Liza Koshy
Born 1996 · Age 29
American YouTuber, actress, host and producer who rose from Vine and YouTube to mainstream film/TV and hosting roles.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Houston, Texas
Elizabeth Shaila Koshy born to Jean Carol (American, German descent) and Jose Koshy (Indian Malayali).
Completed dual-language elementary education (Spanish)
Attended a dual-language program from kindergarten through 5th grade and learned Spanish.
Started posting comedy on Vine as 'Lizzza'
Began her social-video career on Vine posting short comedic videos and sketches.
Graduated Lamar High School / Enrolled at University of Houston
Finished high school at Lamar High and enrolled at the University of Houston to study business marketing.
Began high-profile relationship with David Dobrik
Began dating fellow social personality David Dobrik in late 2015 (relationship lasted until early 2018).
Left college and moved to Los Angeles
Left University of Houston in 2015 to move to Los Angeles to pursue a media/entertainment career full-time.
Signed with talent agency CAA
Creative Artist Agency (CAA) signed Liza as a rising Vine personality (reported Sept 22, 2015).
Acting debut in Boo! A Madea Halloween
Feature film acting debut playing Aday Walker in Tyler Perry’s horror-comedy film (2016).
Starred in Hulu series Freakish (season 1)
Played Violet Adams in the Hulu horror-drama series Freakish (2016).
Released Jingle Ballin' on YouTube Premium
Starred as herself in the YouTube Premium holiday special 'Jingle Ballin'' (2016).
Won Streamy Award — Breakout Creator
Won the 2016 Streamy Award in the Breakout Creator category.
Signed with AwesomenessTV network
Signed a deal with AwesomenessTV as her online-to-studio transition accelerated (reported Oct 2016).
Listed by Teen Vogue and other outlets as a young comedian to watch
Named among 'The 7 Female Comedians You Need to Know' (Teen Vogue 2016) and cited by other outlets as an up-and-coming comedy talent.
Interviewed President Barack Obama
Interviewed Barack Obama on her YouTube channel to encourage voter registration (Nov 2016).
Fastest YouTuber to reach 10M subscribers
By 2017 Koshy was described as the fastest YouTube personality to reach 10 million subscribers.
Vine closed — had ~7M followers
When Vine closed in 2017 Koshy had amassed approximately 7 million followers on the platform.
Became MTV's TRL correspondent/host (start)
Served as one of the hosts/correspondents on the revived MTV show Total Request Live (TRL) from 2017 to 2018.
Returned to acting projects: Escape the Night season 2 (recurring)
Joined the recurring cast of YouTube Premium's 'Escape the Night' as The Explorer (season 2 started 2017) and returned for later seasons (2019).
Hosted Golden Globes live preshow on Twitter
Hosted the 2017 Golden Globes preshow; the Twitter live feed drew a record 2.7 million live viewers.
Named one of Hollywood Reporter’s '15 Rising Crossover Stars'
Recognized by The Hollywood Reporter as a rising crossover star (2017).
Collaborated with The Giving Keys
Teamed up with jewelry brand The Giving Keys on a limited necklace collection supporting people transitioning out of homelessness.
First-look/development deal with MTV announced
MTV announced a first-look overall development deal and enlisted Koshy for content and TRL revival hosting.
Appeared in Vogue's '73 Questions' — first digital star
Parody of Vogue’s '73 Questions' amassed ~32M views and she became the first creator to appear on Vogue’s official 73 Questions series.
Beats Electronics ad performance noted
Reports said her online Beats ads got roughly four times the viewers/clicks of celebrity ads — boosting her advertising clout.
Co-creator / executive producer credits on Liza On Demand
In addition to starring, Koshy co-created, executive produced, wrote the pilot, and directed episodes of Liza On Demand.
Wins: multiple Streamy and Teen Choice Awards (2018)
2018 was a major awards year: Streamy wins (Comedy Series & Acting in a Comedy) plus Teen Choice Awards wins relating to web/comedy categories.
Won Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award — Favorite Funny YouTube Creator
Won the 2018 Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Funny YouTube Creator.
