82-Year-Old Grandma Gamer Is Cooler Than You’ll Ever Be
Shirley Curry is an 82-year-old grandmother and beloved Skyrim and Elder Scrolls YouTube Let's Player whose warm grandma energy has rocketed her into the hearts of many. Known in the community as the 'Skyrim Grandma', she greets her viewers every video by saying 'hello, grandkids' and responds to every email and comment she gets with love.
Did I also mention she's got 600K subscribers, a love of Call of Cthulu, and a flourishing tomato garden? She's definitely the coolest grandma in the world, and yeah, that includes yours. Sorry 'bout it.
It All Started With Her Son's Old Computer
Like every one of us who inherited their older brother's healthy stock of N64 games when he moved to college, Shirley was drawn into the world when her son was getting rid of his old computer. He gave her the PC along with his copy of Sid Meier's Civilization 2 - she was immediately hooked.
'I would play day and night and I would turn into a zombie. It was just fascinating I could do something like that' Shirley remembers. She's since graduated from the saturated colors and big pixels of Civilization 2 to Skyrim's and Elderscroll's photo-realistic gameplay.
She'll Teach You Some Manners
Unsurprisingly, Shirley's comments sections on her videos are overflowing with love and support because who would dare write a nasty thing to Shirley. Just look at her — she's your internet grandma and you better be nice to your internet grandma.
When some angry troll does leave hate on her channel, Shirley responds with love and offers them a chance to apologize - which most eventually do. 'They just need somebody to try and teach them some manners. Evidently, they don't get it at home' Shirley says. You tell it like it is Shirley. Those haters need firm grandma instruction.
From Gardening To The Gamer Grind
Shirley's not your typical YouTuber. Her channel is home to a multitude of Skyrim LetsPlay videos that she interspaces with vlogs where she opens her mail, reviews the ElderScrolls official cookbook, and goes out to the garden to check on her hydrangeas.
Shirley's fan engagement is where she really lets her personality shine. She's committed to creating a loving space for all her viewers who she calls her 'grandkids.' Her Instagram gives you a look into her daily life too, where she cooks sweet potato yummies and attends her grandkids' graduations.
She's Going To Be Immortalized In-Game
After Bethesda announced their release date for Skyrim VI in 2021, Shirley hopped on YouTube to voice her concerns. Namely, that she would unfortunately likely unable to play the game because it would come out when she's 88. Do you hear that sound? It's the internet collectively sobbing.
Shirley's fans were quick to create a change.org petition to get Shirley's likeness immortalized in-game as an NPC (non-playable character). They won and cited a previous precedent where fan Erik West, who passed from cancer 6 months before Skyrim's release, was immortalized as NPC 'Erik the Slayer.'
She Doesn't Have Time To Quilt Anymore
Before she started racking up Skyrim playtime and gaining her legendary status as the internet's grandma, Shirley was just a regular grandmother to 9 grandchildren and a mother to 4 sons. She quilted, baked, and read sci-fi novels daily.
After a Reddit user uploaded a post of her stream, Shirley's channel went viral and now she clocks in full days on YouTube. She feels bad that she can't respond personally to every comment anymore, but the positive feedback makes it worthwhile for her. 'I do it for them. I'm Grandma to all of them,' she says. Shirley, we don't deserve you.
