Giselle "Gigi" Lazzarato, known to her millions on YouTube as Gigi Gorgeous, is" />
Giselle "Gigi" Lazzarato, known to her millions on YouTube as Gigi Gorgeous, is"/>
Giselle "Gigi" Lazzarato, known to her millions on YouTube as Gigi Gorgeous, is the first YouTuber to have a film premiere at Sundance as an official selection - and was recently announced as the first transgender ambassador for Revlon. This Is Everything, a documentary that showcases Gigi's life, transition from male to female, and her relationship with her family, premiered on YouTube Red Feb. 8. The film, directed by Oscar-winner Barbara Kopple, took the power out of Gigi's hands - something different for the content creator.
"Once we signed up with Barbara Kopple, she said, 'You know, I want to film you.' And I said, 'You know what? There's no other way to do it than to pray to God and to wipe my hands clean of it and let it be,'" Gigi said.
Gigi, who started by filming makeup tutorials as Gregory Gorgeous in 2008, appears to live a glamorous life on YouTube and Instagram, with lavish vacations, custom-made gowns, and photos with celebrities like Katy Perry, but she isn't without her own struggles. "I only post what I want people to see. But I feel like, you won't be able to really feel the outpouring love and positivity of the highs if you don't feel the lows," said told us. Those lows include the death of her mother, Judy, in 2012. Judy battled leukemia and did not live to see Gigi's transition. Her mother's death is what inspired her to come out as transgender.
"Of course I'm going to be posting about the tragic losses I've had in my life or my sexual identity every day on Instagram. That is what my YouTube channel is for: honesty, openness, and authenticity," said Gigi. Last year, she came out as a lesbian on her channel - the video has 2.3 million views.
Gigi's hope is that This Is Everything will help to inspire people to accept and love themselves. "I want to inspire youth. They are so lucky they have amazing role models and an open-minded generation and society," Gigi told us. "I really want people to take away from the film that you can chase your dreams, and you can achieve them, and you can achieve love in your friends and your family, even if they don't initially give that to you," said Gigi. "It's about the struggle and overcoming it. Even though I'm transgender, my entire family still loves me, and everything is fine in that aspect of my life. Of course there are other things going on, you're trying to overcome more obstacles in your life, but that's just life."
This Is Everything is currently streaming on YouTube Red. Be sure subscribe to POPSUGAR Girls' Guide for new episodes of Pretty Unfiltered every Wednesday.
