THE VIEW
COVER INTERVIEW
GraceVictory began herYouTube channel at the age of 21, originally under the name of The Ugly Face of Beauty. As her platform grew so did her voice, evolving from beauty focused content to exploring topics such as mental health, eating disorders and wellbeing. She has just bought her first home and chats to Lynda Clark about her career, her plans for the house and has some excellent advice for first time buyers Photos: Mike Prior Hair and Make-up: Alessia Grace @Alessiagracemakeup AMAZING GRACE!
G race is absolutely brimming with joy and you can see why this is her mantra – she just wants to bring joy to everyone and she really does! She grew up on a council estate in High Wycombe and said, “I didn’t know anyone who owned their own home. I have a younger sister who is five years younger than me and I had quite a difficult childhood. I really enjoyed living there as everyone was very friendly and it was a real ‘pop round and borrow some milk’ vibe.” She started working from the age of two, working on stage, films and modelling. She said, “My uncle was a dance teacher and I just loved singing and dancing and I always enjoyed being in front of the camera! When I was 18 I started teaching dance at a women’s refuge and at youth clubs which I used to go to when I was younger. I then worked in a children’s care home which I really enjoyed. In 2011 I was looking at YouTube and realised that everyone was white, thin and middle class which wasn’t me at all. So I started posting about myself and my following grew very quickly. “By 2015 I was making more money from YouTube than I was at my day job so I decided to leave, which was really hard as I worked with children who had behavioural and emotional needs and I was like their big sister. So, I went in pursuit of a new life and decided
to move to London. I had to take out a £3,000 loan so I could afford to pay the rent as I had absolutely no savings. But, I was determined to make it work. “In 2016 I was asked to do a documentary for BBC 3 called, Clean Eating’s Dirty Secrets which had over 1.2 million views. It unpacked the realities behind the wellness trends, which is very close to my heart, and it catapulted my career. Not everything is about make- up, hair, fashion and body image and people follow these trends religiously. I am a great believer in self- love and I think people shouldn’t be a slave to how they look but consider how they feel about themselves and work on that.” Grace met her husband, singer songwriter Lee, in 2018 and it was an instant attraction. She fell pregnant during the pandemic and had their little boy, Cyprus, during Covid. It didn’t go to plan though and after he was born Grace became very ill and fell into a coma for three months. “I barely survived but I willed myself to get better as all I wanted was to be with the family and my new baby. I then got pregnant a year later and had two children under the age of two which was very hard work.” With a growing family, Grace and Lee decided to move to Hertfordshire when their daughter, Kamiko, was eight months old. “The landlord decided to sell the
20 First Time Buyer December 2021/January 2022
20 First Time Buyer October/November 2026
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