ON THE FAST TRACK

HOUSTON AND HOLLYWOOD'S LIZA KOSHY

Liza Koshy remembers well the first time she got a laugh. She was five years old and her willing audience was her grandfather. 

“I loved the rush. It was an addicting feeling and I realized it was fun to make other people feel joy,” said Koshy. A seed was planted.

Now, 28 million YouTube subscribers later, a starring role in the Netflix movie Work It, two seasons of the internet sitcom Liza on Demand and two turns interviewing celebrities at the Met Gala for Vogue Magazine, that prolific seed is growing into a full-fledged superstar who made her way from Houston to the red carpet. All in short order.

She’s only 24. At such a tender age it seems she went straight from her high school drill team, the Lamar Rangerettes, to the Thunderbirds, the dance group featured in the comedy/dance film Work It.

But there was at least one stop in between. 

Before her days on the red carpet, there were Red Fridays and football games at TDECU Stadium. That's right, Liza Koshy is a Coog.

Liza Koshy is a comedian, YouTuber, actress and host. She has successfully transitioned between social media platforms, TV and film by showcasing her infectious personality and and quick wit. She recently sat down with us to talk about her transition from Houston Coog to Hollywood star. Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

Liza Koshy is a comedian, YouTuber, actress and host. She has successfully transitioned between social media platforms, TV and film by showcasing her infectious personality and and quick wit. She recently sat down with us to talk about her transition from Houston Coog to Hollywood star. Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

“I went to UH for one year and it was the best year.”

“I went to UH for one year and it was the best year. I had random roommates and still am best friends with them,” said Koshy, who lived in Cougar Village One and studied business marketing. “I feel like UH gave me that good foundation and fun that sent me out to the world equipped to take it on.”

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Homecoming with these lovelies. 😍🏈🐾

A post shared by Liza Koshy (@lizakoshy) on

To be frank, UH also supplied Koshy with her first, and probably only, rejection. 

“Funny story, I auditioned for the Cougar Dolls and I didn’t make it! Of course, I didn’t have my splits then, but I’ve been stretching ever since,” said Koshy, jokingly, of the dance move on full display in Work It. Raised in faith, the every-sunny Koshy immediately saw the upside. 

“I'm grateful for any opportunity I get or don’t get, because that is what’s meant to happen.”  

Her life and her talents: A mix

Growing up in the idyllic Southside Place in Houston, Koshy is the youngest of three daughters. With an Indian father and white mother, Koshy calls herself “a little brown girl,” who recalls looking enough like UH President Renu Khator that she would loudly and joyfully shout out “Hi Auntie!” across campus anytime she saw Khator walking by. 

And when she finally met Khator, she was ready.

“When we were leaving, I said, ‘I’ll probably see you at the next wedding,’” said Koshy, referring to the remarkably large Indian ceremonies. 

“I feel like UH gave me that good foundation and fun that sent me out to the world equipped to take it on.”
Liza Koshy

After her freshman year at UH, Koshy moved to Los Angeles. 

“I’m not gonna lie, the grades weren’t good; I knew I’d have to bank on this personality,” she said.  

HOUSTON TO HOLLYWOOD

“I knew I’d have to bank on this personality.”

Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

Indeed, a personality so infectious that you don’t want to blink when you’re watching her series of random YouTube videos or anytime she’s on screen, for that matter. If you do, you might miss a look, or a sound or a pun so well placed it’s likely not to come again. Fast-paced brilliant with looks to match, Koshy is becoming Hollywood gold, and the Hollywood elite have taken notice.

“She’s a ball full of magnetic, magnificent energy,” said singer Alicia Keys, producer of Work It, when Koshy was placed on the 2019 Time Magazine “100 Next” list of projected breakout power players. 

“She’s also a self-starter, an entrepreneur, fiercely smart and an empathetic soul. Liza is very in touch with what’s happening in the world around her, and a visionary in terms of what people will relate to,” Keys said. 

"She’s also a self-starter, an entrepreneur, fiercely smart and an empathetic soul."
Alicia Keys

Previously known for her Vine videos, now with a huge following on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, Liza Koshy has parlayed her talent into a successful career in television and film. Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

Previously known for her Vine videos, now with a huge following on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, Liza Koshy has parlayed her talent into a successful career in television and film. Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

Koshy plays Jasmine in the recent Netflix movie Work It. Photo courtesy Elly Dassas/NETFLIX © 2020.

