Ashleigh Murray

Ashleigh Murray (born January 18, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her breakthrough role as Josie McCoy, the lead singer of the fictional band Josie and the Pussycats, on The CW television series Riverdale, which she starred in from 2017 to 2019. Murray reprised her role as Josie McCoy in the Riverdale spin-off series Katy Keene (2020) and returned to Riverdale as a guest star in 2021 and 2023. Murray has also starred in the films Deidra & Laney Rob a Train (2017) and Valley Girl (2020), as well as the television series Tom Swift (2022) and The Other Black Girl (2023).

Early life and education
Murray was born on January 18, 1988, in Kansas City, Missouri. At the age of 10, she participated in a school play which ignited her love for acting and performing. After high school, Murray moved to New York City, where she studied acting at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and graduated in 2009.

Career
In 2016, Murray was cast as a series regular in The CW's teen drama Riverdale, portraying Josie McCoy, "a gorgeous, snooty and ambitious girl who is the lead singer for the popular band Josie and the Pussycats". The show premiered in 2017, and Murray was a cast member until 2019. Murray's actual singing voice is used in all of her performance scenes with Josie and the Pussycats on the show, but she has expressed disinterest in becoming a professional singer herself. In February 2019, it was announced that Murray would reprise her role as Josie McCoy as part of the main cast of the Riverdale spin-off pilot, Katy Keene. In May 2019, The CW ordered Katy Keene to series. Katy Keene was canceled after one season in July 2020 and Murray returned to Riverdale as a guest star in 2021 and 2023.

Murray had a co-leading role in the 2017 Netflix original movie Deidra & Laney Rob a Train. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017, and was released on March 17, 2017. In April 2017, it was announced that Murray had joined the cast of MGM's musical Valley Girl, a remake of the 1983 film, as Loryn.

In May 2022, Murray starred in the Nancy Drew spin-off series Tom Swift. Later that same year, she was cast as Hazel-May McCall in the Hulu mystery thriller series The Other Black Girl, a television adaptation of the 2021 novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris.