Molly Burke: Her Sight, Guide Dogs, YouTube and Books

Molly Burke is a Canadian YouTuber, speaker and author who was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) at age four and lost most of her vision by 14. She describes herself as blind and says she still has light and shadow perception. She began speaking in public at five, started her YouTube channel in 2014 and in 2018 became the first blind creator to pass one million subscribers (her website, Tubefilter).

Below: what she has said about her sight, how she came to YouTube, her speaking and advocacy, her guide dogs, braille in her life and her books. Pages were checked on October 31, 2026. Where sources disagree, we say so.

Key points

• Diagnosed at four, most of her vision gone by 14. Her website calls RP "a rare degenerative eye disease" and says she lost most of her vision at 14 (her website).
• She is not totally blind. In 2018 she told Tubefilter "in my case it's light and shadow perception" (Tubefilter). Two 2019 articles describe it differently; we follow her words.
• Her channel started in late August 2014. In 2018 she became the first blind creator past one million YouTube subscribers (Tubefilter, MM+M).
• Her guide dogs were Gypsy, Gallop and Eltie. Gallop's retirement was announced in December 2020 and he died on August 31, 2023; Eltie is the guide dog in her 2026 children's book (The Vibes, her X post, her website).

Molly Burke at a glance

Each row is sourced in the sections below.

Who is Molly Burke?

The Globe and Mail described her in 2019 as raised in Oakville, Ontario, and now based in Los Angeles (The Globe and Mail). Her website calls her a speaker, content creator, author, consultant and model, with over 5 million followers across social media (her website). MM+M gave the same figure in 2025, as combined followers (MM+M).

In a first-person piece in 2025 she wrote that she was the only blind child at her school, except in grades 9 and 10, when she attended a school for the blind (same source). For how those schools work, see schools for the blind.

What she has said about her sight

The diagnosis. Her website says she was diagnosed with RP at age four and lost most of her vision at 14 (her website). FOX 11 gives the same ages in 2023 and describes RP as an inherited disease that slowly takes vision away (FOX 11). The Globe and Mail called it a genetic disorder (The Globe and Mail).

In her words. She told FOX 11 she has been "completely night blind from birth" and "legally blind from birth," "but I could still see a lot." Over time, she said, "I developed tunnel vision that slowly closed up" while everything "faded away and got dimmer." Her example: "black started to look gray, yellow started to look white" (FOX 11). For what the term legally blind covers, see what is legally blind.

She also said, "I actually cannot visually recall colors, faces or what anything looks like," adding that some blind people do keep such memories but that for many they fade (FOX 11).

What she sees today. In 2018 she told Tubefilter, "Blindness is a spectrum," and "in my case it's light and shadow perception" (Tubefilter). Her website describes the cover of UNSEEN as reflecting "the light perception Molly still has" (her website). Many blind people keep some sight; see what do blind people see.

Where sources differ. Two 2019 articles say otherwise. The Globe and Mail wrote that she has been "completely without sight for 11 years now," and Elite Daily wrote that by 14 she had "completely lost her sight." Her own statements and her website ("most of her vision") say she kept some. We follow her words.

When. She dates her vision loss to 2008. "My vision loss in 2008," she told Tubefilter, and in a 2018 PAPER interview she said "2018 marks ten years since I lost my vision" (Tubefilter, PAPER). That fits losing most of her vision at 14, since the Globe and Mail described her as 25 in September 2019.

Tools. She told FOX 11 she uses a screen reader on her phone and computer. In 2025 she wrote that after her diagnosis she "started learning Braille" and "trained with a white cane" (MM+M). More in screen readers for the blind and the white cane.

How Molly Burke came to YouTube

She told Tubefilter that in 2009 she was struggling with her vision loss and depression, and found YouTube's beauty community. By listening to creators around her age, she learned makeup and what was trendy in stores without being able to read magazines, and she "found my confidence again" (Tubefilter).

She started her own channel years later, in late August 2014, at 20 (Tubefilter, FOX 11). She was already a full-time speaker. She told FOX 11 she was booked to speak about bullying, mental health, diversity and accessibility, "but there's also a lot more to me than just that" (FOX 11).

Growth. By her own count, it took a year to reach 5,000 subscribers, another year to reach 10,000, and four years to reach one million. A collaboration video with Casey Neistat took her from 67,000 subscribers to more than 100,000 on the first day (Tubefilter). Tubefilter reported in June 2018 that she was the first blind creator past one million. By April 2019 she wrote that she had 1.8 million subscribers (her X post), and the Globe and Mail said "nearly two million" that September. We give no current count, since we could not read one.

What the videos are. CBC Radio listed makeup tutorials, clothing hauls and hair transformations (CBC Radio). The Globe and Mail noted a video on things people should never say to a blind person.

Making them. Asked whether a blind creator can film and edit alone, she told Tubefilter, "Yes, but it's much more difficult."

Myths. "We don't all wear dark sunglasses or have foggy eyes," she told Tubefilter (Tubefilter).

Speaking and advocacy

She has spoken in public since age five, she told Tubefilter. Her website says she started a year after her diagnosis, and MM+M says she spoke at fundraising events for RP throughout her childhood (Tubefilter, her website, MM+M). The Globe and Mail says she has spoken professionally since 18, and she said she did it full time for two years before starting her channel.

Her website lists the United Nations in New York, the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi and Wembley Arena, and says she has shared stages with Malala Yousafzai (her website, speaking page). PAPER added Demi Lovato, Macklemore and Justin Trudeau in 2018 (PAPER).

