Cerebral palsy girl earns 2.8 billion as YouTube icon
Child blogging is becoming more popular every day. Across the country, parents are creating pages for their children where they express themselves in various ways. One of the first to build a blog was a girl named Nastya Radzinskaya from Krasnodar. Today, her channel Like Nastya has 130 million subscribers, and her income exceeds the budgets of small cities. Nastya is a true icon of children«s content. Let»s find out the secret of this little YouTube star«s success.
Sweet Girl from Krasnodar
Nastya Radzinskaya was born in 2014 in Krasnodar Krai. Due to an intrauterine injury, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and doctors said she would not be able to walk or talk. Her parents devoted all their efforts to her treatment, taking her to doctors around the clock. By the age of two, it became clear that Nastya was developing normally. Her mother Anna once mentioned in an interview with journalists that it«s possible the doctors misdiagnosed her, or perhaps treatment and parental love helped Nastya.
Nastya«s blog appeared by chance. To consolidate the results, her parents decided to develop her acting abilities. Initially, it was part of therapy: doctors advised the girl»s parents to use a video camera so she could interact with the outside world and overcome her fears.
The new activity appealed to Nastya. Anna said that her daughter, naturally quiet, creatively opened up in front of the camera: with each video, they became more interesting. They started with unboxings — that format was just emerging at the time: every second blogger was unboxing something and proudly showing off the product.
As a result, the family«s apartment was literally piled with toys that Nastya showed to her subscribers. Looking at the girl»s income, there was no doubt — this is a very profitable business, so the Radzinskys did not spare money on toys.
First Earnings and Entry into Forbes
The first big earnings from the YouTube channel «Like Nastya» came six months after its launch. After a year, Nastya gained a million subscribers, and she started to be recognized on the streets. The family was invited to Asia for filming: amusement parks, shopping for clothes, tasting local cuisine.
In 2017, the Radzinskys moved to Florida, where Nastya«s channel blossomed in all its glory. Videos began to be published in a foreign language — after all, the content was watched by children all over the world. Today, the channel has 130 million subscribers on YouTube, and the most popular video has garnered 947 million views: in the frame, Nastya and her dad go to a sheep farm and she keeps falling asleep, the video is accompanied by funny voiceovers and animation. Today, videos published on the channel talk about various aspects of a child»s life, give advice to other children, or have an educational character.
In 2020, Nastya made it to the Forbes list — she took the seventh spot, with the blogger«s income estimated at $18.5 million. The following year, she moved to sixth place, and her annual earnings reached $28 million. In 2024, the girl earned 2.8 billion rubles (about $28 million at current rates) and entered the top 5 highest-paid YouTubers.
Don«t think this is easy money. Nastya»s mother«s day is scheduled by the minute — after all, she is the scriptwriter for her daughter»s clips, the director, the censor, and the first viewer. The girl«s father regularly gets various episodic roles, and the family»s home resembles a small studio. Anna and Yury Radzinsky quit their jobs for their daughter«s career. Nastya really enjoys filming — it»s evident. She is a smiling, cheerful, and positive girl — whether you want to or not, you«ll smile back. Nastya is never forced to film, and she experiences no negativity from the work. The girl dreams that one day she will become an actress.
