# Vanessa Morgan

Vanessa Morgan Mziray (born March 23, 1992) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Beatrix "Bird" Castro in the MTV teen drama series Finding Carter, as Amanda Pierce in the Family teen comedy series The Latest Buzz, and as Sarah in the Disney Channel / Teletoon film My Babysitter's a Vampire and the television series of the same name. From 2017 to 2023, she played Toni Topaz in the CW teen drama series Riverdale.

## Early life

Morgan was born in Ottawa, Ontario. Her mother, Catherine, is Scottish and her father, Loyar, is Tanzanian. Morgan is the youngest of three children. She has two older siblings: an older sister and an older brother. Morgan began singing at the age of six. She sang at community events and telethons, performed for Childhelp, and was a regular guest entertainer for the College of the Desert scholarship foundation. She was spotted by a Hollywood agent in 1999 and earned a scholarship at a Hollywood acting academy. In 1999, Morgan won the Junior Miss America pageant and won first place vocalist at the National Date Festival. In 2000, she won first place in the African-American Vocal Competition. In her early life, she was a member of the competitive NTA tennis program at the Ottawa Athletic Club. Morgan graduated from Colonel By Secondary School in 2010 and studied philosophy at Queen's University.

## Career
### Acting

Morgan made her acting debut in the VH1 film A Diva's Christmas Carol in 2000 and another appearance in the film Frankie & Alice in 2010. She became known in 2007 for her role as Amanda Pearce in the Family teen comedy series The Latest Buzz as well as performing the theme song for the series. She also played Marion Hawthorne in the 2010 Disney Channel film Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars.
The following year, Morgan played Sarah in the Teletoon / Disney Channel film My Babysitter's a Vampire, as well in the television series of the same name. Morgan also appeared in the 2011 Disney Channel film Geek Charming. She had a recurring role in season 2 of the Disney Channel comedy series A.N.T. Farm for four episodes.
In 2013, Morgan appeared on Degrassi: The Next Generation for two episodes.
In 2014, Morgan had a recurring role on the MTV show Finding Carter, playing Beatrix "Bird" Castro.
In 2017, she joined the main cast of the fantasy drama series The Shannara Chronicles as Lyria for the second season on Spike. Morgan was then cast in the recurring role of Toni Topaz in the CW teen drama series Riverdale. On May 2, 2018, it was announced that Morgan would be a series regular for the show's third season.

### Other work

Morgan competed in the first season of the CTV reality competition series The Amazing Race Canada with her sister, Celina Mziray. They finished the race in third place.

## Personal life

On July 3, 2019, Morgan became engaged to professional baseball player Michael Kopech. They were married on January 4, 2020. On June 19, 2020, Kopech filed for divorce. On July 24, 2020, Morgan announced she was pregnant. As of December 2020, the divorce case was pending. In 2021, Morgan gave birth to a son. Morgan and Kopech officially divorced in 2021. In 2024, Morgan gave birth to a daughter fathered by Canadian basketball player James Karnik. Morgan announced her engagement to Karnik on December 24, 2024.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | A Diva's Christmas Carol | Young Ebony | Television film |
| 2007–2010 | The Latest Buzz | Amanda Pierce | Main role |
| 2010 | Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars | Marion Hawthorne | Television film |
| 2010 | Frankie & Alice | 16-year-old Frankie | Film; credited as Vanessa Morgan Mziray |
| 2010 | My Babysitter's a Vampire | Sarah | Television film |
| 2011–2012 | My Babysitter's a Vampire | Sarah | Main role |
| 2011 | Geek Charming | Hannah Mornell | |
| 2012 | A.N.T. Farm | Jeanne Gossamer / Vanessa LaFontaine | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Degrassi | Vanessa | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Saving Hope | Ricki Wilkins | Episode: "Why Waste Time" |
| 2013 | The Amazing Race Canada | Herself/Contestant | Season 1 contestant, 3rd place |
| 2014 | Guilty at 17 | Leigh | Television film |
| 2014 | The Night Session | Brittany / Intruder | Short film |
| 2014–2015 | Finding Carter | Beatrix "Bird" Castro | Recurring role |
| 2015 | Some Assembly Required | Jazlyn Sims | Episode: "Award Show in a Box" |
| 2017 | The Shannara Chronicles | Lyria | Main role (season 2) |
| 2017–2023 | Riverdale | Toni Topaz | Recurring role (season 2), main role (season 3–7) |
| 2018 | Pimp | Destiny | Film |
| 2019 | Lip Sync Battle | Herself | Episode: "Andy Grammer vs. Vanessa Morgan" |
| 2022 | Margaux | Lexi | Film |
| 2024–present | Wild Cards | Max Mitchell | Main role |
Music videos :
| Year | Title | Artist(s) |
| 2008 | "Stand Up!" | Herself |
| 2018 | "Be My Joker" | Herself |
| 2019 | "Higher Love" | Kygo and Whitney Houston |

## Discography

| Released | Song(s) | Album |
| 2018 | "Be My Joker" | N/A |
| 2018 | "In", "The World According To Chris", "You Shine (Reprise)", and "A Night We'll Never Forget" | Riverdale: Special Episode – Carrie the Musical (Original Television Soundtrack) |
| 2019 | "Candy Store", "Big Fun", "Dead Girl Walking", "Seventeen", and "Seventeen (Encore)" | Riverdale: Special Episode – Heathers the Musical (Original Television Soundtrack) |
| 2019 | "Call Your Girlfriend" | Riverdale: Season 3 (Original Television Soundtrack) |
| 2020 | "Wicked Little Town", "Random Number Generation", "Tear Me Down", "Wig in a Box", "Sugar Daddy", and "Midnight Radio" | Riverdale: Special Episode – Hedwig and the Angry Inch the Musical (Original Television Soundtrack) |
| 2020 | "Cherry Bomb" | Riverdale: Season 4 (Original Television Soundtrack) – EP |
| 2020 | "Sleep When I'm Dead" | N/A |
| 2021 | "After Dark" | N/A |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2009 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a TV series – Leading Young Actress (Comedy or Drama) | The Latest Buzz | Nominated |
| 2014 | Planet Africa Awards | Rising Star | Herself | Won |
| 2018 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Breakout TV Star | Riverdale | Won |
| 2018 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Scene Stealer | Riverdale | Won |
| 2019 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Musical Moment | Riverdale | Nominated |
| 2019 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Ship (with Madelaine Petsch) | Riverdale | Nominated |