Her message, in her words: "Show the person behind the blindness." FOX 11 reported that she hopes to normalize and humanize disability and to push for accessible design (FOX 11).

Examples of what is still in the way:

• Apps. She can use social media on her own except when companies don't make their apps accessible to screen reader users (FOX 11).
• Machines. In 2025 she wrote that the treadmill at her gym has a touchscreen with no screen reader (MM+M).
• Rides. The Globe and Mail reported in 2019 that drivers deny her rides because of her dog, and in 2025 she wrote that she is still denied rides with her guide dog (The Globe and Mail, MM+M).

Her website also lists Forbes 30 Under 30 (2024), The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (2022) and The Rachael Ray Show (2023) (her website).

Molly Burke's guide dogs

Gypsy. Her first guide dog. The Vibes says Gallop came after Gypsy died (The Vibes). She told FOX 11 that when her first guide dog died, online groups for guide dog users helped her through the grief (FOX 11). No source we read gives the dog's years.

Gallop. A black Lab and Bernese Mountain Dog mix from the Mira Foundation, near Montreal, according to The Vibes in January 2021, which said she had worked with him for about six years (The Vibes). Tubefilter already mentioned him in 2018, and the Globe and Mail described him dozing at her feet during a TV interview in 2019. The Globe printed his name as "Gallup"; her own posts spell it Gallop.

In late December 2020 she posted a video about his retirement and her next dog. The Vibes says that over the months of lockdown she had seen Gallop lose his drive to keep working, and that the Mira Foundation was closed by the pandemic, so she expected a wait of a year or more. On January 5, 2021 she posted a second video answering questions about "Gallop's retirement" (her X post). In July 2023 she described him as "my retired guide dog Gallop" and "my 11 year old boy" (her X post). On September 15, 2023 she wrote that he had died on August 31 (her X post).

Eltie. Her website and her publisher call Eltie her "real-life guide dog" (her website, Abrams). No source we could read says when he joined her.

For how guide dogs are trained and what they do, see guide dogs.

Does Molly Burke read braille?

She says so. In April 2019 she posted that she is "a blind Braille using YouTuber" who wanted to make a braille video (her X post). In 2025 she wrote that after her diagnosis at four she "started learning Braille" (MM+M).

PAPER reported in 2018 that she taught the model Karlie Kloss "how to read Braille on her channel" (PAPER). We haven't seen that video.

Braille is part of her books, too: the cover of UNSEEN features braille, and the memoir is available in braille through the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (her website).

The sources don't say which braille code she reads or how much she uses it today. For the ways blind people read, see how do blind people read.

Molly Burke's books

• It's Not What It Looks Like (2019). Her debut book, released in audio only. Her website says she chose that format as "a deliberate reflection of how she consumes stories," and that she grew up with limited access to books in accessible formats (her website, books page). The Globe and Mail reported in September 2019 that it had quickly reached the top of The New York Times list of nonfiction audiobooks (The Globe and Mail). More on listening formats in talking books for the blind.
• UNSEEN: How I Lost My Vision but Found My Voice (October 14, 2025). A memoir, 272 pages, published by Abrams (Abrams). Her website calls it a USA Today bestseller and says it is available in print, audio and braille. The design put accessibility first: a high-contrast color scheme, a sans-serif font, and bold text instead of italics (her website).
• Eltie Takes the Lead: A Guide Dog's Tail (October 13, 2026). A picture book for ages 4 to 8, told by Eltie and illustrated by Ziyue Chen. It follows Eltie and Molly through a school day (Abrams).

Where Braillito fits

Braillito, our app, teaches braille. It teaches the braille cells in lessons with exercises you play, with lives, levels and a daily streak: 59 lessons in 8 worlds in English. It also has a translator, a dictionary and a cell builder. The English lessons are uncontracted braille (grade 1); they don't teach contracted braille or transcription, and Braillito isn't a braille transcriber.

Nothing here means Molly Burke uses or endorses Braillito. If her story makes you want to learn braille yourself, the cells are where it starts. The translator on braillito.com shows how a word or short phrase looks in UEB, but it only applies the rules a program can apply, so it doesn't replace a transcriber. Without paying, the braille translator works in any browser.

Braillito is a subscription with no free version; depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). Get Braillito.

Frequently asked questions

Is Molly Burke completely blind?

No. In 2018 she said "in my case it's light and shadow perception," and her website refers to "the light perception Molly still has" (Tubefilter, her website). Two 2019 articles said she had lost her sight completely; her own words say otherwise. For the range of what blind people see, see what do blind people see.

What condition does Molly Burke have, and when did she lose her sight?

Retinitis pigmentosa, diagnosed when she was four. She lost most of her vision at 14, and she dates her vision loss to 2008 (her website, FOX 11, Tubefilter).

Does Molly Burke have a guide dog?

Yes: Eltie, whom her publisher calls her real-life guide dog. Before him she worked with Gallop, who retired in 2020 and died on August 31, 2023, and her first guide dog was Gypsy (Abrams, her X post, The Vibes).

What books has Molly Burke written?

It's Not What It Looks Like (2019, audiobook), UNSEEN: How I Lost My Vision but Found My Voice (2025, also in braille through the National Library Service) and the picture book Eltie Takes the Lead (2026) (her website, Abrams). Other blind and visually impaired people, from musicians to a chef, are in famous blind people.