Hayley Kiyoko

Biography

Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft (born April 3, 1991) is an American actress, singer, and author. She has performed in a variety of films, including Lemonade Mouth (2011), Jem and the Holograms (2015), Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), and XOXO (2016). She also had recurring roles in the TV series Wizards of Waverly Place (2010) and The Fosters (2014) and lead roles in CSI: Cyber (2015–2016) and Five Points (2018–2019).
Kiyoko issued three solo extended plays: A Belle to Remember (2013), This Side of Paradise (2015), which includes the single "Girls Like Girls×Girls Like Girls26 May 2023 · Other · Spokenword,AudiobookSpotifyYouTube Music (search)", and Citrine (2016). Following the singles "Sleepover×Sleepover3 March 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Sleepover3:54", "Feelings×Feelings19 October 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Feelings3:37", and "Curious×Curious11 January 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Curious3:12", she released her debut studio album Expectations×Expectations30 March 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Expectations (Overture)1:522Feelings3:373What I Need3:404Sleepover3:545Mercy / Gatekeeper5:446Under the Blue / Take Me In5:387Curious3:038xx0:529Wanna Be Missed3:1610He’ll Never Love You (HNLY)3:5111Palm Dreams5:1412Molecules4:1113Let It Be3:41 (2018) which reached the top 20 of the charts in the United States, Canada, and Australia. She has since released a fourth extended play I'm Too Sensitive for This Shit (2020) and her second studio album Panorama×PANORAMA29 July 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1sugar at the bottom3:052luna2:473for the girls2:384flicker start2:405underground3:556forever3:437deep in the woods3:098supposed to be3:119chance3:2010well…3:2411s.o.s.2:4012found my friends3:3413panorama2:55 (2022).
In 2023, Kiyoko released her first novel, Girls Like Girls, which was published by Wednesday Books. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Sellers list for Young Adult Hardcover, and won the Goldie Award for Young Adult Fiction by the Golden Crown Literary Society. The novel inspired the 2026 film of the same name, which Kiyoko directed and co-wrote. She has also created a comic book, with the help of Naomi Franquiz and Marla Vazquez, based on her song "Gravel to Tempo×Gravel to Tempo5 August 2016 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Gravel to Tempo3:31".

Early life

Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft was born on April 3, 1991, in Los Angeles, California, to Canadian figure skater and choreographer Sarah Kawahara and actor/comedian Jamie Alcroft. Her mother is of Japanese ancestry and her father is from Ohio and has English and Scottish ancestry. Kiyoko has two siblings, Alysse and Thatcher.
She began acting at a young age, appearing in national commercials for brands such as GM Onstar, Slim Jim, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Insisting on drum lessons at age six, she was writing drum charts for new releases and selling them in a local music store by age 11. At age 8, Kiyoko wrote a song called "Notice," which her father still urges her to release. She was elected student council president of her middle school and high school freshman classes and vice-president in her senior year. She attended Agoura High School and graduated in 2009. She was appointed "Commissioner of Entertainment" in her sophomore year and "Commissioner of Pep Rallies" in her junior year.
She created and choreographed "The Agoura High Step Team" which was faculty-approved as a school club under her direction. The team placed third at a Nationals competition in 2009. Upon graduation, she was accepted into Clive Davis School of Recorded Music at New York University but initially deferred until eventually declining due to career opportunities.
Kiyoko was discovered at the age of five when she went with her friend to a photoshoot. The director asked her to step in front of the camera, and she ended up in a national print ad for KnowledgeWare.
Children's cable TV network Nickelodeon spotted her at the Culver City Ice Rink, and she ended up featured in and narrating a short piece about children in sports called, "I'm Hayley, a Skater". Kiyoko continued to hone her skills in middle school plays and, in seventh grade, asked for an agent after seeing Eurasian girls like herself act in J. C. Penney commercials. She got her commercial agent and booked her first audition, claiming acting was always just something she did on the side to make money for college and music equipment. Kiyoko started the garage band Hede, named after her grandfather, in November 2007 and released five songs on Myspace and a music video for "Warehouse". The band performed locally on several occasions and split in 2009 after the remaining band members left for college. Her grandfather died in 2011. He was one of the biggest inspirations in Kiyoko's life.

