Nostalgia: Remember the Child Star From Disney's 'Jessie'? See What She Looks Like Today — Photos

She was once the young performer audiences watched on Disney Channel, but the actress who grew up in front of the camera has a story that goes far beyond her childhood roles. Now 25, she is making waves in Hollywood again, and her latest photos have fans taking a second look at how much she's changed.

The former child star who appeared on Disney Channel’s Jessie has grown from a familiar young face into a successful actress, writer, and producer with an expanding Hollywood career. From her early days in California to her personal journey and latest roles, recent photos reveal just how much she has changed over the years, leaving fans eager to see her transformation.

Long before she became a familiar face on television, the actress was already finding her feet onstage in Davis, California. Her journey began so early that she was performing with the Davis Musical Theatre Company before she had even started kindergarten.

From a California Stage to Hollywood at Just 10

Her first experiences included ensemble roles in stage productions such as Aladdin, Mulan, and The Jungle Book. Her interest in performing began after watching her older sister, Camille, onstage at the Davis Musical Theatre Company, where she started acting before kindergarten.

An early Davis Enterprise profile documented how her ambitions quickly expanded beyond theater. Her parents took turns driving her from Davis to Southern California for auditions, helping her pursue opportunities in television and film while balancing family life back home.

2012

2013

By the time she was 10, she had already landed a leading role in a television pilot called Sunny Time, appeared in a Nintendo commercial and a music video, and performed stand-up comedy at the Hollywood Improv. She was also gaining attention for her role in The Lil' Dictator, a comedy produced by AwesomenessTV that spoofed Sacha Baron Cohen's film The Dictator.

The web series made an early impression, with its first episode reportedly drawing 35,000 views on YouTube. Even Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce took notice, tweeting that the episode was "hilarious."

However, the comedy also attracted criticism from viewers who objected to its stereotypical portrayals. The young performer and her family defended the production as satire, pointing out that they were Arab-American themselves.

Despite the occasional backlash, she remained enthusiastic about acting and understood that rejection was part of the business. As she explained in the Davis Enterprise profile, "You have to accept when you don’t get it, that something else will come up." She added, "And the process is so fun. I love auditioning."

Her parents made considerable sacrifices to help her pursue her ambitions, including arranging for her and her mother to stay in an apartment near Hollywood to reduce the frequent trips from Davis. Her father described their long drives to Los Angeles as valuable father-daughter time, comparing their experience to families traveling for their children's sporting activities.

Her mother also emphasized the family's commitment to supporting her dreams. "We are doing what any parents would do to support their children and help them reach their dreams," Christine said.

The separation was challenging for the family, particularly because the young performer missed her father and older brother, Alex, who remained in Davis. Still, she found a sense of belonging among other young actors in Hollywood, especially after struggling to fit in at schools in Davis and Sacramento.

By then, she had already developed a determined approach to auditions and the uncertainties of the entertainment industry. Even as a fifth-grader, she was convinced she had found the place where she belonged. And Hollywood was only getting started with her.

2014

The Disney Years That Made Her Familiar to Viewers

Television soon gave her a much bigger platform. She landed a role on Disney Channel's Jessie, the sitcom starring Debby Ryan as a young woman who becomes a nanny to four children in New York City.

At the time, audiences knew the performer professionally as J.J. Totah. Her work on the Disney series helped introduce her to younger viewers, while additional roles steadily expanded her résumé.

She went on to appear in productions including Back in the Game, 2 Broke Girls, and New Girl. In 2015, she also joined the sixth and final season of Glee, playing Myron Muskovitz, a character who brought her into the world of Ryan Murphy's musical comedy-drama.

2015

2016

Another important step came with NBC's Champions, created by Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy. Totah played Michael, a teenager sent to live with his estranged father, and the performance drew attention from critics and viewers alike. Her film work also included Other People, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Disney's Magic Camp.

What began as a childhood passion was turning into a substantial career, with the young performer taking on increasingly varied parts. But while the public was getting to know the person appearing on screen, Totah was working through a deeply personal journey that would eventually change how she introduced herself to the world.

2017

2018

The Personal Truth She Was Ready to Share

In August 2018, Totah published a deeply personal essay in TIME titled "My Name Is Josie Totah — and I’m Coming Out." In it, she explained that she had long understood herself to be female and was ready to live openly as the person she knew herself to be.

"My pronouns are she, her, and hers. I identify as female, specifically as a transgender female," she wrote. "And my name is Josie Totah."

She explained that her feelings had begun in early childhood, long before she had the language to understand gender identity. "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," she wrote.

After Becoming Josie — 2018

"Since I could speak in full sentences, I was like, 'Give me a dress!' I always knew on some level that I was female." For years, however, she felt boxed in by the way others perceived her. Although she had been celebrated for her performances, she explained that people frequently described her as a gay boy, an identity that did not reflect how she understood herself.

