| Liza Koshy | |||||||||||||||||
| Birth Name: | Elizabeth Shaila Koshy | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 31 March 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Education: | University of Houston | ||||||||||||||||
| Years Active: | 2013-present | ||||||||||||||||
| Module: |
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Elizabeth Shaila Koshy (born March 31, 1996) is an American YouTuber, media personality and actress.[1] [2] Her main YouTube channel has amassed almost 17 million subscribers, and her two channels have a combined total of over 3 billion views. She has received four Streamy Awards, four Teen Choice Awards, and a Kids' Choice Award.
Koshy began her career on Vine in 2013, before starting a YouTube channel. She made her acting debut as Aday Walker in Tyler Perry's horror comedy film Boo! A Madea Halloween (2016), and went on to star as Violet Adams in the Hulu horror drama series Freakish (2016–2017) and The Explorer in the YouTube Premium mystery series Escape the Night (2017–2019). She was also a correspondent for the MTV television series Total Request Live (2017–2018).
Koshy co-created, produced and starred as the title character in the YouTube Premium comedy series Liza on Demand (2018–2021), which earned her several accolades, and hosted the Nickelodeon game show revival Double Dare (2018–2019), for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. She starred in the Netflix dance comedy film Work It (2020), and had voice roles in the animated adventure film (2021) and the science fiction film (2023).
Koshy was included in the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list, as well as the Time 2019 list of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet and its 100 Next list that same year.
Elizabeth Shaila Koshy was born in Houston, Texas,[3] on March 31, 1996,[4] the daughter of Jean Carol (née Hertzler), an American yoga instructor of German descent,[5] and Jose Koshy, an Indian Malayali petroleum executive from Kerala.[6] She has two older sisters.[7] From kindergarten until fifth grade, she was placed in a dual language educational and cultural program, where she learned to speak Spanish.[8] In 2014, after attending Lamar High School,[9] Koshy enrolled in the University of Houston and began to study business marketing.[10] In 2015, she left college and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a media career.[11]
Koshy began posting comic videos on the Vine platform, in 2013, under the pseudonym "Lizzza", where she posted short comedic videos.[12] [13] When Vine closed in 2017, Koshy had 7 million followers.[14] By 2016, Koshy was also becoming noted on the YouTube platform.[15] In November 2016, just before the 2016 election, Koshy interviewed President Barack Obama on her YouTube channel to encourage voter registration.[14] Koshy's videos feature "her loud facial expressions, quick pace, and her commitment to looking as ridiculous as possible as the joke demands. [Some of her videos] take serious issues – like anxiety, the pressure to fit in, and internet trolls – and make them accessible and engaging for her viewers."[16] She suspended adding new videos to her main YouTube account in early 2018 as she turned to full-time acting and hosting work.[17] She resumed posting new videos in 2019.[18]
In 2017, Koshy became "the fastest YouTube personality to reach 10 million subscribers".[19] As of 2021, her main YouTube channel had over 17 million subscribers and more than 2 billion views.[20] Her second YouTube channel had more than 8 million subscribers,[21] and her two channels had a combined total of more than 3 billion views.[20] [21] She had more than 18 million followers on Instagram,[22] more than 26 million followers on TikTok[23] more than 4 million on Facebook[24] and more than 2.8 million on Twitter.[25] Time named Koshy to its 2019 list of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet[26] and its 2019 100 Next list.[27]
Koshy came under fire in 2020 after insensitive videos resurfaced showing Koshy imitating Asian accents and mocking the Japanese language.[28]
