Elizabeth Shaila Koshy (born March 31, 1996) is an American YouTuber and actress.Spangler, Todd. "Above Average Steers Focus to Original Comedy Series for TV, Digital Services", Variety, January 18, 2018, accessed April 12, 2018 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 My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021) and the science fiction film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (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.
Early life Elizabeth Shaila Koshy was born in Houston, Texas, on March 31, 1996,; ; and the daughter of Jean Carol (née Hertzler), an American yoga instructor of German descent,Haylock, Zoë Alliyah. "Family Tree: Who Are Liza Koshy's Parents? Meet Jose and Jean Carol" , J-14.com, November 20, 2017; Rubottom, Cicely. "Liza Koshy's Life in Houston Before She Got Famous Is Actually Super Relatable" , Narcity Media, July 30, 2019; and Gupta Nidhi. "A peek into the life of actor, comedian and host Liza Koshy, an internet star ready to make it big", GQ India, October 20, 2019 and Jose Koshy, an Indian Malayali petroleum executive from Kerala. She has two older sisters. From kindergarten until fifth grade, she was placed in a dual language educational and cultural program, where she learned to speak Spanish. In 2014, after attending Lamar High School, Koshy enrolled in the University of Houston and began to study business marketing. In 2015, she left college and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a media career.Tannenbaum, Emily. "The New Liza Koshy Is Finally Ready to Leave Her Living Room", Cosmopolitan, October 16, 2019
Career Social media
Koshy began posting comic videos on the Vine platform, in 2013, under the pseudonym "Lizzza", where she posted short comedic videos.Carter, Brooke. "Liza Koshy Snapchat Username & Snapcode", Gazette Review, January 23, 2018 When Vine closed in 2017, Koshy had 7 million followers.Robehmed, Natalie. "From YouTube Star To Obama Interviewer: Liza Koshy, 22, Is Creating a Digital Media Empire", Forbes, November 27, 2018 By 2016, Koshy was also becoming noted on the YouTube platform. In November 2016, just before the 2016 election, Koshy interviewed President Barack Obama on her YouTube channel to encourage voter registration. 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."Breakey, Julia. "Your pocket guide to the 2017 Streamy Award winners", Memeburn, September 27, 2017 She suspended adding new videos to her main YouTube account in early 2018 as she turned to full-time acting and hosting work.Weiss, Geoff. "Liza Koshy Lends Voice to Animated Short Crow: The Legend With Oprah Winfrey, John Legend", Tubefilter.com, November 13, 2018 She resumed posting new videos in 2019.Acevedo, Angelica."Liza Koshy Returns from Yearlong YouTube Hiatus With an Ode to the 'Dollar Store' in Parody Music Video", Billboard, March 28, 2019
In 2017, Koshy became "the fastest YouTube personality to reach 10 million subscribers". As of 2021, her main YouTube channel had over 17 million subscribers and more than 2 billion views. Her second YouTube channel had more than 8 million subscribers, and her two channels had a combined total of more than 3 billion views. She had more than 18 million followers on Instagram, more than 26 million followers on TikTok"Liza Koshy", TikTok.com, June 13, 2021 more than 4 million on Facebook and more than 2.8 million on Twitter. Time named Koshy to its 2019 list of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet"The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet" , Time, July 16, 2019 and its 2019 100 Next list.Keys, Alicia. "Liza Koshy" , Time, November 13, 2019
Acting In 2016, Koshy starred in the Hulu original horror series Freakish as Violet Adams. She reprised the role in the show's second season in 2017. Also in 2016, she played the role of Aday Walker in the horror-comedy feature film, Boo! A Madea Halloween, and starred as herself in the YouTube Premium series, Jingle Ballin. Koshy starred as Princess Aubrey in the 2016 comedy film FML.Masters, Linita. "FML Out Next Week: First-Ever Film by Vine Stars (Written, Directed and Starring Vine Stars)", TheHollywood306.com, October 5, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2017Sorokach, Josh. "Who Is Liza Koshy? Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Freakish's Resident Badass", Decider.com, October 9, 2017 In 2017, she played a recurring character, The Explorer, in the YouTube Premium mystery-reality series Escape the Night.