"Acting has always been my passion. I'm grateful for roles I've gotten to play on shows like Champions, and I know I'm lucky to be able to do what I love," she wrote. "But I also feel like I let myself be shoved into a box: J.J. Totah, gay boy."

She described the pressure of being repeatedly labeled by interviewers and others in the entertainment industry, even as she struggled to express her identity publicly. She also admitted that she worried about how fans who had known her from Jessie would react.

Ultimately, she decided that continuing to hide herself was not healthy. "I know now, more than ever, that I'm finally ready to take this step toward becoming myself. I'm ready to be free," she wrote. Her announcement was not presented as a sudden change of heart, but as the public expression of something she had understood about herself for years.

She also described the importance of having supportive parents, who helped her seek medical guidance after she told her mother she was transgender. In the essay, Totah recalled watching the docuseries I Am Jazz with her mother and recognizing aspects of her own experience in transgender television personality Jazz Jennings.

Learning more about transition helped her explain what she had been feeling, and her mother's response was immediate and supportive. "My mother, who is immensely supportive and gracious, said, 'Okay, let's do it,'" Totah wrote.

2019

Three days later, she was meeting with her pediatrician, who referred her to a specialist. She subsequently began taking a hormone blocker, which she said eased the anxiety she had experienced about the physical changes associated with male puberty.

Totah also described the emotional toll of concealing her identity, including hiding clothes she wanted to wear and worrying about whether others would accept her. Being able to live openly, she explained, meant more than changing how the public addressed her. "When my friends and family call me Josie, it feels like I'm being seen," she wrote.

Why Her Transformation Means More Than a New Look

For Totah, the transition to living openly as herself also meant reconsidering the roles she wanted to play. In her TIME essay, she described watching Lea Michele and other female performers on Glee wearing dresses and taking part in elaborate musical numbers while privately wishing she could experience that freedom herself.

She was excited about continuing her education and acting career without feeling compelled to present herself as someone she was not. She also hoped to pursue roles that reflected her identity, including both transgender and cisgender women.

That desire to tell more authentic stories would eventually become part of her work behind the camera, too. Her career was no longer just about getting cast in a role; she wanted to have a voice in how characters like her were written and portrayed.

In an interview with Refinery29, Totah explained that her family had known she was transgender since she was very young. However, growing up in the entertainment industry made expressing her identity outside her home difficult.

2021

She recalled keeping a separate closet filled with dresses, skirts, and kitten heels, which she had collected since childhood. "It was a walk-in, let me tell you, and I kept all my favorite looks in there. I had it since I was, like, five-years old. I’ve always had stuff," she said.

Fashion became a way to explore her identity, although she often had to change clothes when visitors arrived. She also struggled with auditions that required her to dress and portray boys, despite wanting people to recognize her as a girl. "Fashion has always been a huge part of my life," she said, "But, I couldn't see myself outside of my closet."

College, Sisterhood, and Finding Her Own Style

After graduating from high school, Totah enrolled at Chapman University in California, where she joined the Alpha Phi sorority. Although she initially felt apprehensive about Greek life, she later described joining the organization as one of the best decisions she had made as a young woman.

In her Refinery29 interview, she recalled worrying about whether she would find an accepting environment during the sorority recruitment process. She had heard rumors about one chapter being unwelcoming, but she decided to approach the experience with an open mind.

2022

"Ironically, I ended up falling in love with the sorority that everyone else thought was the worst option. They weren't. They were the total opposite," she said. Joining Alpha Phi gave her a community in which she felt supported and understood. She said that hearing from people who had found encouragement through her story had been particularly meaningful.

"Having people come to me and tell me that even though they can't personally relate to my experience, how much I've helped them find light in their life, loving themselves, and accepting themselves — it's just been such a wonderful experience. I'm so glad that I've found a home there," she said.

The experience also gave her room to experiment with her personal style. She described fashion as an important part of her identity, with her tastes ranging from streetwear and platform sneakers to more polished outfits.

2023

She cited Givenchy and Gucci among her favorite designers, appreciating their gender-fluid designs and their work around diversity and inclusion. Her approach to fashion, she explained, depends on how she feels on a particular day.

"One week, I'm feeling streetwear — think: let's go to a YG concert and have a good time. And then the next week, I'm a young, HR employee in her 30s who's trying to make her way up, just got her first starter home; she's wearing a blazer, she's in a brown bootie — like, give her a break — ya know?"

Beyond college, Totah also received recognition for her advocacy, including the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award and Upstander Award. Her experiences helped shape her commitment to representation, both through her public platform and the stories she would later help bring to television.

Her experience was not without difficult moments, but she has also spoken about the support she received from her family and the community she found among other LGBTQ+ people. In a conversation with E! News, she reflected on how hard it had been to feel restricted as a child.