Koshy plays Jasmine in the recent Netflix movie Work It. Photo courtesy Elly Dassas/NETFLIX © 2020.

Koshy grew up dancing and was on the drill and dance teams in high school. Photo courtesy Brendan Aldam Zwelling/NETFLIX © 2020.

Koshy grew up dancing and was on the drill and dance teams in high school. Photo courtesy Brendan Aldam Zwelling/NETFLIX © 2020.

Sabrina Carpenter as Quinn Ackerman, Liza Koshy as Jasmine Hale in Work It. Photo courtesy Brendan Adam Zwelling/NETFLIX © 2020.

Sabrina Carpenter as Quinn Ackerman, Liza Koshy as Jasmine Hale in Work It. Photo courtesy Brendan Adam Zwelling/NETFLIX © 2020.

Koshy plays Jasmine in the recent Netflix movie Work It. Photo courtesy Elly Dassas/NETFLIX © 2020.

Koshy plays Jasmine in the recent Netflix movie Work It. Photo courtesy Elly Dassas/NETFLIX © 2020.

Koshy grew up dancing and was on the drill and dance teams in high school. Photo courtesy Brendan Aldam Zwelling/NETFLIX © 2020.

Koshy grew up dancing and was on the drill and dance teams in high school. Photo courtesy Brendan Aldam Zwelling/NETFLIX © 2020.

Sabrina Carpenter as Quinn Ackerman, Liza Koshy as Jasmine Hale in Work It. Photo courtesy Brendan Adam Zwelling/NETFLIX © 2020.

Sabrina Carpenter as Quinn Ackerman, Liza Koshy as Jasmine Hale in Work It. Photo courtesy Brendan Adam Zwelling/NETFLIX © 2020.

Creating Her Own Lane

Koshy arrived in LA already well known on the now-defunct Vine app. Her six-or-seven second looping video clips presented a first public glimmering of her sketch comedy prowess, which she had been honing online since her junior year in high school. 

Now her air is rarefied. She’s part of an elite group who’ve been able to parlay internet fame into a successful career in television and film.

“That’s what’s wild about today’s world. The only stage I had really been on, outside of dancing in high school, was the stage that I created, the platform we have online now. That was my place of testing and experimenting with characters and jokes and sketches, first on Vine, then YouTube and TikTok,” said Koshy. 

The experimentation was phenomenal, and as her videos went viral, the awards followed. Among other awards, Koshy received the Teen Choice Award for Female Web Star in 2017 and 2018 and Nickelodeon’s Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Funny YouTube Creator in 2018.

"I want to be label-less, like water and flow as I go."
Liza Koshy

She’s created and plays a stable of characters with various accents and back stories including Helga, a ‘cousin’ of unknown origin with an indecipherable accent and Jet Packinski III, the world’s greatest Olympian, a character in which she uses her diminutive size (at 5’0”) and physical comedic abilities to full advantage by hiding in suitcases and swimming in bathtubs. 

Her greatest character, though, may be herself. Even fashion icon and editor-in-chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour, seemingly dispassionate, said, “She’s cute.”

Dressed in head-to-toe-Dior at Paris Fashion week or Balmain at the Met Gala, she is sophisticated, and yet still silly. Her designer clothes may cover her well, but nothing can hide her rapid-fire wit. “I look like I run a champagne business,” she said of one outfit she tried on before Fashion Week. Of another, with Dior backpack strapped on, she quipped, “I look like I go to a really awesome private school.”

With her myriad and innate talents, Koshy is impossible to categorize. If she were a song, she’d be Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.” She is, simply, exceptional at everything entertainment: Comedienne, actress, dancer, singer, host, interviewer, director, producer, influencer.  

“I’ve never known how do define or label myself and then I realized I don’t want to. I want to be label-less, like water and flow as I go. It’s not my business what people call me, but I am running a business here,” said Koshy. 

Ah, shades of her UH career studying business marketing. 

“There’s magic on the UH campus,” said Koshy. “There’s no denying that.”

Koshy was placed on the 2019 Time Magazine “100 Next” list of projected breakout power players. Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

Koshy was placed on the 2019 Time Magazine “100 Next” list of projected breakout power players. Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

Koshy boasts more than 28 million combined subscribers on YouTube and 46 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

Koshy boasts more than 28 million combined subscribers on YouTube and 46 million followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Photo courtesy @lizakoshy Instagram

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