Paola Merrill

Paola Merrill (born December 5, 1996) is an American YouTuber and author. She has over a million subscribers on her YouTube channel, TheCottageFairy. She wrote The Cottage Fairy Companion.

Early life and education

Merrill grew up in Puerto Rico before moving to the southern United States. She also lived in Cuba for a few years, as well as Ireland and Italy. Her father is a former Navy captain from Washington. Her mother is a native Puerto Rican who moved to New York at the age of 22 and later joined the Navy Reserve. Paola has two siblings: Rohan Merrill, her younger brother, and Liana, her older sister. Rohan is also a YouTuber with a channel called Letters From Ro, and Liana is a martial artist.

In Dublin, Ireland, she took an English language course at the University College Dublin. She then relocated to the United States to pursue a literature degree at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington.

Career

Merrill launched her YouTube channel, TheCottageFairy, on March 21, 2020. She has 1.57 million subscribers on her YouTube channel as of June 2025.