In 2016, Koshy starred in the Hulu original horror series Freakish as Violet Adams.[29] She reprised the role in the show's second season in 2017.[30] Also in 2016, she played the role of Aday Walker in the horror-comedy feature film, Boo! A Madea Halloween,[31] and starred as herself in the YouTube Premium series, Jingle Ballin.[13] [32] Koshy starred as Princess Aubrey in the 2016 comedy film FML.[33] [34] In 2017, she played a recurring character, The Explorer, in the YouTube Premium mystery-reality series Escape the Night.[35] [36]
Koshy stars in and co-produces a YouTube Premium situation comedy series, Liza on Demand, which premiered in June 2018, "following the chaotic misadventures of the eponymous character" as she works to become an "elite tasker"[37] doing odd jobs for pay.[38] A reviewer for the Los Angeles Times wrote: "The first episode ... is not bad. Yet it's also ordinary and a little stiff. … But the second ... is better ... and shows off Koshy to good effect, some effective physical comedy included. It made me laugh, anyway."[39] Season 2 premiered in September 2019.[40] Alexis Gunderson of Paste wrote in 2019: "Liza on Demand a truly excellent comedy."[41] In November 2018, Koshy voiced the character Owl in Crow: The Legend, an animated virtual-reality short film written and directed by Eric Darnell, starring John Legend.[42] The film premiered on the Liza Koshy Too YouTube channel and Oculus VR on November 15, 2018.[17] [43] She returned to Escape the Night in 2019.[44] She co-starred in the Netflix dance-comedy film Work It (2020). A review in The New York Times stated: "Both Koshy and [Jordan] Fisher are accomplished professional dancers, and the movie doesn't skimp on showcasing their gifts."[45] Koshy voiced Zipp Storm in the 2021 Netflix film .[46]
In 2023, it was announced that she would voice Serena in Primos.[47]
Koshy hosted the live preshow at the 2017 Golden Globes Awards,[19] which received 2.7 million live viewers on Twitter – a record for the medium.[31] She also hosted Nigel Lythgoe's series Every Single Step and was "the only social entertainer chosen to promote the 2016 MTV Movie Awards."[34] She was one of the hosts on Total Request Live on MTV from 2017 to 2018[19] [48] and served as a producer and developer of content for MTV.[49] Koshy was the first "digital star" interviewed for Vogue magazine's "73 Questions" web series.[50] Koshy conducted interviews of the celebrities attending the 2018 and 2019 Met Galas on behalf of Vogue.[51] [52] She hosted the revival of the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare from June 2018 to December 2019.[53] In 2020, Koshy hosted the Quibi dance competition show Floored.[54]
Her online advertisements for Beats Electronics draw four times more viewers than those of other celebrities.[55] Koshy collaborates with The Giving Keys, a jewelry company that employs and supports the formerly homeless population, on a necklace collection.[56] She is a co-chair of "When We All Vote", a nonpartisan, nonprofit group dedicated to increasing voter participation.[57] She also advertises Beyond Meat.[58]
Koshy dated Slovak media personality David Dobrik from late 2015 to early 2018.[59] [60]
| Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | FML | Princess Aubrey | ||
| Boo! A Madea Halloween | Aday Walker | |||
| Jingle Ballin | Liza | Also executive producer[61] | ||
| 2017 | Crow: The Legend | Owl | Voice role | |
| 2020 | Work It | Jasmine Hale | ||
| 2021 | Zipp Storm | Voice role[62] | ||
| 2023 | Cat Person | Beth | ||
| Arcee | Voice role | |||
| Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken | Margot | Voice role | ||
| Good Burger 2 | Wilma | |||
| 2024 | Players | Ashley | ||
| A Family Affair | Eugenie | |||
| 2025 | Post-production[63] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Making a Scene with James Franco | Herself | 1 episode[64] | |
| 2016–2017 | Freakish | Violet Adams | 20 episodes | |
| 2017–2019 | Escape the Night | The Explorer | 12 episodes | |
| 2017–2018 | Total Request Live | Herself | Correspondent | |
| 2017 | Ellens Show Me More Show | Herself | Episode: "Liza Koshy Takes On Ellen’s Burning Questions" | |
