Vanessa Merrell was born on August 6, 1996 in Kansas City, Missouri. She moved to Los Angeles, California when she was 16 years old. She has an identical twin sister, Veronica Merrell, who is also an actress, musician, singer, and songwriter. They are also known as the Merrell Twins and have three YouTube channels as “Merrell Twins”, “Roni and Nessa”, and “Merrell Twins Live”.
Vanessa is known for her work on the CW Network’s Jane the Virgin (2014, 2015, 2016), MTV’s Faking It (2015), The Standoff movie (2016), Like A Boss movie (2020), Switched movie (2020) and a variety of video projects on Awesomeness TV’s YouTube channel. Vanessa and Veronica together are known for their main YouTube channel, Merrell Twins, where they have more than 5.1 million subscribers and more than 1 billion views. They post videos showcasing their range in both comedy and music such as original comedy sketches, original music videos, popular song covers, original funny songs, and challenges.
The Merrell Twins won a Shorty Award for YouNower of the Year in 2016 and received a second Shorty Award 2019 nomination for the category of Best YouTube Ensemble. They won two Streamy Awards for Best Live show in 2016 and for Lifestyle in 2018. They were nominated for a Teen Choice Award 2017 for Choice Female Web Star, nominated for two Teen Choice Awards 2018 for Choice YouTuber and Choice Female Web Star, and nominated for a Teen Choice Award 2019 for Choice YouTuber. The Merrell Twins were also nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2020 in the category of “Favorite Female Social Star”.
