,000,000 subscribers2024
Last updated: July 11, 2025

Vivienne Medrano (born October 28, 1992), [3] also known by her online alias VivziePop, is an American YouTuber, animator, writer, director, and producer. She is best known as the creator of the musical television series Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss . She also created the webcomic ZooPhobia . [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Career

Early work

Prior to joining YouTube, Medrano did assistant work on a thesis horror comedy film by Zach Bellissimo titled Blenderstein, in 2011. [7]

Before launching her current channel "VivziePop", Medrano launched her first channel, "xZoOPhobiAx", which features animatics for ZooPhobia .

Medrano launched her YouTube channel under the screen name "VivziePop" in 2012, building a dedicated online audience, who enjoyed her fanwork and original creations. [8] [9] [10] Also in 2012, she started a webcomic titled ZooPhobia , which ran until 2016, ending so that she could find more time to develop Hazbin Hotel. [11] [12] [13] Medrano directed her first short animated film, titled The Son of 666 in 2013. [12] Medrano released her fourth year thesis film entitled "Timber" in 2014, for which she won a Dusty Award in Outstanding Achievement in Character Animation. [14] [15] Medrano named the film after the song of the same name by Pitbull and Kesha, and its score contained homages to the song as well. [16] In October 2014, she released an animated music video for the song "Die Young" by Kesha, which accumulated over 50 million views by October 2019. [13] As a result, she became "relatively well-known" online for her animation and artwork, some of which she shared on her channel. [17] In September 2025, Medrano said she would love to develop the world of "Timber" in the future, adding she has "projects that are...in my head that I would love to work on. It’s just about finding the time." [10]

Medrano received a Bachelor in Fine Arts and graduated from School of Visual Arts in August 2014. [8] [9] She worked as a freelance animator for two years. [8] She continued to work on her webcomic ZooPhobia until 2016 when she ended it to focus her attention on Hazbin Hotel. Hazbin Hotel would be crowdfunded through Patreon. [8] [18] [19]

SpindleHorse

Medrano founded the animation studio SpindleHorse, under which the pilot for Hazbin Hotel, the pilot and first season for Helluva Boss, and several animated shorts would be released. [20] Medrano serves as the director, writer and character designer for SpindleHorse Toons. [21] In an interview with Cartoon Brew, she said that much of the Hazbin Hotel pilot was funded by money from her Patreon, rather than income from YouTube's algorithm. [8] The company Horseless Cowboy assisted Medrano with voice casting during the first season of Helluva Boss, with Richard Steven Horvitz serving as the voice director. [22] Cartoon Brew described her as a "paragon of indie success in animation". [23]

In October 2019, the pilot episode of Hazbin Hotel was released on Medrano's YouTube channel. [24] By September 2025, it had garnered over 117 million views. [10] In November 2019, the pilot of Helluva Boss was released on her YouTube channel as well. [25] In July 2020, Medrano released an animated music video for Hazbin Hotel called "Addict", featuring the Silva Hound song of the same name. [26] [27] In August 2020, Hazbin Hotel was picked up for a full series by A24. [28] [29] In 2020, the pilot episode of Hazbin Hotel was honored at The Webby Awards. [30] Animation Magazine said that A24 was taking a "bold step" by picking up the series. [31] In 2023, scholar Ben Mitchell described Medrano's Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss as series which were "sensationally popular" and an effective use of Patreon to subsidize the show's art "through monthly tiered payments". [32]

On September 30, 2020, Medrano released an animated short film titled "Bad Luck Jack", based on ZooPhobia. [33] The short was nominated and won for a Ursa Major Award in the "Best Dramatic Short Work" category. [34] [35] The short was also listed as a "Recommended Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work" on the Ursa Major Award website. [36] In September 2025, Medrano said she would like to do more with the webcomic's characters, possibly including more animated shorts and a graphic novel, the latter of which she wanted do as a college student. [10]

On April 25, 2025 it was announced that Helluva Boss would now be available on Amazon Prime Video as well as YouTube, with Medrano expressing that she was grateful to Prime Video for the opportunity and what it "means for the continued rise of indie animation." [37] It was later reported that Medrano, and Spindlehorse itself, would retain "full creative control and final cut on the series." [38] [39] The Hollywood Reporter also stated that Medrano had signed a "first-look deal with Prime Video to develop new projects." [40] In September 2025 it was noted