| 2018–2021 | Liza on Demand | Liza Hertzler | 25 episodes; also co-creator, executive producer, and director; wrote "Pilot" and directed "The Art of Settling" and "Truthousand" | |
| 2018–2019 | Double Dare | Herself / Host | 61 episodes; also executive producer | |
| 2019 | Welcome to the Wayne | Bianca Davis | Voice role; episode: "Wiles Styles You Over" | |
| To Tell the Truth | Herself / Contestant | Episode: "Tim Meadows/Justin Long/Liza Koshy/Missi Pyle" | ||
| Sugar Rush Christmas | Herself / Guest Judge | Episode: "Christmas Spirit" | ||
| 2020 | All That | Herself | Episode: "1119" | |
| Nickelodeon's Unfiltered | Herself | Episode: "Corgi Rock Party!" | ||
| Floored | Herself / Host | 12 episodes; also executive producer | ||
| Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? | Herself | Voice role; episode: "The Internet On Haunted House Hill!" | ||
| Punk'd | Herself | Episode: "Bat Mitzvah'd with Liza Koshy" | ||
| The Great Global Cleanup | Herself | Television special | ||
| 2021 | Chopped Next Gen | Herself / Host | 5 episodes | |
| 2021–2023 | Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve | Herself | Television specials | |
| 2022 | Dancing with Myself | Herself / Judge | 8 episodes; also co-creator and executive producer | |
| The Tiny Chef Show | Herself | Episode: "Ants on a Log/Quesadilla" | ||
| Tab Time | Stevie Sweatbands | Episode: "Taking Care of Yourself" | ||
| America's Got Talent | Herself | Episode: "Auditions 1" | ||
| 2022–2024 | The Ghost and Molly McGee | Jinx | Voice role; 4 episodes | |
| 2022–present | Hamster & Gretel | Veronica Hill | Voice role; 19 episodes | |
| 2023 | Big City Greens | Jade | Voice role; episode: "Coffee Mates" | |
| 2024 | Primos | Serena | Voice role |
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | "Woke Up Late" | Drax Project ft. Hailee Steinfeld | [65] | |
| 2020 | "Relationship" | Anthony Ramos | [66] |
Teen Vogue named Koshy to its 2016 list of "The 7 Female Comedians You Need to Know".[67] The Hollywood Reporter included Koshy in its 2017 list of "15 Rising Crossover Stars".[3] The Washington Post cited Koshy as one of the "funny women...at the top of their game today [who] girls get to study" as models for comedy and empowerment.[68] She is a member of the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list.[69]
John Jurgensen of The Wall Street Journal described Koshy's appeal as follows: "Her comedy is heavy on self-deprecation, slapstick and wordplay, more goofy than snarky. ... One reason her sketches work for advertisers is the replay factor, [squeezing] in dozens of puns and double meanings, in part to encourage easily distracted viewers to re-watch. ... Koshy has proven to be safe territory for established entertainment companies and advertisers who have fled from edgier online content".[38] Alexis Gunderson of Paste compared Koshy to Lucille Ball and calls her a "physical comedy wunderkind" and "a tiny magnetic goofball".[41]
Koshy has won four Streamy Awards and Teen Choice Awards, and a Kids' Choice Award.
| Year | Award Show | Category | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Streamy Awards | Breakout Creator | [70] | ||
| 2017 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Social Media Star | [71] | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Female Web Star | [72] | |||
| Choice Comedy Web Star | |||||
| Choice YouTuber | |||||
| Shorty Awards | YouTuber of the Year | [73] | |||
| Streamy Awards | Creator of the Year | [74] | |||
| Comedy | [75] | ||||
| Editing | |||||
| 2018 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Funny YouTube Creator | [76] | ||
| Shorty Awards | Creator of the Decade | [77] | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Female Web Star | [78] | |||
| Choice Comedy Web Star | |||||
| Choice YouTuber | |||||
| Streamy Awards | Creator of the Year | [79] [80] | |||
| Comedy Series: Liza on Demand | |||||
| Acting in a Comedy: Liza on Demand | |||||
| 2019 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite TV Host (with Marc Summers for Double Dare) | [81] | ||
| People's Choice Awards | Social Star | [82] | |||
| 2020 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Game Show Double Dare (as executive producer) | [83] |