Top Cosplay Instagrams to Follow

Cosplay continues to gain in popularity with international audiences, thanks to social media tools like Instagram and Twitter or forums like Cure (WorldCosplay). Female cosplayers, in particular, have developed legions of devoted fans who eagerly take in their latest looks and find inspiration in their upwardly mobile careers. Phenomenal women like Yaya Han and Holly Wolfe have honed their cosplay skills into profitable ventures that include personalized costume design.

While cosplay has become a commonplace staple at American anime and comic conventions, the practice has roots that begin in the U.S., before it was fine-tuned and packaged for global consumption, in Japan. The word cosplay reflects the Japanese phrase for costume play (stylized コスプレ), a practice which gained momentum with anime and manga (comic) enthusiasts. With its brightly enthusiastic visual aesthetic, cosplay developed into a dominant force on social media. Feast your eyes on our top cosplay Instagrams to follow.

Jessica Nigri

Jessica Nigri is an American model who maintains a successful career as a famous full-time cosplayer, convention emcee, and YouTube personality. A native of Reno, Nevada, Nigri spent her childhood in New Zealand. Her reach extends beyond the realm of anime, into gaming and comic books, where Nigri has appeared as a spokesmodel for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Lollipop Chainsaw. With more than one million followers, she is the top act to follow on Instagram and a noteworthy figure, who embraces everything from Harley Quinn to Japanese-inspired characters.

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Yaya Han

Yaya Han is widely recognized as one of the reigning queens of international cosplayers. The Chinese-American phenom is a convention mainstay, whose television appearances range from Syfy reality show, Heroes of Cosplay, to TBS’ ode to geek culture, King of the Nerds. At 5’5”, she exemplifies the unconventionality of cosplay models and is a resourceful businesswoman who continues to translate her popularity into revenue beyond calendars and booking fees. Han is a successful costume designer whose concepts were released for the masses as McCall patterns. Those who are less crafty with a sewing machine can also purchase ready-to-wear designs from her website.

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Holly Wolf

Playboy model, avid gamer, and professional cosplayer, Holly Wolf is the geek girl of our dreams. This Canadian blonde bombshell is a self proclaimed 'goal digger'. Wolf has a number of accomplishments under her utility belt, appearing in print in magazines like FHM and Maxim, as well as running her own Twitch stream, and co-producing a graphic novel. Wolf is loyal to her Instagram following, posting new cosplay costumes almost daily. Her account is a favorite of ours to follow, especially during Comic Con season. If you're interested in seeing intricate, well made, unique cosplay costume, follow this girl.

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Marie-Claude Bourbonnais

Marie-Claude Bourbonnais is a French-Canadian model and cosplayer who utilizes her fashion design background to create unique costumes. Her cosplay incorporates elements of Japanese anime that border on super-deformed illustration. While she is known as a sexy cosplayer, she has also embraced some “safe for work” characters including her clever use of latex for Eureka from Eureka 7. According to the profile on her website, Bourbonnais attended her first comic con in 2010, where she sported self-made costumes. She currently maintains her own workshop, where she crafts various elements that pertain to cosplaying, ranging from props and backgrounds to leather-working.

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Linda Le

Linda Le is a Vietnamese-American cosplayer, designer, and model who is best known within the community by her lustfully witty nickname, Vampy Bit Me. At age 12, she started to take on cosplay, embracing retro gaming and anime characters. The Oklahoma native moved to sunny California, where she obtained a business degree from San Jose State University, before pursuing beauty training through Paul Mitchell’s, as well as London’s Tony & Guy. Le is internationally recognized for her sweet-natured personality and ability to realistically portray beloved anime figures. She landed on the radar of cosplay enthusiasts when she was included on the guest roster for the Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention. This led to positive attention from Kotobukiya, a Japanese toy-maker, which later highlighted Le in their encyclopedic cosplay guide, Otacool 2.

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Alodia Gosiengfiao

Alodia Gosiengfiao is a TV host, pop vocalist and actress, who gained acclaim after turning her passion for cosplay into a successful career. The gorgeous woman is a VJ for Animax-Asia, a Japanese television network that specifically carries anime. Like many young women and men within her age group, Gosiengfiao developed an interest in cosplay, after joining an Internet forum known as Anime Club. At age 15, she started to participate in cosplay competitions that were held throughout Manila. In 2003, she clinched the third place prize at C3 Convention, where she appeared as the Final Fantasy X-2 character, Gun Mage Rikku. Gosiengfiao proudly represents Pinoy women, more than 5.6 million Facebook followers, proving that the best of cosplay can be found in all reaches of the globe.

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Katie George

Katie George is an Alabama-native, who started cosplaying in 2004. She has appeared at both domestic and international conventions, where she has served as a judge and panelist. George has unique insight regarding the differences and similarities that exist between American and Japanese cosplayers, as a personality who embraces characters from both western and Asian entertainment. The Auburn University graduate appeared on Syfy’s Heroes of Cosplay, which led to an interview with her local publication, Alabama.com “I somehow managed to convince my mom to drive me six hours to Atlanta to attend an anime convention with a group of friends I'd made online,” said George, when discussing her first experiences with cosplay, which started when she was an 11-year-old fan of Sailor Moon. She has notably cosplayed characters ranging from Wonder Woman to Archer’s Lana Kane.

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Crystal Graziano 

Crystal Graziano is an American artist who has tackled a range of cosplay ranging from Black Cat and Miss Marvel to Power Girl. The term “artist” is often loosely used within the realm of cosplay, but Graziano is worthy of the title, due to her jaw-dropping gaming illustrations. Her cosplaying career was established when she became the first spokesmodel for Firefall, an MMO (massive multiplayer online) shooter. Her stint with Firefall and its developer, Red 5 Studios is notable, as the company did not place restrictions on what costumes Graziano could wear or create for conventions and special events. While it was undoubtedly a good gig, her most interesting characters span anime and comics, with her heart-stopping execution of Azuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion amongst her noteworthy cosplay. She maintains a fascinating DeviantArt account, where she regularly updates her latest costumes, in addition to Instagram.

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Maria Ramos 

Maria Ramos delivers Latina power, as native from Monterrey, Mexico, who now resides in Houston, Texas. While her first cosplay was in a store-bought outfit, her love for Japanese pop culture brought Ramos further down the rabbit-hole of costume-making and design. The Texas rose garnered positive attention from local outlets, before landing on the radar of Kotaku and the esteemed men’s magazine, Maxim, which interviewed her in 2012. Her Instagram is a captivating mashup of Southwestern street looks and cosplays like Velma from Scooby Doo and Gears of War maven, Sergeant Alex Brand.

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Myrtle Sarrosa 

Myrtle Sarrosa is a Philippines native who turned her love of anime cosplay into a stellar career. She is the anime jockey for Hero, a Quezon City network, controlled by ABS-CBN. In addition to her work with Hero, she appears as a morning television personality and was the courtside journalist for the NCAA Championships that were held in the Philippines. Sarrosa advocates for causes pertaining to young people and released a self-titled album in 2013, after gaining increased popularity through her appearance on Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition. These accomplishments may seem like a lot for someone as young as Sarrosa, but her experience as a cosplayer is even more extensive.

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