In August 2025, it was announced that the Australian studio branch of Spindlehorse, Spindleroo, would be releasing an 11-minute animated pilot for the webcomic Homestuck . [41] [42] It will be the first project for Spindlehorse not build around Medrano's story or characters. She expressed her excitement about this project to Polygon, in September 2025, saying it will be "very experimental" and called it a "test pilot" for many aspects, including "the studio, the process, a new style, [and] a new technology," adding that audience reaction will determine whether studios are interested in developing it into a full animated series, or if it will be continued on her YouTube channel. She also told the publication that she hoped that the project would be opening the door for Spindlehorse working with additional creators, like artists or those who created webcomics, with "more original projects," to support other voices apart from her own ideas. [10]

In September 2025, Medrano revealed that she has a five season-plan for Hazbin Hotel and a four season-plan for Helluva Boss, with seasons 3 and 4 of Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss already in production, respectively. She described the second season of Hazbin Hotel as what the show was "meant to be" in terms of visuals, scale, narrative, pacing, and everything else, noting that the first season was "made in a vacuum" because she didn't know "if the show would continue". She also stated that while the original pilot of Helluva Boss has a "very special place in her heart", it functionally does not work with the rest of the show, calling "Mission Zero" a new "starting point" for the series and new audiences. [10]

Other work

From 2017 to 2019, she worked as an animator on Nico Colaleo's DreamWorksTV series, Too Loud . [12] She called her experience on the series "a delight". [43] She also worked as a character designer on the series. [44] In March 2021, it was reported that she was a partner of Redefine Entertainment, a management company formed by Jairo Alvarado, Tony Gil, and Max Goldfarb. [45] [46]

Personal life

Medrano was born in Frederick, Maryland and is a Salvadoran-American. [12] She became interested in animation as a child when she watched the film Bambi . [9] She began using art programs such as MS Paint in third grade. [9] [5] Her early art was heavily influenced by Invader Zim. Medrano moved to New York City and began attending School of Visual Arts in September 2010 and would later graduate in 2014. [9] [5] She is bisexual, [47] and on the asexual spectrum. [48] She grew up Presbyterian, and says she remembers going to church and questioning a lot of stories in the Bible—Adam and Eve and Lucifer, in particular. [49]

In a January 2024 interview following the release of Hazbin Hotel on Amazon Prime Video, she described herself as a "queer woman on the internet who made something popular", and related herself to her character Charlie Morningstar, saying that both she and Charlie are in a "position of fighting uphill battles to just have [their] dreams exist." [50] Previously, Medrano had described herself, on social media, as a "proud 'fiery' [L]atina," and said that Vaggie was the character she related to most, saying that Vaggie and Charlie "feel like sides of [her]self." [51]

Filmography

Film

TitleYearCredited asNotes
DirectorWriterProducerAnimation/ArtOther
Blenderstein!2011NoNoNoNoYesAssistant [7] [52]
The Son of 666 2013YesYesYesYesYesCreator [12]
Timber2014YesYesYesYesYesCreator [5]
Hand-Drawn: 2D Documentary2019NoNoNoNoYesAs herself [18] [53]
That's Entertainment 2019YesYesYesYesYesHazbin Hotel pilot [54]
Bad Luck Jack 2020YesYesNoNoNoZooPhobia short [33]

Television

TitleYearCredited asNotes
DirectorWriterProducerAnimation/ArtOther
Hazbin Hotel 2024–presentYesYesYesNoNoCreator [54]

Web series

TitleYearCredited asVoice roleNotes
WriterExecutive ProducerDirectorAnimation/ArtActress
Too Loud2017–19NoNoNoYesNoSarahAnimator [12] and character designer [44]
Helluva Boss 2019–presentYesYesYesYesYesKeenie, Deerie, various charactersCreator [55]
Ollie & Scoops 2019–presentNoNoNoNoYesPoopsie St. Pierre [56]
Eddsworld 2021NoNoNoNoYesFace PainterEpisode: "The Beaster Bunny"
Normal British Series2022NoNoNoNoYesButtmunchEpisode: "Being British"

