Josephine Eliza Langford was born on August 18, 1997, in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. She is Australian by nationality and is of Australian ethnicity. Raised in Applecross, a suburb of Perth, Josephine grew up in a family with strong academic and professional backgrounds. Her father, Stephen Langford, is a flying doctor and former Director of Medical Services at the Royal Flying Doctor Service Western Operations, while her mother, Elizabeth Green, is a pediatrician. She is the younger sister of actress Katherine Langford. Josephine speaks English and displayed artistic talent from an early age, learning to play the piano, violin, and saxophone while also writing original songs during childhood. At the age of 10, she won a music competition with her original composition “Shadows,” earning the Song of the Year award. She later began formal acting training at the age of 13 and continued studying at Perth Film School, laying the foundation for her acting career. Unlike many contemporary celebrities, Josephine does not maintain verified public social media accounts, choosing instead to keep her personal life away from online platforms.
Josephine Langford began her acting career with several Australian short films, including Sex Ed (2013), When Separating (2013), and Gypsy Blood (2014). She made her feature film debut in Pulse (2017) before appearing alongside Joey King in the supernatural horror film Wish Upon (2017). That same year, she made her television debut in the Australian thriller series Wolf Creek. Her international breakthrough came in 2019 when she was cast as Tessa Young in After, the film adaptation of Anna Todd’s bestselling novel. The film became a commercial success worldwide and launched one of the most recognizable young adult romance franchises of the decade. Josephine reprised the role in After We Collided (2020), After We Fell (2021), After Ever Happy (2022), and After Everything (2023), making Tessa Young her signature role. Beyond the After series, she portrayed Emma Cunningham in Netflix’s coming-of-age comedy-drama Moxie (2021), directed by Amy Poehler, Katy Gibson in Gigi & Nate (2022), and Zoey Miller in the romantic comedy The Other Zoey (2023). She also appeared in the horror anthology series Into the Dark and provided voice performances in Day by Day. In 2024, she appeared as herself in the documentary Beyond After. Her performances have earned several honors, including the Teen Choice Award for Choice Drama Movie Actress for After in 2019, along with Just Jared Awards for Favorite Actress in 2021 and Favorite Young Actress in 2022. Josephine has become known for portraying emotionally complex characters while balancing independent films with internationally successful studio productions.
Outside her acting career, Josephine Langford maintains an exceptionally private personal life and rarely discusses relationships or family matters beyond publicly available information. She has consistently chosen to keep the focus on her work rather than public attention surrounding her personal life. During childhood, she enjoyed playing cricket and developed a strong interest in music, composing original songs and learning multiple musical instruments. Despite achieving international fame, Josephine avoids social media and public oversharing, allowing her performances to remain at the center of her public image. Her thoughtful approach to fame and dedication to her craft have earned respect from audiences and industry professionals alike.