History of Lia Marie Johnson in Timeline

November 23, 1996

Lia Marie Johnson (born November 23, 1996) is an American internet personality, actress, and singer. She first received recognition for her work on YouTube, rising to fame for creating skits and song covers, and for her appearances in the Fine Brothers web series Kids React (2010–2011). She then played Terry the Tomboy in the sketch comedy series AwesomenessTV (2013–2014) and the Nickelodeon television movie Terry the Tomboy (2014).

2007

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. Between 2009-2011, Johnson released music as part of the girl group Pink Army.

2010

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."

2011

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. She was profiled by Adweek in 2014 as one of the "biggest young stars on YouTube".

2015

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.

2015

Johnson self-released her debut single "Moment Like You" in 2015, and signed with Capitol Records the following year. She then starred in the YouTube Premium films The Thinning (2016) and The Thinning: New World Order (2018), and in the web series T@gged (2016–2018). She independently released her debut extended play Pomegranate in 2024.

February 17, 2017

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 1 million Spotify streams. In November of that year, she interviewed then-current president Barack Obama. 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.

November 2019

Starting mid November 2019, Lia teased a new project on her Instagram page, with one promotional photo being posted every day. 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.

January 02, 2020

On January 2, 2020, Johnson streamed on Instagram Live what appeared to be her intoxicated in a room. During the live stream, an older male alleged by those close to Johnson as being her producer since she was 15, Steven Wetherbee, is heard talking and seen wrapping his arms around Johnson and kissing her. The older male then repeatedly asks Johnson whether or not she is on Instagram, warning her to stay off of it as it could damage his career. In a stream later the same evening, a male voice asks about Instagram again, then Instagram Live, and then takes Johnson's phone away. His face is briefly on the stream before it is paused and eventually ends.

January 01, 2021

In the first half of 2021, Johnson began posting personal videos and covers on her YouTube channel again after four years of inactivity. She released the single "Lifts" on January 1, 2021, followed by "Nectar" on March 19 and "Venus Sunrise" on April 30. An accompanying music video was issued for all three songs.

2022

In 2022, Johnson announced she had moved to England to live with her boyfriend, English musician Charlie Hudson. They married in 2023.

October 2022

In October 2022, Johnson started teasing upcoming music that she had been preparing for 2023.

January 04, 2023

In a video released on January 4, 2023, Johnson discussed repeated abuse she suffered and confirmed her producer at the time was taking advantage of her in the Instagram Live incident. She went on to state she felt trapped in the situation, was lured out of her sobriety by Wetherbee, and went on Instagram Live as a cry for help.