Hosted Met Gala red carpet interviews for Vogue (2018)
Conducted red carpet interviews at the Met Gala on behalf of Vogue (first of two consecutive years).
Suspended regular uploads to main YouTube channel
Announced/entered a hiatus from posting new videos on her main channel in early 2018 to focus on acting and hosting.
Publicly announced breakup with David Dobrik
Koshy and David Dobrik announced their split in an emotional video (reported June 5, 2018).
Began hosting Nickelodeon Double Dare revival
Hosted and served as executive producer of the Double Dare reboot on Nickelodeon (aired June 2018–Dec 2019); show ran 61 episodes.
Liza on Demand premiered (YouTube Premium)
Co-created, co-produced and starred in the YouTube Premium comedy series 'Liza on Demand' (series premiere June 2018).
Won Streamy Awards — Comedy Series & Best Acting in a Comedy
At the 2018 Streamys Liza on Demand won Best Comedy Series and Koshy won for Best Acting in a Comedy.
Crow: The Legend premiered (VR short) — voice role
Voiced the character Owl in the animated VR short 'Crow: The Legend' premiered on Nov 15, 2018 (YouTube channel & Oculus).
Returned to Escape the Night (2019 season)
Reprised role in 'Escape the Night' season 4 (2019).
Included in Forbes 30 Under 30 (Hollywood & Entertainment)
Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Hollywood & Entertainment category (class of 2019).
Resumed posting on YouTube after yearlong hiatus
Returned to posting new videos on her main YouTube channel in March 2019 after a yearlong break from uploads.
Cumulative recognition: Forbes/Time/Streamy/Tween awards
By 2019 Koshy had multiple honors: Forbes 30 Under 30, Time lists, multiple Streamy and Teen Choice wins (cumulative).
Hosted Met Gala red carpet interviews for Vogue (2019)
Returned to host red carpet interviews for Vogue at the 2019 Met Gala.
Named one of Time's 25 Most Influential People on the Internet
Included in Time's list of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet (July 16, 2019).
Liza on Demand Season 2 premiere — most-watched YouTube original debut
Season 2 premiered Sept 2019 and was reported as YouTube's most-watched original debut to date.
Named to Time's '100 Next' list
Included in Time's 100 Next list (2019) recognizing rising influential people.
Named co-chair of nonpartisan 'When We All Vote'
Joined Michelle Obama and others as a co-chair of 'When We All Vote' to increase voter participation (announced Nov 7, 2019; active 2020).
Hosted Quibi dance competition 'Floored'
Hosted and executive produced the Quibi dance competition show 'Floored' (2020).
Daytime Emmy nomination for Double Dare (as executive producer)
Double Dare received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Game Show (Koshy credited as EP; nominee announced 2020).
Starred in Netflix film 'Work It'
Co-starred in the Netflix dance-comedy 'Work It' (released Aug 2020), with reviews praising her dance skills.
Voiced Zipp Storm in 'My Little Pony: A New Generation'
Provided the voice of Zipp Storm in the Netflix animated film released in 2021.
Hosted 'Chopped Next Gen' (TV)
Served as host of 'Chopped Next Gen' for five episodes in 2021.
Voiced Arcee in 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'
Voiced the Autobot Arcee in the 2023 blockbuster 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'.
Featured in Forbes profile on career transformation
Forbes published a feature (June 30, 2023) about her move from creator to mainstream Hollywood, citing >2.6B video views and aspirations for SNL.
Expanded film roles (Players, A Family Affair credited 2024)
Credited roles in Netflix/feature films around 2024 including 'Players' and 'A Family Affair', marking growth into mainstream film roles.
Speaker booking profile (AAE) — profile updated
Speaker profile lists Liza as keynote speaker for events (AAE profile updated July 18, 2025) with standard industry fee ranges for booking.
YouTube channels and view counts (infobox update)
Infobox (April 3, 2025) lists main channel subscribers 16.7M, Liza Koshy Too 6.94M; views 2.17B and 577.01M — combined >2.7B views; page also cites combined >3B historically.
Key Achievement Ages
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