2007–2014: Career beginnings, The Stunners and television films

In 2007, Kiyoko was approached by former pop-star Vitamin C to join an all-girl singing and dancing group. She joined Allie Gonino, Tinashe, Kelsey Sanders (later replaced by Lauren Hudson), and Marisol Esparza to form the Stunners. Six months after forming, the group signed with Columbia Records and released a single titled "Bubblegum" to iTunes along with the official video for the single. They also contributed a cover of the song "Let's Hear It for the Boy" to the iCarly soundtrack. In 2009, the group left Columbia Records, signed a production deal with Lions gate Entertainment, and shot a music video for their promo single "We Got It", which was released on February 22, 2010. In 2007, Kiyoko starred in her first television role in Unfabulous, being credited as Hayley Alcroft. After graduating high school in 2009, Kiyoko booked her first big film, starring as Velma Dinkley in Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, a role she almost did not audition for due to her image. In a 2017 interview, she stated she struggles to find acting roles as a biracial woman. The film premiered on September 13, 2009, and was a huge success. It brought in 6.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched program in Cartoon Network's history. She reprised the role in the film's sequel, Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, which premiered on October 16, 2010. The sequel drew 3.4 million viewers. In 2010, Kiyoko also guest starred in four episodes of Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place in the role of Stevie Nichols, an evil wizard.
The Stunners signed to Universal Republic Records in 2010 and released their first single "Dancin' Around the Truth", which featured the New Boyz. The music video for the song premiered June 2, just before the group was announced as an opening act on Justin Bieber's My World Tour. A full album was planned, but cancelled when the group split in 2011. Kiyoko claimed that she wanted to be in control of her own music. Kiyoko began work on the Disney Channel film Lemonade Mouth in 2010, starring in a lead role as rebellious teenager Stella Yamada. The film premiered on April 15, 2011, with 5.7 million viewers. Kiyoko later guest starred in the episode "Skater Girl Island" of Disney XD's Zeke and Luther which aired May 23, 2011. A sequel to Lemonade Mouth was cancelled prior to pre-production when Disney released a statement saying that "they felt the movie had completed its story within the first film."
In February 2012, Kiyoko landed a small role in Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, a Lifetime film and remake of the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon. The film premiered on June 16, 2012. She portrayed the character Gabi in a recurring role on ABC Family's The Fosters and later landed the role of Raven Ramirez in CSI: Cyber. She also portrayed Shannie in the Netflix film XOXO, which premiered in August 2016.
On March 12, 2013, Kiyoko released her debut EP, A Belle to Remember×A Belle to Remember12 March 2013 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1A Belle to Remember3:272Rich Youth3:283Maple3:024Hit & Run3:345Wild & Wicked World3:246Better Than Love3:10. The album was partially crowdfunded through MusicPledge. Immediately following its release, Kiyoko began writing new music in London with British producer James Flannigan. She announced via Facebook in 2014 that her next EP was finished and she would be debuting the songs at a show later that month. The songs were recorded in her parents' garage in Los Angeles with Flannigan. Kiyoko also collaborated with Swedish producer Anders Grahn. During this time, Kiyoko was affiliated with Maker Studios, releasing covers of "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" and medleys of Valentine's Day themed songs on the Maker Music YouTube channel with AJ Rafael.

