Kian Lawley

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Kian Lawley
Lawley in 2014
Personal information
Born
Kian Robert Lawley

(1995-09-02) September 2, 1995 (age 28)
Occupation(s)YouTube personality, actor, streamer
PartnerAyla Woodruff (2019–present)
Children1
YouTube information
Channelssuperkian13, KianLawleyVODS, KianAndJc[1]
Years active2010–present
Subscribers3.22 million (superkian13)
101 thousand (KianLawleyVODS)
3.82 million (KianAndJc)
(June 2023)
Total views70.5 million (superkian13)
11.6 million (KianLawleyVODS)
847 million (KianAndJc)
(June 2023)
Associated actsJC Caylen
100,000 subscribers2012
1,000,000 subscribers2014

Kian Robert Lawley (born September 2, 1995) is an American YouTuber, influencer and actor.

Lawley launched his personal YouTube channel, superkian13, in 2010. Lawley has also been a part of collaborative YouTube channels, including Our2ndLife. Lawley shares the YouTube channel "KianAndJc" with fellow YouTuber JC Caylen.

Lawley's first role in a feature film was in the 2015 film The Chosen. Lawley went on to feature in the films Shovel Buddies (2016), Boo! A Madea Halloween (2016), Boo 2! A Madea Halloween (2017), Before I Fall (2017) for which he won a Teen Choice Award, and Monster Party (2018). In 2017, Lawley worked with Caylen on their show H8TERS and starred in the Daytime Emmy Award winning first season of "Zac & Mia". In 2018, footage of Lawley resurfaced in which he used racial slurs, leading to his role in The Hate U Give being recast, and to him being dropped by his talent agency, CAA.

Early life[edit]

Kian Lawley was born on September 2, 1995, in Sioux City, Iowa. He has Polish, Irish and German heritage. At a young age, his family moved to San Clemente, California.[2][better source needed]

Career[edit]

2010–2015: Early YouTube career[edit]

Lawley launched his first channel in 2010, under the name Superkian13.[3] Lawley also had a collaborative channel with Sam Pottorff in 2011, named KianSam13.[citation needed] In 2012, Lawley started a collaborative channel Our2ndLife (commonly known as O2L) along with JC Caylen, Ricky Dillon, Trevi Moran, Connor Franta, and Sam Pottorff. The channel grew to over 2.8 million subscribers and in 2014 the group headlined a 19-city tour but they later separated in December 2014.[1] Lawley and Caylen launched their collaborative channel KianAndJc in January 2015.[1] At the 2015 Teen Choice Awards, Lawley won the award for Choice YouTuber.[4]

2015–2018: Acting career[edit]

Lawley's first starring role was in the 2015 film The Chosen in which he played a 19 year old who must contend with a demon to save his niece.[5] In 2016, he co-starred with Bella Thorne in the comedy Shovel Buddies.[6] In March 2016, the film was selected and premiered at SXSW Festival.[7] In an interview about the film Lawley said "I don't plan to ditch to YouTube, I plan to do both [acting and YouTube]".[8] Lawley also played "Bean Boy" in the 2016 Tyler Perry comedy Boo! A Madea Halloween.[9]

In 2017, Lawley and JC Caylen starred in and executive produced their show H8TERS, a comedy about internet celebrities, haters and millennial culture.[10] That year, Lawley appeared alongside Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, and Logan Miller in the film Before I Fall,[11][12][13] for which he won the award for Choice Movie Actor: Drama at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards.[14] In 2017 he also starred in the series "Zac & Mia", a show that follows the lives of two ordinary teenagers undergoing cancer treatment.[15] The show was nominated for six Daytime Emmy Awards and won two: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series and Outstanding Writing in a Digital Drama Series.[16][17] In 2017, AwesomenessTV renewed "Zac & Mia" for a second season.[15] In 2018, Lawley received a nomination for the Best Actor In A Digital Drama Daytime Emmy Award for his performance in "Zac & Mia".[18][19]

On February 5, 2018, it was announced that Lawley had been fired from The Hate U Give due to a resurfaced video showing Lawley using racially offensive slurs. His scenes as Chris, the main character's boyfriend, were reshot with Riverdale star KJ Apa.[20] Lawley released an apology on Twitter, stating, "I am deeply sorry to those that were effected [sic] by my choice of language. I respect Fox's decision to recast this role for The Hate U Give as it is an important story, and it would not be appropriate for me to be involved considering the actions of my past. I understand the impact and I have grown a lot and learned since then." He was subsequently dropped by his talent agency CAA.[21]

2019–present: The Reality House[edit]

Lawley and Caylen have taken a shift on their channel with more significant productions. In July 2019, they premiered their new Big Brother-style series The Reality House which features a group of YouTubers in a house competing to win $25,000.[22] The series did extremely well, gaining over 25 million views collectively across all ten episodes and a second season began filming in November 2019.[23] The second season premiered in January 2020 and included more elaborate challenges and an increased prize of $50,000.[24] The second season was also a success online with the first two seasons gaining nearly a million views per episode. A Fourth season is pending.[25]

Personal life[edit]

Kian is in a relationship with social media influencer Ayla Woodruff. The couple have a son, Coast Corey Woodruff Lawley who was born on October 11, 2023.[26]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role
2015 The Chosen Cameron
2016 Shovel Buddies Dan
Boo! A Madea Halloween Bean Boy
2017 Before I Fall Rob Cockran
2018 Monster Party Elliot Dawson

