Liza Koshy is an Indian-American media personality, actress, and host. She became an internet sensation after she started posting punnery, physical gags, and parody videos on YouTube, mostly in which she is disguised as her alter egos named Jet Packinski III, Helga, and Carlos. Koshy has hosted several events including Met Gala and Golden Globes Awards 2017. As of 2020, she has received four Streamy Awards, four Teen Choice Awards, and a Kids’ Choice Award.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Elizabeth Shaila “Liza” Koshy was born on Sunday, 31 March 1996 (age 26 years; as of 2022) in Houston, Texas. Her zodiac sign is Aries. She was born and brought up by her parents in Houston. In 2014, she completed her schooling at Lamar High School in Houston. In 2015, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in business marketing at the University of Houston; however, after a year, she dropped out and moved to Los Angeles.
Physical Appearance
[1]Instagram – WIRED Height (approx.): 5′
Weight (approx.): 50 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): 30-26-30
Family
Parents & Siblings
On 21 April 1984, Liza’s parents got married to each other. Her father, Jose Koshy, is an Indian Malayali petroleum executive from Kerala. Jose was also appointed as the director of a non-profit organization named Houston Full Gospel Church of God in Texas. Liza’s mother, Jean Koshy Hertzler, is an American yoga instructor of German descent. Liza is the youngest of three siblings. Her sisters’ names are Olivia Koshy and Rahel Koshy. [2]YouTube – WIRED
Husband
She is unmarried.
Relationships/Affairs
In 2015, Liza Koshy made her relationship with YouTuber David Dobrik public; however, the couple called it quits in 2018. They made a 6-minute-long video in which they announced their breakup to their fans on YouTube.
In February 2020, she was rumoured to be dating former Broadway star Anthony Ramos after she uploaded a video on her social media titled “I’M IN RELATIONSHIP”; however, it was later confirmed that they shot a music video for Anthony’s song titled Relationship.
Career
Social Media Influencer
In 2013, she started posting comical short videos of herself on the Vine platform under the pseudonym “Lizzza” and gained more than 6 million followers on the social media platform. Later, she also created a channel on YouTube and gained more than 5 million subscribers in no time. She was listed among ‘Teen Vogue’s Top 10 YouTubers to Watch’ in 2016. [3]Teen Vogue Koshy also started making lip-sync videos on TikTok (formerly known as Musical.ly) and was one of the top musers.
She garnered appreciation on YouTube with her videos especially the ones in which she appeared as her alter egos, Jet Packinski III, Helga, and Carlos.
Actor
Films
In 2016, she made her acting debut with the horror comedy film FML (2016) in which she appeared as Princess Audrey. Later, she appeared in several Hollywood films such as Boo! A Madea Halloween (2016). In 2018, she lent her voice to the character Owl in an animated virtual-reality short film titled Crow: The Legend, starring John Legend. In 2020, she appeared as Jasmine Hale in the Netflix dance-comedy film Work It alongside actor Sabrina Carpenter and Jordan Fisher.
She voiced the character of Zipp Storm in the Netflix film My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021).
TV series
Liza has appeared in several television series including, David’s Vlog (2015), Sugar Pine 7 (2016), Welcome to the Wayne (2017), Escape the Night (2017), Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? (2019), and The Tiny Chef Show (2022).
YouTube Originals
In 2016, she appeared as herself in the YouTube Originals series Jingle Ballin’.
In 2018, Liza produced and starred as the protagonist in a YouTube Premium comedy series titled Liza on Demand, which earned her a nomination for Shorty Awards 2019 for Best Web Series.
Host
In November 2016, just before the 2016 United States presidential election, Koshy interviewed Barack Obama on her YouTube channel following which she became a noted YouTuber. [4]Instagram – Liza Koshy
She hosted several award shows including the Golden Globes Awards 2017. In 2018, she hosted a game show titled revival Double Dare on Nickelodeon for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. Koshy has conducted many celebrity interviews during events such as Met Galas (2018 and 2019) on behalf of Vogue.
She hosted the revival of the Nickelodeon game show Double Dare (2018) and the Quibi dance competition show titled Floored (2020).
TV show judge
She has appeared as a judge on several TV shows such as Sugar Rush Christmas (2021). In 2022, she appeared as a judge on the American dance competition television series Dancing with Myself, which premiered on NBC along with Shakira and Nick Jonas.
