# Lia Marie Johnson
**Lia Marie Johnson** (born 1996 in Wahiawa, Hawaii) is an American actress, singer, and internet personality who first built a following as a preteen through her YouTube channel and her appearances in the Fine Brothers' React web series, then moved into acting and a [Capitol Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/capitol-records) recording contract.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3096796/) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lia-marie-johnson-mn0003187079)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1996, Wahiawa, Hawaii; part of a military family that lived in Florida and Southern California[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3096796/) |
| YouTube channel | Launched December 17, 2007; the first six videos were talent-show performances uploaded by her mother[3](https://youtube.fandom.com/wiki/LiaMarieJohnson) |
| React series | Appeared at age 13 in the first Kids React episode (October 2010), then Teens React from 2011 and YouTubers React from 2014[4](https://commarts.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Santo_AwesomenessTV.pdf) • [5](https://www.madalynwatson.com/articles/whats-happening-to-lia-marie-johnson/) |
| Channel reach by 2012 | Nearly 16 million views, mostly short personal vlogs, sketch comedy, and song performances[4](https://commarts.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Santo_AwesomenessTV.pdf) |
| Breakout acting roles | Rayna on the web series MyMusic (2012–2014); title role in the Nickelodeon TV movie Terry the Tomboy (June 2014)[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lia-marie-johnson-mn0003187079) |
| Music | Self-released "Moment Like You" in 2015; signed with Capitol Records; single "DNA" released October 2016[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/lia-marie-johnson/umc.cpc.5n0n9bwqzeuya1py5ec5vt762) • [7](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lia-marie-johnson-president-obama-interview) |
| Social media (2016) | About 1.6 million Instagram followers and 1.7 million YouTube subscribers at age 19[7](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lia-marie-johnson-president-obama-interview) |
## Early life and YouTube start
Johnson was born in Wahiawa, Hawaii, into a military family; her father served in the army, and the family later lived in Florida and then [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3096796/) • [8](https://www.legit.ng/1311727-lia-marie-johnson-bio-what-happened-to-the-youtuber.html) She is the eldest of six children, with four sisters and one brother.[8](https://www.legit.ng/1311727-lia-marie-johnson-bio-what-happened-to-the-youtuber.html) Her mother helped her create a YouTube account in 2007, and the earliest uploads captured her performances at talent shows and church recitals.[8](https://www.legit.ng/1311727-lia-marie-johnson-bio-what-happened-to-the-youtuber.html) • [3](https://youtube.fandom.com/wiki/LiaMarieJohnson) After about two years she took control of the channel herself, posting vlogs, sketch comedy, song covers, and personal commentary.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lia-marie-johnson-mn0003187079) • [3](https://youtube.fandom.com/wiki/LiaMarieJohnson)
## The React series and web series work
**Kids React made her known.** In October 2010, at age 13, Johnson appeared in the first episode of the Fine Brothers' Kids React, a web series in which children and tweens reacted to viral videos and pop-culture events.[4](https://commarts.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Santo_AwesomenessTV.pdf) • [5](https://www.madalynwatson.com/articles/whats-happening-to-lia-marie-johnson/) She was featured in 42 more Kids React videos until 2011, when she became the first cast member to "graduate" to the spin-off Teens React; she later appeared on YouTubers React in 2014.[5](https://www.madalynwatson.com/articles/whats-happening-to-lia-marie-johnson/) • [3](https://youtube.fandom.com/wiki/LiaMarieJohnson) Her popularity on the React series fed traffic to her own channel, which had received nearly 16 million views by 2012.[4](https://commarts.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Santo_AwesomenessTV.pdf)
The exposure carried into scripted work. Johnson played Rayna, the daughter of the character Metal, on the Fine Brothers' transmedia sitcom [MyMusic](https://www.edgepedia.org/mymusic) from 2012 to 2014, appearing in 24 episodes.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lia-marie-johnson-mn0003187079) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3096796/) She also sang in the teen pop trio Pink Army before leaving to focus on acting.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lia-marie-johnson-mn0003187079)
## Film and television acting
In 2014 Johnson played the title role in Terry the Tomboy, a [Nickelodeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/nickelodeon) television movie spun off from the character she portrayed on the AwesomenessTV sketch comedy series; the movie premiered on the cable network in June 2014.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lia-marie-johnson-mn0003187079) • [5](https://www.madalynwatson.com/articles/whats-happening-to-lia-marie-johnson/) That same year she appeared in the comedy film Expelled alongside [Cameron Dallas](https://www.edgepedia.org/cameron-dallas).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3096796/)
