Ava Michelle Cota (born April 10, 2002) is an American actress. She is known for her role as the character Jodi Kreyman in the Netflix comedies Tall Girl and Tall Girl 2. She made regular appearances in the third to seventh seasons of Dance Moms, as well as being a member of the Select Ensemble team in season four for a short time.

Ava Michelle Cota
Born
Ava Michelle Cota

(2002-04-10) April 10, 2002 (age 22)[1]
OccupationActress
Years active2014–present

Biography edit

Cota was born on April 10, 2002, the daughter of Rick and Jeanette Cota, and was raised in Linden, Michigan.[1] She attended JC's Broadway Dance Academy, which was owned and operated by her mother Jeanette but closed permanently in 2022.[2] Ava was a guest dancer of the ALDC "Select Team" in season 4 of Dance Moms.[3]

Ava has been trained in contemporary, ballet, pointe, jazz, and tap dance.[4] She is also a model and made her debut on the runway for New York Fashion Week in 2017.[5] In 2018, she launched a social media campaign, #13Reasons4Me, that encourages people to list 13 things they love about themselves or in their lives.[6]

Career edit

Cota appeared in 2013 on the television series Dance Moms and was a regular on the show for another 4 years.[1] She later toured the United States with other stars from Dance Moms in 2018.[7] In 2016, she was in the first episode of So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation.

She appeared in several short movies in 2018 and made appearances in two episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful. Her first major role in acting came as playing the lead character in the Netflix film Tall Girl, which was released on September 13, 2019.[1][8][9] Michelle began filming the Tall Girl sequel, Tall Girl 2, in April 2021.[10]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
2018 This Is Me Olivia Newton-John Short film
Mamma Mia! Anna
A Christmas Dinner Sophia Bailey
2019 Tall Girl Jodi Kreyman
2022 Tall Girl 2[10]

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
2014–2017 Dance Moms Herself 18 episodes
2016 So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation 1 episode
2018 The Bold and the Beautiful Forrester model 2 episodes
2020 Zombies 2: The Collab Zombie Television film

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Ava Michelle: 9 Facts about the Tall Girl Netflix star you need to know". PopBuzz. Global. 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  2. ^ "Welcome to Broadway Dance Academy". JC's Broadway Dance Academy. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  3. ^ Tabony, India (September 13, 2018). "EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Ava Cota who talks Dance Moms, and her upcoming EP". CelebMix. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  4. ^ "Ava Michelle". Box Office Buz. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Beard, Katherine (September 15, 2017). ""Dance Moms" Darling Ava Cota Slays on the Runway at New York Fashion Week". Dance Spirit. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  6. ^ Rumer, Anna (September 4, 2018). "Ava Cota Says Difficult 'Dance Moms' Experience Made Her a 'Stronger Person'". PopCulture. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  7. ^ Contreras, Cesareo (October 7, 2018). "Lifetime's 'Dance Moms' Ava Cota dances in Hudson, talks about the #13reasons4me challenge". The MetroWest Daily News. GateHouse Media. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  8. ^ Dodson, P. Claire (September 13, 2019). "Tall Girl Star Ava Michelle on How She Learned to Embrace Her Height for Her Netflix Role". Teen Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  9. ^ "Tall Girl Star Ava Michelle Says She Didn't Realize Her Height Would 'Hurt' Her Career". people.com. September 23, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Moore, Kasey (March 3, 2021). "'Tall Girl 2' Coming to Netflix, Filming Begins in April 2021". whats-on-netflix.com.

External links edit