Music videos

YearTitleArtist
2024"Polkamania!" ("Vampire" segment) "Weird Al" Yankovic

References

  1. 1 2 "About SpindleHorse". YouTube.
  2. ↑ Vivienne Medrano (VivziePop) (May 10, 2015). 100K SUBS SPEED DRAW - VivziePop. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022– via YouTube.
  3. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne [@VivziePop] (October 28, 2021). "THANK YOU MONICA! 💕" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ↑ "OIAF 2021 Drops Official Trailer and New Program Highlights". Animation World Network . September 3, 2021. Archived from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021. Join Creator Vivienne Medrano (a.k.a. VivziePop) for an intimate conversation about creating her Youtube hit series, Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss .
  5. 1 2 3 4 Asarch, Steven (February 3, 2021). "A Cartoon Demon Musical Drew in 53 Million YouTube Viewers. The Creator of 'Hazbin Hotel' Says She Couldn't Have Predicted Its Success". Insider . Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (May 16, 2022). "LXiA Announces the Return of Animation Day at LALIFF 2022". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Zach Bellissimo (May 10, 2018). Blenderstein! (2011) by Zach Bellissimo. Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021– via YouTube.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Vollenbroek, Tunde (April 29, 2019). "7 Tips for Building a Successful Animation Channel on YouTube". Cartoon Brew . Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Medrano, Vivienne (February 25, 2019). ""Animation Is Magic": SVA Alumnus VivziePop on Perseverance, Inspiration and 'Hazbin Hotel'". School of Visual Arts (Interview). Interviewed by Danielle Peters. New York. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2021. See YouTube clip of interview here Archived February 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine .
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Robinson, Tasha (September 11, 2025). "Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss creator Vivienne Medrano answers all our biggest questions about what's coming next". Polygon . Archived from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  11. ↑ Cruz, Larry (January 10, 2013). "'Zoophobia': Fear of an Animal Planet". CBR . Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Liberman, Dr Esther (December 9, 2019). "A Salvadoran-American Artist's Conception of Hell". BeLatina. Archived from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  13. 1 2 Short, Dan (November 7, 2019). "Hazbin Hotel [Review]". Animated Views. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  14. ↑ McLean, Tom (May 14, 2014). "Top Dusty Toon Honors to 'Moonstruck'". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Dusty Festival: Winners List". SVA BFA Film. School of Visual Arts. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021. See the list of winners in 2011 which list "Blanderstein" and "Destiny for the Birds", and 2014, which lists "Timber".
  16. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (June 30, 2014). "Alumni Blog: Vivienne Medrano". SVA BVA Film Blog. School of Visual Arts. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  17. ↑ Lepri, Miranda (February 3, 2020). ""Hazbin Hotel" May Be Over Before It Begins". The Spectator. Stuyvesant High School. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  18. 1 2 Sarto, Dan (December 4, 2019). "'Hand Drawn' Feature Documentary in Last Days of Indiegogo Campaign". Animation World Network . Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  19. ↑ Miller, Caroline (March 20, 2022). "A24 Reveals Character Images for Raunchy Animated Series Hazbin Hotel". MovieWeb . Archived from the original on March 22, 2022.
  20. ↑ Amidi, Amid (August 7, 2020). "A24 Picks Up Online Pilot 'Hazbin Hotel' for Series". Cartoon Brew . Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Making Your Own Cartoon with Special Guest Vivienne Medrano". Creative Talent Network. September 2, 2020. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  22. ↑ "'Hazbin Hotel' Creator VivziePop Teams with Horseless Cowboy on Devilishly Twisted 'Helluva Boss'". Skwigly . October 7, 2020. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  23. ↑ Dudok De Wit, Alex (September 23, 2021). "6 Unmissable Events at This Week's Ottawa International Animation Festival". Cartoon Brew . Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  24. ↑ Brueheim, Jackson (May 13, 2020). "Hazbin Hotel: 10 Astonishing Pieces of Fan Art". CBR . Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  25. ↑ Short, Dan (December 18, 2020). "Helluva Boss". Animated Views. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  26. ↑ Troup, Margaret (November 2, 2020). "'Hazbin Hotel' Creator Releases New Episode of Spinoff Series 'Helluva Boss'". Iowa State Daily . Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  27. ↑ James, Tito W. (July 17, 2020). "'Hazbin Hotel' Returns with a New Music Video 'Addict'". Comicon.com . Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  28. ↑ Dudok de Wit, Alex (September 1, 2020). "Here's the Biggest Animation News You Missed in August". Cartoon Brew . Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  29. ↑ Alexa, Laurén (September 1, 2020). "Unconventional A24 Picks Up Controversial 'Hazbin Hotel'". Animation World Network . Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  30. ↑ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  31. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (August 7, 2020). "A24 Checks in to VivziePop's Hellish 'Hazbin Hotel'". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  32. ↑ Mitchell, Ben (2023). Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 87. ISBN   9781000849189. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023– via Google Books.
