# Ava Michelle > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ava_Michelle > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ava_Michelle.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_Michelle > Source revision: 1338990231 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Ava Michelle Cota** (born April 10, 2002) is an American actress, dancer and model. She is known for her role as the character Jodi Kreyman in the [Netflix](/source/Netflix) comedies *[Tall Girl](/source/Tall_Girl)* and *[Tall Girl 2](/source/Tall_Girl_2)*. She made regular appearances in the third to seventh seasons of *[Dance Moms](/source/Dance_Moms)*, as well as being a member of the Select Ensemble team in season four for a short time. ## Early life Cota was born on April 10, 2002, the daughter of Rick and Jeanette Cota, and was raised in [Linden, Michigan](/source/Linden,_Michigan).[1] She attended JC's Broadway Dance Academy, which was owned and operated by her mother Jeanette but closed permanently in 2022.[2] Ava was a guest dancer of the ALDC "Select Team" in [season 4](/source/Dance_Moms_(season_4)) of *[Dance Moms](/source/Dance_Moms)*.[3] Ava has been trained in contemporary, ballet, pointe, jazz, and tap dance.[4] She is also a model and made her debut on the runway for New York Fashion Week in 2017.[5] In 2018, she launched a social media campaign, #13Reasons4Me, that encourages people to list 13 things they love about themselves or in their lives.[6] ## Career Cota appeared in 2013 on the television series *[Dance Moms](/source/Dance_Moms)*and was a regular on the show for another 4 years.[1] She later toured the United States with other stars from *Dance Moms* in 2018.[7] In 2016, she was in the first episode of *[So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation](/source/So_You_Think_You_Can_Dance:_The_Next_Generation_(American_TV_series)).* She appeared in several short movies in 2018 and made appearances in two episodes of *[The Bold and the Beautiful](/source/The_Bold_and_the_Beautiful)*. Her first major role in acting came as playing the lead character in the [Netflix](/source/Netflix) film *[Tall Girl](/source/Tall_Girl)*, which was released on September 13, 2019.[1][8][9] Michelle began filming the *Tall Girl* sequel, *[Tall Girl 2](/source/Tall_Girl_2)*, in April 2021.[10] ## Filmography ### Film Year Title Role Notes 2018 This Is Me Olivia Newton-John Short film Mamma Mia! Anna A Christmas Dinner Sophia Bailey 2019 Tall Girl Jodi Kreyman 2022 Tall Girl 2[10] ### Television Year Title Role Notes 2014–2017 Dance Moms Herself 18 episodes 2016 So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation 1 episode 2018 The Bold and the Beautiful Forrester model 2 episodes 2020 Zombies 2: The Collab Zombie Television film ## References 1. ["Ava Michelle: 9 Facts about the Tall Girl Netflix star you need to know"](https://www.popbuzz.com/tv-film/features/ava-michelle-cota/hometown-michigan/). *PopBuzz*. [Global](/source/Global_Media_%26_Entertainment). 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019. 1. ["Welcome to Broadway Dance Academy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150726154249/http://broadwaydreams.net/index.htm). *JC's Broadway Dance Academy*. Archived from [the original](http://broadwaydreams.net/index.htm) on July 26, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2019. 1. Tabony, India (September 13, 2018). ["EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Ava Cota who talks Dance Moms, and her upcoming EP"](https://celebmix.com/exclusive-interview-with-ava-cota-from-dance-moms/). *CelebMix*. Retrieved September 19, 2019. 1. ["Ava Michelle"](https://boxofficebuz.com/person/1081597678). *Box Office Buz*. Retrieved September 22, 2019. 1. Beard, Katherine (September 15, 2017). [""Dance Moms" Darling Ava Cota Slays on the Runway at New York Fashion Week"](https://www.dancespirit.com/dance-moms-darling-ava-cota-2483063614.html). *Dance Spirit*. Retrieved October 1, 2019. 1. Rumer, Anna (September 4, 2018). ["Ava Cota Says Difficult 'Dance Moms' Experience Made Her a 'Stronger Person'"](https://popculture.com/reality-tv/2018/09/04/ava-cota-difficult-dance-moms-experience-made-her-stronger-person/). *PopCulture*. Retrieved October 2, 2019. 1. Contreras, Cesareo (October 7, 2018). ["Lifetime's 'Dance Moms' Ava Cota dances in Hudson, talks about the #13reasons4me challenge"](https://web.archive.org/web/20191002001420/https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/20181007/lifetimes-dance-moms-ava-cota-dances-in-hudson-talks-about-13reasons4me-challenge). *[The MetroWest Daily News](/source/The_MetroWest_Daily_News)*. [GateHouse Media](/source/GateHouse_Media). Archived from [the original](https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/20181007/lifetimes-dance-moms-ava-cota-dances-in-hudson-talks-about-13reasons4me-challenge) on October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019. 1. Dodson, P. Claire (September 13, 2019). ["*Tall Girl* Star Ava Michelle on How She Learned to Embrace Her Height for Her Netflix Role"](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/netflix-tall-girl-star-ava-michelle-learned-to-embrace-height). *[Teen Vogue](/source/Teen_Vogue)*. [Condé Nast](/source/Cond%C3%A9_Nast). Retrieved October 1, 2019. 1. ["*Tall Girl* Star Ava Michelle Says She Didn't Realize Her Height Would 'Hurt' Her Career"](https://people.com/movies/tall-girl-star-ava-michelle-says-she-didnt-realize-her-height-would-hurt-her-career/). *people.com*. September 23, 2019. 1. Moore, Kasey (March 3, 2021). ["'Tall Girl 2' Coming to Netflix, Filming Begins in April 2021"](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/tall-girl-2-greenlit-at-netflix-filming-begins-in-april-2021/). whats-on-netflix.com. ## External links - [Ava being picked on because of her body shape during dance rehearsal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUfYGK8qORk) - [So You Think You Can Dance – Ava dancing and talking about being kicked off Dance Moms due to her height](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5D8jkWWJvc) - [Dance Moms – Ava beats Maddie Ziegler in a nationals dance off](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxqR2OG3Sxc) - [Ava – professional dancer video](https://vimeo.com/238828931) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ava Michelle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_Michelle) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_Michelle?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.