Biography
Date of Birth
5 December 2001, Sacramento, California, USA
Height
5' 3" (1.6 m)
Mini Biography
Josie Totah is an immensely talented actor, writer and producer with a gift for bringing dynamic characters to life. As she fearlessly evolves her body of work with each new project, Totah is fast proving to be one of Hollywood's most engaging and sought after young talents. Totah has been recognized by numerous prestigious publications including being named to The Hollywood Reporter's Top 30 Stars Under 18, Forbes 30 Under 30 (Hollywood), Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21, Out Magazine OUT100 and Seventeen Magazine's 6 Women Under 21 Who Are Changing the World.
Josie will be starring as "Lexi", the most popular girl at Bayside High, in the reboot of the iconic series SAVED BY THE BELL from Universal Television and Peacock. The series was created by Emmy winning writer Tracy Wigfleld and will feature several members of the original cast. Totah will also serve as a Producer of the series.
Josie can also be seen in the upcoming feature film MOXIE directed by Amy Poehler. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Jennifer Mathieu about girls who start a feminist revolution in high school and will premiere on Netflix in 2021.
Josie recently starred in Amazon's half hour pilot, GOOD PEOPLE, created by Whitney Cummings and Lee Daniels. The pilot focuses on three generations of women, played by Lisa Kudrow, Whitney Cummings and Totah, all working in the ombudsman's office of a college. Josie is Talulah, the smart, brash Generation Z voice of social injustice. The pilot also co-stars Greg Kinnear, Martin Short and Ian Harding.
Totah is most known for her starring role in NBC's comedy television series CHAMPIONS created by Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy. The series focuses on a charismatic 15-year-old, 'Michael' (Totah), who is sent to live with his estranged father 'Vince' (Anders Holm) who is living the bachelor dream in New York City. Totah received critical acclaim for the role and was deemed the breakout star of the series, garnering instant affection from fans and critics.
Totah can be seen starring alongside Adam Devine in Walt Disney Pictures' MAGIC CAMP. The young adult comedy follows a former magician who returns to his youth camp to reignite his career. In Summer 2017 she was also seen in Columbia Pictures & Marvel Studios' SPIDERMAN:HOMECOMING as 'Seymour.' Totah also appeared in Chris Kelly's debut feature OTHER PEOPLE opposite Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford and Zach Woods, which was released in September 2016. The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival where Totah received rave reviews for her riveting performance and was included in Variety's 2016 Breakout Stars portfolio, InStyle Magazine's 10 Rising Stars to Watch and a Most Inspirational Person at Sundance.
In 2015, Totah starred in the sixth and final season of Fox's hit series GLEE as 'Myron Muskovitz', a strong-armed prodigy and child tyrant in one. This follows her performance in Disney Channel's Kids' Choice nominated series JESSIE, for which Totah received a 2014 Young Artist nomination for Best Performance in a TV Series-Recurring Young Actor 10 & Under.She starred in several notable television series including: Comedy Central's The Other Two, CBS' Primetime Emmy nominated series 2 BROKE GIRLS, Fox's Golden Globe nominated comedy NEW GIRL, TV Land's Primetime Emmy nominated comedy THE EXES, Disney's Primetime Emmy nominated animation series SOFIA THE FIRST, as well as recurring in the Netflix series, No Good Nick. She also starred in ABC's comedy BACK IN THE GAME alongside James Caan and Maggie Lawson.
In addition to her career in front of camera, Totah is a television and film writer and currently serves as a Producer on the Peacock series SAVED BY THE BELL. At the age of 15, she sold her first television pitch to Universal Television/NBC. The single camera sitcom with the working title AUNT NANCY, based on her real life aunt, had Totah set to produce alongside Adam and Naomi Scott, as well as star in it. She is currently working on new scripts and original projects, all while attending Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media.
Totah is also an LGBTQ activist who regularly appears on panels discussing LBGTQ rights and inclusion of LGBTQ characters in film and television. Totah was recognized by the Human Rights Campaign who honored her with the prestigious Visibility Award in 2018 and the Upstander Award in 2019. She was named by Out Magazine to Out100. Totah is also a celebrity ambassador for GLAAD and GLSEN where she serves as a member of the GLSEN Game Change Council.
Trivia
Her father is of Palestinian descent (from Ramallah). Her mother is of one-half Lebanese, one-quarter Irish, and one-quarter Italian ancestry.
Grew up in Davis, California.
Totah began her career playing male roles but publicly came out as transgender in TIME Magazine in August 2018 and changed her first name from Joseph to Josie.
Quotes
I think, almost, the film industry thinks that by making gay characters super masculine, it's an attempt at saying being gay is OK if you act like straight people. I don't think we should just have gay characters who are 100 percent femme, either. I just think it's about that mix and creating more diverse gay characters.
I have never worn a sweater vest a day in my life. Nor will I ever wear a sweater vest.
I go to a small Catholic school where we have mass every week and say a prayer every morning, but we also are in Los Angeles, where people are so progressive and open.
