Lia Marie Johnson (born November 23, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and Internet personality, who in 2014 was profiled by Adweek as one of the “10 biggest young stars on YouTube”. She first received recognition for her work on her YouTube channel, where she rose to fame for creating skits and song covers. She also made appearances in the Fine Brothers web series Kids React (2010–2011).
Johnson starred in the sketch comedy series AwesomenessTV (2013–2014), where she was recognized for portraying Terry the Tomboy, whom she also played in the Nickelodeon television movie Terry the Tomboy (2014). In 2015, Johnson made her singing debut with the single “Moment Like You”. The following year, she signed with Capitol Records, and released the single “DNA”, which was featured in the YouTube Premium film The Thinning (2016), which she also starred in as Ellie Harper, a role she reprised in its sequel The Thinning: New World Order (2018). She also starred in the web series T@gged (2016–2018).
Since January 2020, Johnson has been subject to much media coverage following a harassment incident on her Instagram live by her producer, Steven Wetherbee, which led to claims of her being a victim of exploitation, leading to the #SaveLiaMarieJohnson movement. She has also been accused of substance abuse following concerning behaviors in her media appearances following.
Early life
Johnson was born in Wahiawa, Hawaii. She has four sisters and a brother. Her family eventually settled in California. In 2012, in a combined episode of Teens React and Elders React about the 2012 United States presidential election, Johnson stated that she is a Democrat.
Career
Johnson’s YouTube account was created in 2007, with videos uploaded by her mother which featured her performances at talent shows, and church recitals. After two years, Johnson began to control the output of the channel, creating content that has come to include personal commentary, sketch comedy, and musical performances.
In 2010, Johnson began to work with the Fine Brothers as a recurring guest on their Kids React series. This exposure increased the traffic to her own channel and became an early source of her online fame. In the aftermath of the initial series episodes, she was surprised by the phenomenon of strangers knowing her and approaching her as fans, and remarked “I think Kids React was my very first viral video, ‘cus everyone knew my name after that.”
In 2011, Johnson was added to the recurring cast of the spin-off series Teens React, and in 2014 was moved again to the newly established YouTubers React, which featured herself and various well known YouTube personalities. In 2014, Johnson appeared at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, and starred in Terry the Tomboy, a spin-off film based on the eponymous character she portrays on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series, AwesomenessTV.
In 2015 she covered the single “Latch” by Disclosure, singing with Alejandro Luis Manzano of Boyce Avenue, and released it on YouTube. The song was originally performed by singer Sam Smith. Johnson has also been featured on the covers of Adweek and BYou Magazine. On January 9, 2015, Johnson released her first single, “Moment Like You”, along with a music video which can be found on her YouTube channel. She appeared in the music video for Post Malone’s single “Go Flex”, which was released on April 28, 2016.
On September 28, she explained to her fans that she had signed to Capitol Records, and was continuing to work on the music album she had been recording for the previous two years. The following month she released her first single produced by Howard Benson through Capitol Records titled “DNA” which surpassed 29 million Spotify streams. On February 17, 2017 Johnson released her second single “Cold Heart Killer”. The music video for the song was released on March 10, 2017. A year later, Johnson debuted her third single “Champagne” on May 17, 2018.
Starting mid November of 2019, Lia teased a new project on her Instagram page, with one promotional photo being posted everyday. Seven days later, Lia announced her fourth single titled, “Moonflower,” on November 23, 2019. Johnson released her fifth single, “Like a God”, on March 12, 2020.
Personal life
Johnson’s Instagram presence has been publicly concerning as she has been accused of live streaming under the influence of alcohol several times. Concerns have also been raised regarding the relationship between Johnson and her producer Steven Wetherbee, who has been accused of inappropriately touching Johnson without her consent. In January 2020, Wetherbee appeared on Johnson’s Instagram live stream, groping an intoxicated Lia off-camera, before Wetherbee became alarmed of her audience observing this live. Johnson later stated that the police had visited her. Wetherbee was then seen to have taken her phone, ending her stream. In response to the situation, Lia’s fanbase has responded with #SaveLiaMarieJohnson in an attempt to push actions against Steven Wetherbee.
Johnson’s boyfriend, Ryan Bowers, passed away in July 2020. She released several singles with him in the months prior to his death.