Her most substantial acting run came in 2016 to 2018. She played Hailey Jensen in T@gged, AwesomenessTV's psychological thriller series about what happens when social media profiles fall into the wrong hands, for 24 episodes across 2016–2018.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3096796/) • [9](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/awesomenesstv-tagged-series-lia-marie-johnson-interview) She also played Ellie Harper in the YouTube Red science-fiction film [The Thinning](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-thinning) (2016) and its sequel [The Thinning: New World Order](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-thinning-new-world-order) (2018), appearing alongside [Logan Paul](https://www.edgepedia.org/logan-paul) and Peyton List.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3096796/) • [5](https://www.madalynwatson.com/articles/whats-happening-to-lia-marie-johnson/) Other film credits include American Wrestler: The Wizard (2016), with a cast that included Jon Voight and William Fichtner, Emma's Chance (2016), and Cuba Gooding Jr.'s directorial debut Bayou Caviar (2018).[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lia-marie-johnson-mn0003187079) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3096796/)
## Music career
Johnson self-released her debut single, "Moment Like You," in 2015, and signed with Capitol Records the following year.[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/lia-marie-johnson/umc.cpc.5n0n9bwqzeuya1py5ec5vt762) Her Capitol single "DNA" and its music video premiered on October 21, 2016.[7](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lia-marie-johnson-president-obama-interview) She wrote the song about her father and their relationship, telling [Teen Vogue](https://www.edgepedia.org/teen-vogue) that she compared her own struggles to things he had gone through and that the two later rebuilt a good relationship.[7](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lia-marie-johnson-president-obama-interview) She followed with "Cold Hearted Killer" in February 2017 and collaborated with the producer R3hab on a song called "The Wave."[5](https://www.madalynwatson.com/articles/whats-happening-to-lia-marie-johnson/) Her later releases include "Somebody" and "Holding On," and her catalog is described as blending atmospheric pop production with alternative R&B influences.[10](https://oohyeah.app/liamariejohnson/bio)
During this period she also interviewed President Barack Obama, speaking with him about climate change and other issues; Obama greeted her with "Aloha," noting that both were originally from Hawaii.[7](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lia-marie-johnson-president-obama-interview)
## Later years
Johnson disappeared from YouTube around May 2018, and in 2019 a series of Instagram Live streams showing her in an altered state drew widespread concern from followers and speculation about her well-being.[11](https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/liamarie) In 2020, Insider reported that an Instagram Live appeared to show her with the music producer Steven Wetherbee, who had been involved in her career since she was a teenager.[12](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/former-youtube-star-lia-marie-212208886.html)
In a 2021 video interview, Johnson, then 26, said that moving to Los Angeles at 17 had led to a period of addiction and abuse, and reported that she was living in the English countryside with her boyfriend and had reached 10 months of sobriety; she released new music around the same time.[12](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/former-youtube-star-lia-marie-212208886.html) By that point her 2016 single "DNA" had accrued about 21 million views.[12](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/former-youtube-star-lia-marie-212208886.html) She has continued releasing music independently, with recent releases promoted through her own channels.[13](https://linktr.ee/liamariejohnson)
## References
1. [Lia Marie Johnson, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3096796/)
2. [Lia Marie Johnson Biography, AllMusic (Marcy Donelson)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lia-marie-johnson-mn0003187079)
3. [LiaMarieJohnson, Wikitubia](https://youtube.fandom.com/wiki/LiaMarieJohnson)
4. [Avi Santo, "AwesomenessTV: Talent Management and Merchandising on Multi-channel Networks," in From Networks to Netflix (Routledge, 2018)](https://commarts.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Santo_AwesomenessTV.pdf)
5. [Madalyn Watson, "What's happening to Lia Marie Johnson?"](https://www.madalynwatson.com/articles/whats-happening-to-lia-marie-johnson/)
6. [Lia Marie Johnson, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/lia-marie-johnson/umc.cpc.5n0n9bwqzeuya1py5ec5vt762)
7. [De Elizabeth, "Lia Marie Johnson on Interviewing President Obama, New Single," Teen Vogue, November 8, 2016](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lia-marie-johnson-president-obama-interview)
8. [Yul Vincent Osoro, "Lia Marie Johnson bio: what happened to the YouTuber?" Legit.ng, February 1, 2021](https://www.legit.ng/1311727-lia-marie-johnson-bio-what-happened-to-the-youtuber.html)
9. ["AwesomenessTV's New Series 'T@gged' Premieres Today," Teen Vogue](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/awesomenesstv-tagged-series-lia-marie-johnson-interview)
10. [Lia Marie Johnson artist bio, OohYeah](https://oohyeah.app/liamariejohnson/bio)
11. [Lucy, "Is Lia Marie Johnson Schizophrenic or On Drugs?" HubPages, January 8, 2021](https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/liamarie)
12. ["Former YouTube star Lia Marie Johnson says moving to LA at 17 led to a dark spiral of addiction and abuse," Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/former-youtube-star-lia-marie-212208886.html)
13. [Lia Marie Johnson official Linktree](https://linktr.ee/liamariejohnson)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Online creators and internet personalities › Comedy and prank creators › Sketch and vlog comedians › Sketch comedy creators*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license