The Untold Truth Of Josephine Langford

Netflix subscribers may be familiar with Aussie actress Josephine Langford, whose breakout role as Tessa Young in the widely-acclaimed drama After instantly endeared her to fans of the series. Based on the books by Anna Todd, After made its theatrical debut in April 2019 before landing on Netflix.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the film grossed nearly $70 million globally against a budget of $14 million, despite mixed reviews, in large part due to its immense online fandom. The film was famously adapted from a Harry Styles fanfiction that author Anna Todd originally published to Wattpad. Like other famous fanfics-turned films, including The Mortal Instruments series and, of course, Fifty Shades of Grey, Anna's fan take on already-existing characters launched her writing career.

As After was reportedly read more than a billion times on Wattpad alone, it's safe to say there were lots of eyes on the film and Josephine's performance as Tessa! The single film has since evolved into a series, with the second movie, After We Collided, out on Oct. 23, 2020. Josephine has since announced that, thanks to the popularity of the series, she and co-star Hero Fiennes-Tiffin are busy filming the third and fourth installments.

So, with the actress set to grace our screens a lot more in the future, what's there to know about the star? Here is the untold truth of Josephine Langford.

Josephine Langford is making a name for herself, but she's not the only Langford in Hollywood. Her older sister is Katherine Langford, who burst onto the acting scene with breakout roles as Hannah Baker in Netflix's 13 Reasons Why and Meg Thrombey in Rian Johnson's 2019 comedy thriller Knives Out.

While the sisters are tight-lipped about their relationship, the media started to spin stories of a feud in 2019. During an interview with the French publication L'Officiel, Katherine reportedly said that no one in her family worked in the entertainment industry, according to Refinery29. It's unclear why she would have said that, as Josephine had already amassed plenty of acting credits by then, including the web series adaptation of the seminal horror flick Wolf Creek. However, many speculated that Katherine was aiming to make room for Josephine's career to progress without tying it to her own.

Either way, Josephine was quick to shut down rumors of a spat. She attributed any perceived bad blood to the fact that both siblings tend to avoid publicly speaking about their relationship.

"I just don't understand the internet sometimes. I think that rumors are crazy," she told Refinery29. "I think when you have limited content of someone... you just sort of take little parts of what you know about a person, and you extrapolate it." Josephine also added that she'd be all in on a potential future project with Katherine.

Given Josephine Langford's hesitance to openly name drop her big sis, it should come as no surprise that she's notoriously private. The actress has a public Instagram account with a coveted blue check mark and millions of followers, but she's not following anyone and often goes months without posting. "My brain has so many qualities that do not work with social media," she explained to Refinery29. "I'm an overthinker, I'm overly private and those two personality traits just do not work when it comes to Instagram." 

In an interview with Teen Vogue, Langford shared that she's conscious about how she presents her life on social media. She said she's bothered by "false assumptions or a lack of empathy or a lack of really getting to know someone before people pass judgment on them." This is something she recently brought to life in the Netflix dramedy Moxie, in which she plays a popular teen grappling with some difficult things under the surface. 

Despite Josephine Langford's desire for privacy, starring in a globally-beloved young adult franchise like After means that fans are eager for all details of her life. Naturally, talk turns to Langford's bond with her co-star Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, who plays her love interest in the film. With their apparent onscreen chemistry, are the pair dating in real life?

Not at the moment. Fiennes-Tiffin told Entertainment Tonight that they're "good friends" who "get along," and that the set is "super professional." In February 2019, Fiennes-Tiffin told Elle that he doesn't have much of a dating life. "I've never had, like, a proper relationship," he admitted. "I haven't had a girl I would call my girlfriend."

Amid the promo for After, Langford spoke with Refinery29 and stressed her need for privacy: "It's important to have privacy and have a personal life. I'm trying to have boundaries. I want to be myself and be honest, but I don't have to feel a hundred percent uncomfortable and exposed and tell the world every detail of my life."

At least fans who ship the couple can rest easy knowing that neither of them appear to be in a relationship at the moment, per PopSugar.

Josephine Langford seems to be taking future projects at her own pace and is not in any hurry to leave the After series behind. In September 2020, the actress wrapped After We Collided, which is the second installment in the series, and she's preparing to film the third and fourth movies with Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (per Seventeen).

Josephine discussed her career pathway with Teen Vogue, telling the outlet, "I'm able to take a little more time with what I want to do next, and it's really nice to have the privilege and the freedom to be able to do that. I think it's more realistic, when you're starting out as an actor, it's important to keep level-headed. To not go, 'OK, well I'm not going to do anything now except a Tarantino movie.'"

For now, fans have the rest of the After saga to look forward to.