  33. 1 2 Short, Dan (October 5, 2020). "ZooPhobia: Bad Luck Jack". Animated Views. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Voting". Ursa Major Awards. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  35. ↑ O'Reily, Rod (May 2, 2021). "The Ursa Major Awards for 2020". Flayrah. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Recommended Furry Art and Literature List". Ursa Major Awards. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  37. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (April 25, 2025). "Prime Video Hires on 'Helluva Boss' Adult Animated Series with Extra Seasons". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on April 25, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  38. ↑ Hughes, William (April 25, 2025). "Prime Video snags a helluva lot of Hazbin Hotel-adjacent Helluva Boss". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on April 28, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  39. ↑ Mullinax, Hope (April 25, 2025). "'Helluva Boss' Is Finally Coming to Prime Video While 'Hazbin Hotel's Future Has Been Decided". Collider . Archived from the original on April 26, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  40. ↑ Porter, Rick (April 27, 2025). "'Hazbin Hotel' Offshoot 'Helluva Boss' Gets Prime Video Run, Two-Season Renewal". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on April 27, 2025. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  41. ↑ Valentine, Evan (August 9, 2025). "Hazbin Hotel Creators Announce Homestuck Animated Show". ComicBook.com . Archived from the original on August 9, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  42. ↑ Hughes, William (August 9, 2025). "Oh god, the Hazbin Hotel creators just announced a Homestuck animated pilot". AV Club . Archived from the original on August 17, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  43. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne [@VivziePop] (February 6, 2017). "For the fantastic @NicoColaleo SO excited to share the adorable wonder that is "Too Loud" with everyone! Working on it has been a delight" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2022– via Twitter.
  44. 1 2 Too Loud [@TooLoudCartoon] (December 15, 2017). "The first entry into our TOO LOUD Crew Spotlight: @VivziePop, TL's character designer and animator! #TooLoudCartoon" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022– via Twitter.Colaleo also said that "Vivienne IS Too Loud"
  45. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 3, 2021). "Jairo Alvarado, Tony Gil & Max Goldfarb Form Lit Mgmt/Production Company Redefine Entertainment". Deadline . Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  46. ↑ Cavero, Natalia Puertas (March 4, 2021). "Latinos Set to "Redefine" the Entertainment Industry". Al Dia Television. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  47. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne [@VivziePop] (June 15, 2020). "Also I am a bisexual woman, and majority of my cast and crew, and characters are LGBT so to think that the show or production is setting out to be anti LGBT is ludicrous and I'm pretty sick of that being what people just -believe- about my projects" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2021– via Twitter.
  48. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne. (April 6, 2025). "My bisexuality is something I've had so long to understand about myself, but the ace-ness was something I denied for a long time. I now really feel like it explains a lot about myself I have always been unsure of. I'm happy to keep learning new things about myself. ❤️ Happy International Ace day! 🙌". Bluesky . Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Note: sign-in required to read text. It is also available .
  49. ↑ Greg Archer (January 18, 2024). "Exclusive: Hazbin Hotel Creator and Its Broadway Stars Are in Heaven Being in Hell". Movieweb . Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  50. ↑ Piepenburg, Erik (January 19, 2024). "'Hazbin Hotel,' A24's First Animated Series, Imagines Heaven and Hell with a Broadway Voice Cast" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on January 19, 2024.
  51. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne [@VivziePop] (October 30, 2019). "Being a proud 'fiery' latina myself, Vaggie is hands down the character I relate most too in #HazbinHotel her and Charlie feel like sides of myself. The ambitious side and the temperamental wanting to defend myself and others side. Fuck anyone who shames you for being fiery 💕🔥" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Twitter.
  52. ↑ Brewmasters (April 29, 2019). "CBTV Student Fest: "Blenderstein!"". Cartoon Brew . Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  53. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (November 20, 2019). "'Hand Drawn' Documentary Crowdfunds Final Round". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  54. 1 2 Cubilas, Sean (November 26, 2020). "Hazbin Hotel: 10 Funniest Lines in the Show, Ranked". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2021. From Vivienne Medrano, the talented artist behind the drawings and animations on the YouTube channel, Vivziepop, Hazbin Hotel portrays all of the quirky, ambitious, and dark humor that Vivienne has become synonymous with.
  55. ↑ Baron, Reuben (December 2, 2019). "Adult Animation Is Better Than Ever - So Why Does It Draw Ridicule?". CBR . Archived from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2021. Independent animator Vivziepop has lit up YouTube with her pilots Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss, which have earned some warranted criticism for their immature, edgy humor but are at least clear labors of love from an animation standpoint.
  56. ↑ Colaleo, Nico [@nicocolaleo] (March 11, 2020). "STARRING @VivziePop as Poopsie St. Pierre! @ninjamac as Rudy! @redlettermedia's Mike Stoklasa and Rich Evans as Brunk & Merle! @BrockBaker as Dan Dipple! @NicoColaleo as Mayor Scrumpy! @CrackMcCraigen as The Narrator[.] @ChaseTheVA as Old Crumplecranks" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2021– via Twitter.
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