Liza Koshy

Elizabeth Shaila Koshy (born March 31, 1996) is an American YouTuber and actress. 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 on March 31, 1996, the daughter of Jean Carol (née Hertzler), an American yoga instructor of German descent, and Jose Koshy, an Indian Malayali petroleum executive from Kerala. She has two older sisters. 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.

Career Social media

Koshy began posting comic videos on the Vine platform, in 2013, under the pseudonym "Lizzza", where she posted short comedic videos. When Vine closed in 2017, Koshy had 7 million followers. 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." She suspended adding new videos to her main YouTube account in early 2018 as she turned to full-time acting and hosting work. She resumed posting new videos in 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. more than 26 million followers on TikTok 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 and its 2019 100 Next list.

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. 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" doing odd jobs for pay. 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." Season 2 premiered in September 2019. Alexis Gunderson of Paste wrote in 2019: "Liza on Demand a truly excellent comedy." 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. The film premiered on the Liza Koshy Too YouTube channel and Oculus VR on November 15, 2018. She returned to Escape the Night in 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." Koshy voiced Zipp Storm in the 2021 Netflix film My Little Pony: A New Generation.

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, 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. Koshy conducted interviews of the celebrities attending the 2018 and 2019 Met Galas on behalf of Vogue. She hosted the revival of the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare from June 2018 to December 2019. In 2020, Koshy hosted the Quibi dance competition show Floored.

Her online advertisements for Beats Electronics attracted four times more viewers than those of other celebrities. 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.

Personal life Koshy dated Slovak media personality David Dobrik from late 2015 to early 2018.

Filmography +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film Year Title Role Notes 2016 FML Princess Aubrey 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 YearTitleRoleNotes2017 Making a Scene with James Franco Herself 1 episode 2016–2017 Freakish Violet Adams 20 episodes 2017–2019 Escape the Night The Explorer 12 episodes 2017–2018 Total Request Live Herself Correspondent 2020"Relationship"Anthony Ramos

Recognition Teen Vogue named Koshy to its 2016 list of "The 7 Female Comedians You Need to Know". The Hollywood Reporter included Koshy in its 2017 list of "15 Rising Crossover Stars". She is a member of the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list.

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".

2018 Favorite Funny YouTube Creator Herself 2019 Favorite TV Host Double Dare (with Marc Summers)

2017

2019

2017 YouTuber of the Year 2018 Creator of the Decade

2016 Breakout Creator

Creator of the Year Comedy Editing Comedy Series

Acting in a Comedy

Choice Female Web Star

Choice Comedy Web Star Choice YouTuber

Choice Female Web Star

Choice Comedy Web Star Choice YouTuber