Music video
In 2019, she appeared in the music video of the song Woke Up Late by Drax Project ft. Hailee Steinfeld and in 2020, she featured in Anthony Ramos’s song titled Relationship from the album The Good & The Bad.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- 2016: Streamy Award for Breakout Creator
- 2017: Teen Choice Award for Choice Female Web Star
- 2017: Streamy Award for the Comedy category
- 2018: Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Funny YouTube Creator
- 2018: Teen Choice Awards for Choice Female Web Star, Choice Comedy Web Star, and Choice YouTuber
- 2018: Streamy Awards for Comedy Series: Liza on Demand and Acting in a Comedy: Liza on Demand
- 2019: Forbes 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list
- 2019: The Time 2019 list of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet and 100 Next list [5]Time [6]Time
Favourites
- Animal: Dog
- Beverage: Coffee
- Actress: Jessica Alba
- Singer: Beyonce
Facts/Trivia
- When Liza was studying at Lamar High School, she was part of the school’s varsity drill team called the Rangerettes Varsity Drill Team.
- When she was studying in school, she won the title of Homecoming Princess.
- In 2016, she was the only social entertainer chosen to promote the MTV Movie Awards.
- In 2017, she became the fastest YouTuber to reach 10 million subscribers. [7]Cosmopolitan
- Koshy has collaborated with The Giving Keys, a jewellery company that employs and supports the formerly homeless population, on a necklace collection.
- In an interview, Liza said that one could always find packets of Cholula hot sauce in her bag.
- She is an unofficial member of The Vlog Squad, alongside Corinna Kopf, Gabbie Hanna and Josh Peck.
- She has served as a host in Nigel Lythgoe’s Every Single Step series. Other than this, she also hosted several TV shows including Total Request Live on MTV from 2017 to 2018 and served as a producer and developer of content for MTV.
- In an interview, Liza revealed that Travis Coles and Kimiko Glenn (who play roommates in the series Liza on Demand) were actually Liza’s roommates in real life during the shooting of the series.
- Liza often advertises for popular brands on her social media including Beyond Meat. According to some reports, she attracted four times more views to her online advertising for Beats Electronics as compared to other celebrities who advertised for the same.
- She worked for the Creators For Change campaign in 2020 along with former first lady Michelle Obama, Indian YouTuber Prajakta Koli and African YouTuber Thembe Mahlaba. Creators for Change is an initiative by the United Nations and YouTube where 50 creators from around the world are chosen to create content on social issues.
- In an interview, Liza revealed that once her friend ripped her eyebrows apart so she used a blue Sharpie to fill the gap.
- Koshy is the first digital star who was interviewed for Vogue magazine’s “73 Questions” web series.
- Liza Koshy is a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees supporter.
- In an interview, she revealed that she loved watching ASMR videos as they help her fall asleep.
- Her YouTube channel has more than 17 million subscribers and she has more than 20 million followers on Instagram.
- Liza Koshy is a Democratic Party supporter. She is a co-chair of “When We All Vote”, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group dedicated to increasing voter participation. [8]Facebook – Michelle Obama
- She has appeared as a guest in several talk shows including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
- In 2022, she appeared in the celebrity holiday special on a TV show titled The Great American Baking Show along with D’Arcy Carden (actress), Joel Kim Booster (comedian), Marshawn Lynch (former NFL player), Nat Faxon (actor and writer), and Chloe Fineman (actress). [9]Instagram – Liza Koshy
- Liza Koshy apologised for making racial statements in a few videos she’s done with David Dobrik, an American YouTuber who was her then-boyfriend. In the two vlogs, posted in 2016, she and Dobrik tried Japanese candies following which a TikTok user took it on social media and referred to the pair’s usage of imitation of the Japanese accent as “clear evidence of the normalised racism against Asians.” In response, Liza stated that she was sorry for any pain she may have caused and that she never intended to be racist. She insisted that her jokes at the time were “innocent,” but she has since accepted that they are “tainted with implicit bias.”
- She once explained how switching from Vine to YouTube changed the kind of content she makes, in an interview, claiming that every platform had a different style and that she developed various facets of her personality on each one and that was her way of bringing in an audience to see these different sides of her. She further added,
What you saw on Vine was totally different than what you saw on YouTube. What you saw on YouTube was totally different than what you saw on my Instagram. I had different aesthetics and different branches of my personalities I created on each platform. And that was my way of bringing in an audience to see these different sides of me, but also a form of just like, me compartmentalizing the different sides that I can be.”
- Liza wore a mermaid-fitted lehenga dress designed by Papa Don’t Preach founder Shubhika Sharma to the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre launch in 2023.
References