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"Spangler, Todd. "Liza Koshy to Star in YouTube Red Comedy Series Liza on Demand Premiering in 2018", Variety, November 17, 2017 doing odd jobs for pay.Jurgensen, John. "A Self-Made Star Shows One Way to Crack the Gen Z Code", The Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2017 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."Lloyd, Robert. "Liza On Demand review: A tough job, but some YouTube star has to do it", Los Angeles Times, June 27, 2018 Season 2 premiered in September 2019.Spangler, Todd. "Liza on Demand Season 2 Has YouTube’s Most-Watched Original Debut to Date", Variety, October 11, 2019 Alexis Gunderson of Paste wrote in 2019: "Liza on Demand a truly excellent comedy."Gunderson, Alexis. "YouTube Original Comedy Liza on Demand Grows Up and Balls Out in an Extremely Funny (and Cameo-Filled) Season Two", Paste, October 9, 2019 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.Russian, Ale. "John Legend Ventures in VR with Oprah Winfrey and More in Crow: The Legend – Watch Here!", People, November 29, 2018 The film premiered on the Liza Koshy Too YouTube channel and Oculus VR on November 15, 2018.Takahashi, Dean. "Baobab's Crow: The Legend debuts as a free short film on Oculus and YouTube" , VentureBeat, November 15, 2018, accessed November 19, 2018 She returned to Escape the Night in 2019.Hale, James Loke. "Joey Graceffa’s Escape The Night Season 4 Trailer Teases Return of Axed Cast Members", Tubefilter.com, June 26, 2019 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."Winkelman, Natalia. "Work It Review: Freestyling Through Senior Year", The New York Times, August 7, 2020 Koshy voiced Zipp Storm in the 2021 Netflix film My Little Pony: A New Generation.Lang, Brent. "Vanessa Hudgens, James Marsden, Kimiko Glenn Star in Netflix’s My Little Pony: A New Generation, Variety, June 30, 2021
In 2023, it was announced that she would voice Serena in Primos.
Other ventures Koshy hosted the live preshow at the 2017 Golden Globes Awards, which received 2.7 million live viewers on Twitter – a record for the medium. She also hosted Nigel Lythgoe's series Every Single Step and was "the only social entertainer chosen to promote the 2016 MTV Movie Awards." She was one of the hosts on Total Request Live on MTV from 2017 to 2018; and Gore, Sydney. "Josh Gad Showed TRL How to Bust a Move" , MTV, November 6, 2017 and served as a producer and developer of content for MTV. Koshy was the first "digital star" interviewed for Vogue magazine's "73 Questions" web series.Weiss, Geoff. "Liza Koshy Becomes First Digital Star to Appear In Vogues '73 Questions' Series", Tubefilter.com, November 16, 2017 Koshy conducted interviews of the celebrities attending the 2018 and 2019 Met Galas on behalf of Vogue."Met Gala – Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination at the Met 2018" , Vogue, accessed May 8, 2018; and "Watch Liza Koshy Chat With All the Stars at the Top of the Met Gala Steps", Vogue, May 7, 2019 She hosted the revival of the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare from June 2018 to December 2019.Moss, Kyle. "Double Dare is back and slimier than ever", Yahoo.com, June 25, 2018; Keller, Joel. "Stream It or Skip It: Double Dare, Your Favorite Sloppy Game Show from the '80s, Is Back on Nickelodeon", New York Post, June 26, 2018; and Lagatta, Eric. " Nickelodeon’s Double Dare still tons of messy fun for longtime host Marc Summers" , The Indiana Gazette, December 18, 2019 In 2020, Koshy hosted the Quibi dance competition show Floored.Neenan, Cadence. "Liza Koshy is Hosting a New Dance Show That Will Leave You Floored", Dance Spirit, April 27, 2020; and Tilchen, Jordyn. "Liza Koshy's Floored Will Literally Knock You Off Your Feet", MTV, April 27, 2020
Her online advertisements for Beats Electronics attracted four times more viewers than those of other celebrities.Corry, Angela. "Liza Koshy’s #BeatsForBosses ad is more popular than other celebrities'" , The Celebrity Cafe, December 19, 2017; and Gutelle, Sam. "Apple Says Liza Koshy’s Digital Beats Ads Get Four Times as Many Clicks as Ads Featuring Other Celebs", Tubefilter, December 18, 2017 Koshy collaborates with The Giving Keys, a jewelry company that employs and supports people tranistioning out of homelessness, on a necklace collection. She is a co-chair of "When We All Vote", a nonpartisan, nonprofit group dedicated to increasing voter participation and promotes Beyond Meat."Selena Gomez, Liza Koshy & More Joining Michelle Obama as Co-Chairs of When We All Vote", Billboard, via Associated Press, November 7, 2019"Beyond Meat's Beyond Ambassador profile for Liza Koshy", Beyond Meat, accessed February 27, 2020
Personal life Koshy dated Slovak media personality David Dobrik from late 2015 to early 2018.Haylock, Zoë Alliyah. "Too Cute: All the Adorable Moments in Liza Koshy and David Dobrik's Relationship" , J-14.com, November 22, 2017
Filmography +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released
Film Year Title Role Notes 2016 FML Princess Aubrey Boo! A Madea Halloween Aday Walker Jingle Ballin Liza 2017 Crow: The Legend Owl (voice) Short 2020 Work It Jasmine Hale 2021 My Little Pony: A New Generation Zipp Storm (voice) 2023 Cat Person Beth Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Arcee (voice) Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Margot (voice) Good Burger 2 Wilma the Technician 2024 Players Ashley A Family Affair Eugenie 2025 Summer of 69 Angel KPop Demon Hunters Host (voice) The Naked GunDetective Barnes 2026 Family Movie Post-production
Television