Ze Frank
Ze Frank makes True Facts, mixing animal science with a very serious narrator who keeps finding very unserious things to say.
At 100 nudges, fangea sends Ze’s team an official invite.
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Latest
Ze’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
YouTube
TED
YouTube
YouTubeOverview
- Known for
- True Facts, The Show with Ze Frank and Sad Cat Diary
- Work
- Online comedy, wildlife storytelling and audience participation
- Breakout
- How to Dance Properly, a viral birthday invitation in 2001
- Science background
- Studied neuroscience
- Also
- Former president of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures
Mini bio
A birthday invitation took off.
In 2001, Ze sent How to Dance Properly to 17 friends as a party invitation. It spread far beyond them. His website became a home for comedy, interactive toys and projects that gave visitors something to join in with.
The audience became part of the show.
In 2006 he launched The Show with Ze Frank, a year-long video blog. For Fabuloso Friday, viewers helped write material that he performed. In 2012, 3,900 Kickstarter backers pledged $146,752 for A Show with Ze Frank, which opened with An Invocation for Beginnings.
The facts became the straight man.
True Facts grew from absurd animal comedy into researched wildlife storytelling. Ze has said that studying neuroscience made the turn toward science feel familiar. He gathers footage and research, then builds episodes around moments that become more interesting once you understand them.
More than one kind of internet career.
Alongside his own videos, Ze served as president of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and later left BuzzFeed in 2019. His independent work includes Sad Cat Diary, the classroom-friendly True Facts Educational channel and collaborations that invite fans into conservation and species naming.
Creditschronological, newest first
Videos and performance
- 2026True Facts: GeckosCreator and narrator
- 2014Are you human?TED speaker and performer
- 2013Sad Cat DiaryProducer and narrator
- 2012A Show with Ze FrankCreator and host
- 2006The Show with Ze FrankCreator and host
Science collaborations
- 2026Ocean Species Discoveries 28–30Coauthor of the paper describing three chiton species and a public naming competition
Awards
Quotes
even if I did have unlimited resources, I would still be looking for some sort of limitation.Ze Frank, WWF’s Nature Breaking
In his September 2026 interview, he explained how creative constraints help shape an episode.
Trivia
- The chiton Craspedochiton zefranki was named in his honor, recognizing both True Facts and his work with the Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance.
- Jerry, the recurring offscreen presence in True Facts, began as an invented character during an armadillo episode.
- A Show’s Kickstarter raised $146,752 against a $50,000 goal.
Find Ze
Follow the facts, the jokes and the projects you can help make.
Are you Ze Frank?
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