I feel like we need to create more roles that give LGBTQ people the opportunity to be on screen.
I believe that I am transgender to help people understand differences. It allows me to gain perspective, to be more accepting of others, because I know what it feels like to know you're not like everyone else.
If I were to have seen more people that looked like me - because I'm Palestinian and Lebanese - and talked like me and acted like me, I probably would have had a lot more hope knowing that I wasn't alone. I really hope that this show, 'Champions,' gives that to people.
Not everybody comes out when they're in their twenties, you know?
I love a good pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt on my day-to-day.
You can do whatever you wanna do. If you're a girl - girl, you get on the football team, okay? If you identify as a boy, you put on some makeup, and you work that stage!
I love talking to people and entertaining people.
As long as you've got pride, you're good.
I'm happy to be a part of this new generation where people don't care where you come from, what your orientation is, or what your identity is. They just accept you for you.
I definitely pride myself on suffering through a real high school. A lot of my friends are homeschooled, and I love them for it, but I really wanted that high school experience.
I get reached out to by a lot of people who just thank me for representing them and their friends. Just showing people like them on TV. It's just really awesome to hear from them.
I feel like I'm absolutely insane, and I don't think I could probably do anything else. I just love entertaining, and I feel like pretending to be people... and having that as a job is crazy.
I like to think of myself as a confidently outgoing person.
Getting to play a role that hasn't been played is such an honor.
There are funny gay people, and there are funny Indian people, and that's why we watch TV, to laugh. It only makes sense to include all types of funny people, whether or not they're gay or straight or what have you.
I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to go in front of someone and twerk on them.
I am a big fan of musical theater.
Pretty much my dreams came true when I did a duet with Lea Michele.
This is going to sound bad, but it's not hard to be super mean. It's actually really fun to play a mean boy.
I got to record at Capital Records, which was especially awesome. You see all those big singers like Ariana Grande, Beyonce: they're all recording at Capital. It was really cool to be there every single day and just hang out.
Jane Lynch is the nicest person I've ever worked with.
I am an avid SoulCycler, so I feel like I get some credit for that. I just don't like the idea of people looking at each other while they sweat.
I could wake up at any time of the day and be ready to party.
My entire family, we were obsessed with 'Glee,' so when I got an audition, I was freaking out. But I knew exactly what to do, I had watched the show so many times.
My family is so loving and so encouraging. Ever since I was little, it was implanted in my head - and my sister's and my brother's - that we could do anything our heart desired to do, and to not be afraid.
I saw my sister in this production of 'Whistle Down the Wind' - my sister was a really big theater kid - and when I saw her do that, I was so obsessed. Those were like my first words; I was singing along to the songs. From that point on, I did theater, and then I got into acting in film and television.
All that young people have to look up to are older role models, and I think it's important to have people like myself show that it's OK to be who you are when you're young.
All of the children need to know, all of the little kiddies and fetuses out there. Even if they're not out of the womb yet, they need to know that it's okay to be whoever the heck you are.
It helps me as an actor to always be on top of my stuff.
I am very aware of the boring life of Sacramento.
I was obsessed with carrara marble. I had a carrara marble phone case.
My sister, brother, and I are 180 degrees different. Having a conversation with them, you have to tread lightly.
When I was five, long before I understood what the word 'gender' meant, I would always tell my mother that I wished I were a girl.
I want to continue to use my platform to tell my story to let young people that are struggling with their sexuality or identity know they are not alone, and it will get better.
I can only imagine how much more fun it's going to be to play someone who shares my identity rather than having to contort myself to play a boy. I'm going to gun for those roles, be it a transgender female or a cisgender female.
On the playground, I was the type of kid who wanted to sing with the girls, not play soccer with the boys.
I know what the audience is looking for and have the ability to deliver that content.
My pronouns are she, her, and hers. I identify as female, specifically as a transgender female. And my name is Josie Totah.
Not only was I really, really depressed when I was not out to the world, but I just finished my NBC series, and I didn't think it was right to come out during that when I was playing a male character.
When I was on 'The View,' I went backstage to Whoopi Goldberg's dressing room, and she told me, 'People are going to love what you do, and people are going to hate what you do, but you have to keep doing it. You have to stand up and do what you know is true, despite what people are going to say.' And I'm taking that into every aspect of my life.
I want to tell everyone that no matter what's keeping them from being their authentic self to hold on to the hope that there will be an end to that road. There will be a life where they can live their true self.
When my friends and family call me Josie, it feels like I'm being seen. It's something everyone wants, to feel understood.
I was literally so different that I could not hide or be shy.
If you see someone being hurt, if you see someone being harmed, and if you see someone that's not in a safe position, you need to definitely say something.
I definitely stuck out like a sore thumb. I came to the conclusion - I had to at such a young age - if no one was going to be like me, then I just have to own it. If I can't be like everyone else, then I might as well just own who I am.
At age 15, I sold a television series to NBC.
'Black Mirror' is definitely my favorite show.
I've always liked musical theater, and getting to do stuff like that where I can just dance around and just be crazy is just super fun.