2015–2018: Record deal, EPs, and Expectations

Her second EP, This Side of Paradise×This Side of Paradise29 September 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1This Side of Paradise3:32, was released on February 3, 2015. The music video for her single "Girls Like Girls×Girls Like Girls26 May 2023 · Other · Spokenword,AudiobookSpotifyYouTube Music (search)" was released on June 24, 2015. After co-directing the video for "Girls Like Girls" (which as of September 2026 has over 165 million views), Kiyoko assumed full directorial responsibilities for her next music video. "Cliff's Edge" was released via Vevo in November 2015.
After her 25th birthday party, Kiyoko hit her head and suffered a concussion. She was concurrently diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and depression. In a 2018 interview, Kiyoko said "I couldn't create, and I was like 'If I can't create, what's the point? I have no purpose.'" She started resting with citrine pieces on her forehead and started using a citrine crystal, which inspired the name for her third EP. In 2016, she released the single "Gravel to Tempo×Gravel to Tempo5 August 2016 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Gravel to Tempo3:31" and its music video from her next EP, Citrine×Citrine30 September 2016 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Gravel to Tempo3:392Ease My Mind3:203Pretty Girl3:364One Bad Night3:555Palace4:01. The EP was released on September 30, 2016, via EMPIRE and Atlantic. Her third fully self-directed music video for the song "One Bad Night" was premiered via Vice on October 11, 2016, in order to promote the EP. A new single called "Sleepover×Sleepover3 March 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Sleepover3:54" was released alongside its music video on March 2, 2017, via BuzzFeed. Following that, the self-directed music video for her single "Feelings×Feelings19 October 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Feelings3:37" was released on October 19, 2017. On December 21, 2017, Kiyoko announced her debut studio album, Expectations×Expectations30 March 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Expectations (Overture)1:522Feelings3:373What I Need3:404Sleepover3:545Mercy / Gatekeeper5:446Under the Blue / Take Me In5:387Curious3:038xx0:529Wanna Be Missed3:1610He’ll Never Love You (HNLY)3:5111Palm Dreams5:1412Molecules4:1113Let It Be3:41. The third single, "Curious×Curious11 January 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Curious3:12" was released on January 11, 2018, with the album's pre-order, alongside its music video, directed by Kiyoko and James Larese, and which premiered on Total Request Live. In March, Kiyoko was announced as a supporting act for the first leg of Panic! At the Disco's Pray for the Wicked Tour.

Expectations was released on March 30, 2018. To promote the release of her album, Kiyoko made her live TV debut and performed "Curious" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 3, 2018. Later that month, she announced that she collaborated with Marla Vazquez and Naomi Franquiz to make a comic book based on her song, "Gravel to Tempo." The comic book was sold during the Expectations Tour. Her self-directed music video for "What I Need," featuring Kehlani, was released on May 31, 2018. In June, Kiyoko performed "He'll Never Love You (HNLY)" on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Later in June, Kiyoko was featured in InStyle's first issue of 50 Badass Women for her work alongside notable figures such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Emma Watson. On July 26, 2018, Kiyoko was invited by Taylor Swift to perform with her on stage at Gillette Stadium, marking Kiyoko's first stadium performance. The performance video for "What I Need" was released on August 17, 2018. At the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, Kiyoko won the award for Push Artist of the Year and performed "Curious" on stage.

2019–2022: I'm Too Sensitive for This Shit and Panorama

In June 2019, Kiyoko appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for "You Need to Calm Down" with other LGBT celebrities. Kiyoko released her EP I'm Too Sensitive for This Shit on January 14, 2020. It was preceded by singles "I Wish×I Wish10 July 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I Wish3:25" on July 18, 2019, "Demons" on October 11, "L.O.V.E. Me" on November 15, and "Runaway×Runaway13 December 2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Runaway2:29" on December 13. The track "She" was released as the fifth and final single on the same day as the EP. On August 8, 2020, she was featured on AhhHaa's remix of AJR's song "Bang!". On June 23, 2021, "Demons" was featured in the third episode of the Disney+ TV series Loki.".
On April 30, 2021, Kiyoko released "Found My Friends×found my friends30 April 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1found my friends3:34" as the lead single from her second studio album Panorama×PANORAMA29 July 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1sugar at the bottom3:052luna2:473for the girls2:384flicker start2:405underground3:556forever3:437deep in the woods3:098supposed to be3:119chance3:2010well…3:2411s.o.s.2:4012found my friends3:3413panorama2:55, which was released on July 29, 2022. The second single from the album, "Chance×chance1 June 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1chance3:212found my friends3:34", was released on June 1, 2021. On November 17, 2021, Kiyoko released a collaboration with Fletcher titled "Cherry×Cherry17 November 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Cherry2:32".
In April 2022, Lauv announced tour dates in support of his album "All 4 Nothing", due for release on August 5, 2022. Kiyoko was announced as the opener for the 28 tour dates planned across North America. The tour began on August 11, 2022, in Minneapolis, Minnesota and concluded on September 20, in Seattle, Washington.
On May 20, 2022, Kiyoko released "For the Girls×for the girls20 May 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1for the girls2:38" as the third single from Panorama. The accompanying music video was directed by Kiyoko as a parody of The Bachelorette, featuring an all queer cast.