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes Refs
2017 H8TERS Himself / Frank 10 episodes [10]
2017 Apologies in Advance Himself Season 1 Finale [citation needed]
2017 Guilty Party Jake 8 episodes [27]
2017–2019 Zac & Mia Zac Meier Web series; main role [28]
2020–present Perfect Commando Vantaa "Van" Hamilton Main role [29]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Nominated Award Result Refs
2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice Web Star: Comedy (as part of Our 2nd Life) Won [30]
2015 Teen Choice Awards Choice YouTuber Won [31]
2016 Teen Choice Awards Choice YouTuber Nominated [32]
Streamy Awards Entertainer of the Year Nominated [33]
2017 Teen Choice Awards Choice Drama Movie Actor Won [14]
2018 Daytime Emmys Best Actor In A Digital Drama Nominated [19]
2020 Shorty Awards Best YouTube Ensemble (shared with Jc Caylen) Won [34]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Former O2L Members Form New YouTube Channel KianAndJc". The Hollywood Reporter. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  2. ^ "25 facts about Kian Lawley | Slidely Buzz". Slidely. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  3. ^ "superkian13". YouTube. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  4. ^ Costantino, George. "Teen Choice Awards Recap and Complete Winners' List". ABC News. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  5. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (9 June 2015). "Kian Lawley Thriller 'The Chosen' to Premiere During VidCon". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  6. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (June 2015). "Bella Thorne, Kian Lawley to Star in AwesomenessTV's 'Shovel Buddies'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  7. ^ "SXSW: Awesomeness Films Exec Talks Aging Up Teen Brand With Drama 'Shovel Buddies'". The Hollywood Reporter. March 14, 2016.
  8. ^ "Bella Thorne, Kian Lawley Talk 'Shovel Buddies' at SXSW". TheWrap. 15 March 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  9. ^ "Tyler Perry Will Wear Dress Again in 'Boo! A Madea Halloween'". TheWrap. 19 January 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Evans, Greg (2017-01-17). "YouTubers Kian Lawley & Jc Caylen's 'H8TERS' Gets Greenlight From Fullscreen & Astronauts Wanted". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  11. ^ Coggan, Devan. "Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley to star in Before I Fall". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  12. ^ Sneider, Jeff (27 October 2015). "Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley Join Zoey Deutch in 'Before I Fall'". TheWrap. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  13. ^ Patten, Dominic (2016-12-05). "Sundance 2017: Robert Redford, New Rashida Jones Netflix Series, 'Rebel In The Rye' & More On Premiere, Docu, Midnight & Kids Slates". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  14. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca; Knapp, J. D. (2017-08-14). "Teen Choice Awards 2017: 'Riverdale,' Fifth Harmony Shut Out Competition". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  15. ^ a b Petski, Denise (2017-11-29). "'Zac And Mia' YA Series Renewed For Season 2 By AwesomenessTV". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  16. ^ "Perth author inspires Emmy-winning series". The West Australian. 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  17. ^ Thompson, Avery (2019-01-31). "'Zac & Mia' Season 2 Trailer: Zac & Mia Fight & Their Future Is Uncertain — Watch". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  18. ^ Montgomery and Sheehan, Daniel and Paul (21 March 2018). "2018 Daytime Emmy nominations: Full list of nominees for 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards". goldderby. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Daytime Emmy Awards 2018 Winners: The Complete List". E! News. 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  20. ^ Pedersen, Erik (February 5, 2018). "Fox Axes YouTube Star Kian Lawley From 'The Hate U Give' Over Racially Offensive Video". Deadline. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  21. ^ "CAA Drops YouTuber Kian Lawley After He Gets Fired From Fox Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  22. ^ Weiss, Geoff (2019-07-12). "Kian And JC To Launch $25,000 'Big Brother'-Style Series With 13 YouTuber Contestants". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  23. ^ Weiss, Geoff (2019-11-07). "With 25 Million Views On Season 1, Kian And JC Are Readying Another 'Reality House'". Tubefilter. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  24. ^ Perelli, Amanda (2020-01-29). "YouTube duo Kian and JC explain their big ambitions for 'The Reality House,' their show where influencers compete in challenges for $50,000". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  25. ^ Lorenz, Taylor (2020-07-09). "It Looks Like a Reality Show. Why Not Just Make It One?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  26. ^ "@ayla_woodruff Instagram". Instagram. 14 October 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  27. ^ Spangler, Todd (2017-08-16). "AT&T Hello Lab Casts Digital Influencers for Cyberbullying Social-Media Drama Series 'Guilty Party'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  28. ^ Petski, Denise (2017-03-20). "YouTube Star Kian Lawley & Anne Winters To Topline 'Zac And Mia' YA Series On Go90". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  29. ^ "Kian Lawley, Katherine C. Hughes Starring in Finnish Comedy 'Perfect Commando'". Variety. July 18, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  30. ^ Hernandez, Brian Anthony (11 August 2014). "YouTube and Vine Stars Win Big for #TeamInternet at Teen Choice Awards". Mashable. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  31. ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2015 Winners: Full List". Variety. 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  32. ^ "Choice Muser - Teen Choice Awards: Complete List of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  33. ^ Spangler, Todd (2016-10-05). "Streamy Awards 2016: Full Winners List". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  34. ^ "The 12th Annual Shorty Awards Winners". shortyawards.com.

External links[edit]