film series (2009–2010), Lemonade Mouth (2011), Blue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012), Jem and the Holograms (2015), Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), and XOXO (2016).

Following the singles "Sleepover", "Feelings", and "Curious", she released her debut studio album Expectations (2018) which reached the top 20 of the charts in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

[9] She began acting at a young age, appearing in national commercials for brands such as GM Onstar, Slim Jim, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

[citation needed] She created and choreographed "The Agoura High Step Team" which was faculty-approved as a school club under her direction.

[14] 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.

[11] 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.

[17] 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.

[19] Kiyoko started the garage band Hede, named after her grandfather,[14] in November 2007 and released five songs on Myspace and a music video for "Warehouse".

She joined Allie Gonino, Tinashe, Kelsey Sanders (later replaced by Lauren Hudson), and Marisol Esparza to form the Stunners.

[26] In 2009, the group left Columbia Records,[17] 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.

[27] After graduating high school in 2009, Kiyoko booked her first big film, starring as Velma Dinkley in Scooby-Doo!

[32] 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.

[37] Kiyoko began work on the Disney Channel film Lemonade Mouth in 2010,[28] starring in a lead role as rebellious teenager Stella Yamada.

[38][39] 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.

[44] Immediately following its release, Kiyoko began writing new music in London with British producer James Flannigan.

[56] 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.

[60] The third single, "Curious" 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.

[65] 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."

[69] 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.

[73][74] In June 2019, Kiyoko appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for "You Need to Calm Down" with other LGBT celebrities.

In recognition of her sophomore album, Panorama, Kioyoko was nominated for a 2023 GLAAD Media award[90] for Outstanding Music Artist, in January 2023.

In an exclusive interview with Variety[92] 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.

On March 3, 2023, Steve Aoki released the single, "Hungry Heart"[93] with Galantis, featuring lyrics and vocals from Kiyoko.

[102][103] The couple initially kept their relationship private and confirmed it in May 2022 after Tilley appeared in Kiyoko's music video "For the Girls", which is inspired by The Bachelor.

[53] Since publicly coming out, Kiyoko has been an advocate for LGBT rights and is widely considered to be a gay icon by her fans,[106] who have nicknamed her 'Lesbian Jesus'.

[107] In 2018, Kiyoko critiqued Rita Ora's song, "Girls", for its depiction of same-sex attraction and harmful implications for the LGBT community.

[111][112] 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.

[117] During her career, Kiyoko has been nominated for the following awards for her work as an actress, musical artist, and her presence in the LGBT community.