2023–present: GLAAD nomination, single releases, Panorama Tour, Patience of Vultures and Girls Like Girls

In recognition of her sophomore album, Panorama×PANORAMA29 July 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1sugar at the bottom3:052luna2:473for the girls2:384flicker start2:405underground3:556forever3:437deep in the woods3:098supposed to be3:119chance3:2010well…3:2411s.o.s.2:4012found my friends3:3413panorama2:55, Kioyoko was nominated for a 2023 GLAAD Media award for Outstanding Music Artist, in January 2023.

On January 21, 2023, Kiyoko announced she would be performing a headlining tour in support of her 2022 album, Panorama. 33 tour dates were announced across Europe and North America, with a second night in New York City added due to demand. The tour began in Glasgow, UK on April 5, 2023, and concluded in Silver Spring, Maryland on June 2, 2023.
In an exclusive interview with Variety on February 9, 2023, it was announced that Kiyoko had been cast in an upcoming neo-noir crime thriller, "The Patience of Vultures" written by Greg Sisco and set to be directed by Gregg Simon. "Described as a 'Rashomon-style' chamber piece, the film follows a young man, emotionally conflicted from a failed marriage, who is lured to a small town to meet a mysterious woman. Upon arrival, an increasingly twisted game of cat-and-mouse ensues, where everyone has a secret, and nobody's hands are clean." Filming was slated to begin in spring/summer 2023.
On March 3, 2023, Steve Aoki released the single, "Hungry Heart" with Galantis, featuring lyrics and vocals from Kiyoko. The music video, directed by Kiyoko, accompanied the release and featured Kiyoko, Aoki and Becca Tilley, Kiyoko's girlfriend. The song became the number 1 most played dance track played at over 2,500 U.S. and Canadian radio stations, satellite radio and music television monitored by Mediabase on June 19, 2023.
Kiyoko's first single since the Panorama album, "Greenlight×Greenlight24 May 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Greenlight2:53", was released on May 24, 2023, and premiered as part of the setlist on the Panorama tour.
In October 2022, Kiyoko announced on her social media accounts that she had expanded upon her 2015 single "Girls Like Girls×Girls Like Girls26 May 2023 · Other · Spokenword,AudiobookSpotifyYouTube Music (search)" and the characters from its accompanying music video to create a YA novel of the same name. The book was published in multiple territories worldwide and was released in the US on May 30, 2023. During its first week of release, it became number one on the New York Times best seller list for Young Adult Hardcover and stayed on the list for 7 consecutive weeks. A film adaptation, written by Kiyoko and Stefanie Scott, went into production in 2024. Focus Features acquired worldwide rights to the film adaptation in December 2024. It is scheduled to premiere at the Frameline Film Festival and be released in the United States on June 19, 2026.
On June 21, 2023, Kiyoko released "Somewhere Between the Sand and the Stardust×somewhere between the sand and the stardust21 June 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1somewhere between the sand and the stardust3:31", a "heartfelt and emotional track" around the emotions felt by those dealing with a loved one taking their own life.