"It was really difficult because I was being told, 'You shouldn't go outside with nail polish or with makeup unless you are ready to be fully out, and I just wanted to be myself,'" Totah told the outlet.

She described the frustration of being unable to express herself in seemingly small ways and the feeling of being trapped by other people's expectations. Looking back, she has also spoken about the value of sharing her story with people who may be facing similar struggles.

"I'm so grateful I'm able to be someone who people can look up to," she said. "It's worth that risk and it's worth all the experiences and [expletive] that I went through. Because I'm able to make people feel less alone by being myself and I'm so incredibly proud of that."

The experience of seeing someone with a similar story also mattered to Totah. She later explained to Variety that watching Jazz Jennings helped her make sense of feelings she had struggled to articulate. "Meeting Jazz was just reaffirming, and so loving. She just felt like family," Totah said.

From 'Saved by the Bell' to a Bigger Role Behind the Scenes

As Totah continued building her career, she took on one of her most recognizable roles in the reboot of Saved by the Bell. She played Lexi, a popular cheerleader at Bayside High, and earned a Critics' Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

But the role also gave her an opportunity to shape the story rather than simply perform it. Totah served as a producer on the series, with a particular interest in ensuring that her character's gender identity was handled thoughtfully.

In an interview with Variety, she explained that she initially hesitated to accept the role unless she could have a meaningful say in how Lexi's story was developed. She wanted representation behind the camera as well as on screen. "I didn't feel comfortable doing a show that explored my character's gender identity if representation didn't exist," she explained.

Her involvement extended beyond her own character. Totah described advocating for a more inclusive hair department and helping ensure that the show's creative decisions reflected the experiences of its cast.

The work marked another step in her evolution from a child performer into a multifaceted creative professional. In addition to acting, she has pursued writing and producing, with a particular interest in complex queer women and stories that do not reduce characters to a single aspect of their identity.

2024

In an interview with V Magazine, she reflected on the lessons that come with spending so much of one's life in front of a camera. She described acting as a skill that continues to develop with experience and encouraged young creatives to focus on their work rather than allow other people's assumptions to define them.

"As far as identity goes, I would remember [that] this industry, or any industry that you're in, it is [about] what you do, not who you are," she said. She also described perseverance as essential to building a lasting career. For Totah, success has increasingly meant being able to pursue different interests while remaining true to herself.

The Actress Is Entering Another Busy Chapter

Totah's recent projects show that she is continuing to move beyond the child-star label. She is set to lead the television adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie, bringing a new interpretation to one of the author's best-known stories.

She has also joined the cast of Faces of Death, a remake of the controversial horror film directed by Daniel Goldhaber. The project features Dacre Montgomery, Barbie Ferreira, and Charli XCX, placing Totah in another major production outside her earlier television work.

Meanwhile, she appeared in Apple TV+'s period drama The Buccaneers, based on Edith Wharton's unfinished novel. She plays Mabel Elmsworth, a sharp-witted young woman navigating love, social expectations, and life in a reimagined 1870s England.

In her V Magazine interview, Totah teased an emotionally rewarding development for Mabel in the second season. "You can expect a fulfilling love story for Mabel that feels both full circle and open-ended," she said.

The actress has also described her life in New York City, where she draws inspiration from her roommates, childhood friends, and the unpredictable energy of the city. Her interests now extend across performance, writing, producing, and shaping stories that give complicated women room to be themselves.

It is a considerable range for someone whose professional life began before kindergarten. Yet the career she has built suggests that her childhood fame was only the beginning.

2025

2026

Josie Totah's Latest Photos Have Fans Talking

As her career continues to grow, Totah's appearance has also become a subject of enthusiastic conversation among fans who have followed her journey. Her recent social media posts offer a glimpse of the confident woman she has become, far removed from the young performer many viewers remember from Disney Channel.

The reactions have been affectionate, with fans praising both her appearance and her talent. Under one of her TikTok videos, commenters shared their admiration in simple but enthusiastic terms.

One fan wrote, "She's literally so pretty 😭." Another commented, "Josie, you're so incredibly beautiful and talented <33." A third admirer added, "Josie gets cuter every year."

The response continued around her Carrie premiere photos, where followers again focused on her striking appearance. One commenter wrote, "OMG so pretty." Another said, "Looking unreal." A third fan summed up the reaction with, "Stunning baby angel."

The compliments reflect the enthusiasm surrounding Totah's public appearances, but her story is about more than a visual transformation.

She has spent years developing a career that now includes leading roles, producing credits, and opportunities to help shape the stories Hollywood tells.

For viewers who remember her from Jessie, the photos offer a chance to see how much has changed since those early television days. And for Totah, the most significant transformation may be the freedom to be recognized on her own terms.