She’s a rising star! Josephine Langford became a household name after the first After movie hit theaters in April 2019.
The actress plays Tessa Young in the fan-favorite film series based on the books by Anna Todd. “There was just this energy about Tessa that I felt I could connect with, I could understand the way she thinks,” the actress told Harper’s Bazaar Australia in May 2019 about taking on the role. “She has a very helpful inner dialogue in the story and when I read it, I had this intense feeling of really wanting to make sure she wasn’t portrayed as a caricature of a ‘good girl’. I really liked the journey that she goes on being a young woman exploring her sexuality, and to have that be the story, to see that from her perspective, there was just something about it that I thought was very empowering and very important.”
Before nabbing her breakout role in the After franchise, Josephine made her film debut in the 2017 Wish Upon, although she had dreams of Hollywood way before then. “It’s just such a satisfying feeling,” she told Teen Vogue in October 2020, noting that acting in a school play at eight years old felt “like a high.”
In December 2020, Josephine and the rest of the After cast wrapped filming on the third and fourth movies. Going forward, she’s ready say goodbye to Tessa and explore new characters. “I’m able to take a little more time with what I want to do next, and it’s really nice to have the privilege and the freedom to be able to do that,” she also told Teen Vogue. “I think it’s more realistic, when you’re starting out as an actor, it’s important to keep level-headed.”
The After We Fell and After Ever Happy release dates have yet to be announced, so there’s lots more to see when it comes to Josephine as Tessa. Until then, fans can watch her play a high school cheerleader in the March 2021 Netflix release Moxie. “It’s definitely an important film because a lot of the issues in it are really relevant,” Josephine said during an interview with TooFab following the movie’s release. “ It touches on intersectionality and feminism and generational differences in activism and how different generations choose to advocate differently … I think it just touches on a lot of really relevant things for the time that we’re living in.”
Before checking out any of Josephine’s movies, scroll through our for everything you need to know about the budding superstar!
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She’s a Netflix Star
Aside from the final two After movies, Josephine has a pretty big starring role in Netflix’s March 2021 movie Moxie.
She Has a Famous Sister
Fans may recognize Josephine’s sister as Katherine Langford from 13 Reasons Why.
She Keeps Her Love Life Private
When it comes to her relationship status, Josephine keeps things under wraps. At one point, fans were convinced that she was romantically involved with her After costar Hero Fiennes-Tiffen, but the pair have clarified that they’re just friends.
“My brain has so many qualities that do not work with social media,” she told Refinery29 in April 2019. “I’m an overthinker, I’m overly private, and those two personality traits just do not work when it comes to Instagram.”
She’s Ready for Anything
When it comes to film roles, Josephine will try anything! “It would be fun to play a really good, complicated three-dimensional villain,” the actress said during her Refinery29 interview. “There’s only a few villains, in my opinion, in the history of film that are really, really special; making a good villain is hard.”