Sexuality and musical influence

Kiyoko is a lesbian. She has stated that she knew she was attracted to girls when she was six years old, coming out to her parents in the sixth grade. Upon realizing she liked girls, she grew up struggling with those feelings, fearing rejection and judgment if she came out. Kiyoko wanted to inspire confidence in young people dealing with the same struggles. Kiyoko's music is focused on her story and emotions she has experienced while coming to terms with her identity. The "This Side of Paradise×This Side of Paradise29 September 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1This Side of Paradise3:32" music video focuses on her struggles with expressing her true self and the "Gravel to Tempo×Gravel to Tempo5 August 2016 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Gravel to Tempo3:31" music video draws on her experiences with having crushes on girls while growing up. In a 2016 interview, she expressed her frustration about not connecting to people the way she wanted. When Lily May-Young, one of the co-writers for "Girls Like Girls×Girls Like Girls26 May 2023 · Other · Spokenword,AudiobookSpotifyYouTube Music (search)", asked Kiyoko what was something about herself that no one else knew and that she was afraid to sing about, Kiyoko said she wanted to sing about how she likes girls, but was struggling to be out about that. Tegan and Sara and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" were Kiyoko's turning point and inspiration to turn to pop music. Through her music, Kiyoko works to normalize lesbian relationships in a society and music industry that she sees as being very heteronormative:

"If you see two girls falling in love and normalizing that, then [people] can go, 'I can fall in love, too. I can be that person. I can look like that. I can get a girl that looks like that.' If they see that, then they can believe it. It's just how we are."
After seeing the impact her music has on her fans, Kiyoko has stated that she regretted not being open about her sexuality sooner.
Since April 2018, Kiyoko has been dating former Bachelor contestant Becca Tilley. The couple initially kept their relationship private and confirmed it in May 2022 after Tilley appeared in Kiyoko's music video "For the Girls×for the girls20 May 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1for the girls2:38", which is inspired by The Bachelor. Prior to this, Tilley used the nickname "95p" to refer to Kiyoko when talking about the relationship on Tilley's podcast Scrubbing In. Hayley appears on the podcast on September 19, 2022, with the episode "A Deep Scrub: Hayley Kiyoko". On July 10, 2025, Kiyoko and Tilley announced that they are engaged, with Kiyoko proposing to Tilley. Later, on the same day, on an episode of iHeartRadio's Scrubbing In with Becca Tilley & Tanya Rad podcast, they said the engagement happened a week before in a nudist beach in Mallorca, Spain.
Kiyoko's song "Mercy/Gatekeeper" talks about the depression she dealt with after suffering from her concussion.

LGBT advocacy

Since publicly coming out, Kiyoko has been an advocate for LGBT rights and is widely considered to be a gay icon by her fans, who have nicknamed her 'Lesbian Jesus'. Her music videos highlight her own experiences and various LGBT-related issues. The music video for "One Bad Night" raised awareness of violence against transgender women. For Pride Month 2017, Kiyoko partnered with MeUndies to promote their "Celebrate" campaign. Each pair of underwear sold had a portion of the profit donated to the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In 2018, Kiyoko critiqued Rita Ora's song, "Girls", for its depiction of same-sex attraction and harmful implications for the LGBT community. Ora later apologized for the song's implications. After 78 bras were thrown at Kiyoko during the Expectations Tour, she and Neara Russell donated them to I Support The Girls, an organization that supports homeless women, to support homeless LGBT youth. In her acceptance speech for Push Artist of the Year at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, Kiyoko dedicated her win to queer women of color. She marched in a Pride parade for the first time, attending the 2019 World Pride Parade in New York City as the float ambassador for W Hotels Worldwide.

Politics

In 2016, she supported Hillary Clinton and expressed dismay at Donald Trump winning the U.S. Presidential Election. In 2018, Kiyoko was praised by HeadCount for helping her fans to register to vote while she was supporting Panic! at the Disco's Pray for the Wicked Tour. She endorsed Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election in a tweet following Biden's announcement Kamala Harris would be his running mate.

Headlining

This Side of Paradise Tour (2015)
The Summer Tour (2015)
One Bad Night Tour (2016–2017)
Expectations Tour (2018–2019)
Panorama Tour (2023)

Opening act

Never Shout Never – Mid Winter's Nights Dream Acoustik Tour (2015)
Miike Snow – III Tour (2016)
Bridgit Mendler – Nemesis Tour (2016)
Panic! at the Disco – Pray for the Wicked Tour (2018)
Lauv – The All 4 Nothing Tour (2022)

Cancelled

I'm Too Sensitive for This Shit Tour (2020)