In late 2020, she stated on her Instagram Live that she had been sober for months after going to rehab. She also mentioned her sobriety in a comment on the platform.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | No Man’s Land | ||
| When Weather Changed History | Granddaughter | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | Shattered Allegiance | Danielle Rourke (age 10) | Short |
| I Do and I Don’t | Kim (age 10) | Short | |
| Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Cheerleader | One episode (credited as Lia Johnson) | |
| The Unit | Soccer player | 1 episode (uncredited) | |
| Collide | Little girl | Short | |
| Cam Gigandet vs. Twilight Fans | Fan #7 | Video short | |
| 2010 | The Ryan and Randi Show | Singer | Short |
| Shane Dawson TV | Girl watching Degrassi | Episode: “Hot Teens Go Wild On Degrassi: Part 2” | |
| 2010–2011 | Kids React | Herself | |
| 2010 | The Station | Bethanny | 1 episode |
| Sidewalk Symphony | Female drummer | Short | |
| 2010–2011 | OMGtv!! LIVE | Herself | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Monster in My Swimming Pool | Katie | Short |
| 2011–2014 | Teens React | Herself | |
| 2011 | The Rehearsal | Penny | |
| 2012 | Nerd Wars! | Doris | Short |
| Open Your Eyes | Short | ||
| It’s a Criminal World | Segment: “Shattered Allegiance” | ||
| Teens Wanna Know | Guest | 1 episode | |
| Finding Cody | Lilli | ||
| 2012–2014 | MyMusic | Rayna | 14 episodes |
| 2013 | Counterpunch | Lia | |
| Spirits | Kaelyn Farrow | 3 episodes | |
| 2013–2014 | AwesomenessTV | Various | |
| 2014 | Expelled | Katie | |
| Terry the Tomboy | Terry | Television film (Nickelodeon) | |
| React to That | Herself | ||
| 2014–2015 | YouTubers React | Herself | |
| 2015 | Everything Before Us | Tiff | Wong Fu Productions |
| 2016 | The Thinning | Ellie Harper | YouTube Red Original Movie |
| American Wrestler: The Wizard | Kristi Larson | ESX Productions | |
| 2016–2018 | T@gged | Hailey Jensen | 24 episodes |
| 2018 | Bayou Caviar | Kat | |
| The Thinning: New World Order | Ellie Harper | YouTube Red Original Movie |
Discography
As a lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance |
|||
| “Moment Like You” | 2015 | — | Non-album single |
| “DNA” | 2016 | — | |
| “Cold Heart Killer” | 2017 | — | |
| “The Wave” (with R3HAB) |
2018 | 33 | The Wave |
| “Champagne” | — | Non-album single | |
| “Moonflower” | 2019 | — | |
| “Like a God” | 2020 | — | |
| “Lifts” | 2021 | — | |
| “Nectar” | 2021 | — |
As a featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | |||
| “Falling For You” (Norman Doray & Anevo featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
2016 | — | Non-album single |
| “Polarized” (Alicia Eris featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
2019 | — | Universoul |
| “Dna” (Heartbrkkidd featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
2020 | — | Non-album single |
| “Bang!” (Hues featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | ||
| “Up All Night” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia) |
— | ||
| “Work for It” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson & Nuthen Nyce) |
— | ||
| “Long Road” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | ||
| “Dreaming” (Lxmb featuring Lia Marie Johnson, Tay Diddy & Dre Da Kingpen) |
— | ||
| “Right Now” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | Running With Scissors | |
| “By The Bank” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | ||
| “Locked Up” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | ||
| “I Don’t Need You” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | ||
| “Don’t Go Nowhere” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | ||
| “Withdrawals” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | ||
| “I Need You” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | Non-album single | |
| “Find No Love” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lit-One & Lia Marie Johnson) |
— | ||
| “Let Me Breathe” (Ryan Bowers featuring Lia Marie Johnson & Cliff Rich) |
— |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Original Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Let’s Roll | Trevi Moran |
| “Moment Like You” | Herself | |
| 2016 | “Youth” | Troye Sivan |
| “Go Flex” | Post Malone | |
| “DNA” | Herself | |
| 2017 | “Cold Heart Killer” | Herself |
| 2020 | “Up All Night” | Ryan Bowers, Herself |
| “Anymore” | Ryan Bowers |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Woodie Awards | Social Climber Woodie | Herself | Nominated | [25 |