When watching Grand Army [1], you can't look away from Odessa A'zion. The young star plays Joey, the show's protagonist [2], whose life goes through major upheaval after a serious trauma [3], and if this performance is any indication, there are a lot more amazing roles in A'zion's future! Since she's pretty new on the Hollywood scene, you might not know much about her, but we're about to change all that. If you're curious to know more about A'zion's life and what she's hoping to do in the near future, keep reading for six of the coolest things we've learned about her.
She's a Musician, Too
As A'zion told Teen Vogue, her creative talents don't just lie on screen — she's a musician and songwriter [4] who played with a band, Dessa, from the time she was a teenager. Still, she says, she hesitates to label any specific ambitions or even call herself a musician.
"I haven't done anything with my band in a long time, but I do love playing music. I wish I was better. You can always be better. I wish I could play some gnarly stuff on guitar, but I can't really do anything. I taught three or four of my close friends how to play guitar, and now they can all shred and I'm still at the same level I was at when I was eight."
She's Interested in Voice-Over Work
"I really want to go into voiceover acting [5]," she told Nylon. "I promise I'll do something funny for you. Or weird." She's already booked her first voice-over gig during the pandemic: an insurance commercial!
She's a Bona-Fide Animal-Lover
A'zion isn't just the proud owner of a dog or two — she's got a whole menagerie of pets! In a feature with Interview, she revealed that she has 10 pets [6]: four dogs, three cats, two snakes, and an iguana. Her pets even have their own Instagram account [7]!
Her Real Life Is Already on TV — Sort Of
You wouldn't necessarily know it, since she changed her last name, but A'zion is actually from a Hollywood family. Her mom is Pamela Adlon, the creator and star of Better Things, and Adlon loosely bases much of the dramedy on her own family life as a divorced mother of three daughters.
She Didn't Want to Do Comedy at First
Prior to Grand Army, A'zion's biggest role was on Fam, the CBS sitcom starring Nina Dobrev [8] that was cancelled after just one season in 2019. As she explained to Nylon, she wasn't a fan at first [9], but distance has given her more appreciation for the project.
"I felt like sitcom acting wasn't 'real' acting, and I wanted to do something real and that people could relate to more . . . But since it only got one season, it gave me the time to look back and be like, 'I'm very, very grateful for that.' It was a cool experience. I would definitely be down to do another sitcom one day."
She Used to Date Jaden Smith
Back in 2018, A'zion attended prom with then-boyfriend Smith as her date! Vogue reported on their night out [10], describing A'zion's sparkly fringe skirt and crop-top combo that she wore instead of a traditional prom dress. Smith also shared a snap of them [11] on his Twitter, with the dry caption, "We Went To Prom, This Picture Describes The Experience."
