Who is Avatar Kyoshi in ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender?’ Her origin story and more

The live-action remake of the 2005 animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender will once again bring this beloved fantasy world to life. The trailer has raised our expectations, all we need now is a quick character refresher before the action begins.

If you’ve missed the 2005 animated series, the 2010 film, or the diverse novel and comic adaptations, grasping the world and characters of Avatar might seem daunting. But we all start somewhere, and the upcoming 2024 series could serve as an entry point for all newbies. To kick off, in the elemental world of Avatar, four nations—Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads—harbor gifted “benders” with telekinetic control over the element corresponding to their nation.

An “Avatar” is a rare being who possesses the ability to manipulate all four elements. In the series, a young Avatar named Aang will serve as the protagonist, but the series will feature various Avatars, including Avatar Kyoshi. So, who exactly is she, and who will portray her in the upcoming series?

Who is Avatar Kyoshi?

Kyoshi was born in the year 312 BG to Jesa, a renegade Air Nomad nun, and Hark, a descendant from a distinguished but impoverished line of Earth Kingdom actors. They together ran one of the most powerful crime networks, the Flying Opera Company. As the Avatar, Kyoshi succeeded Avatar Kuruk of the Northern Water Tribe and preceded Avatar Roku of the Fire Nation. 

She inherited her signature outfit from her parents, wearing her father’s daofei face paint and her mother’s golden headdress and metal battle fans. Kyoshi conquered the Avatar State, rising to prominence and imposing her will on the planet while reestablishing order. Kyoshi was also openly bisexual and worked to promote tolerance for non-heterosexuals in the infamously conservative Earth Kingdom.

Kyoshi is also the oldest confirmed human in the Avatar universe, having died at the age of 230 in 82 BG. She then reincarnated as the Fire Nation noble, Roku.

Avatar Kyoshi’s origin story

At the time of her birth, the country was destabilized by the Yellow Neck Uprising and marauding bandit groups known as daofei. When Kyoshi was around five or six, she was left in the care of a villager at Yokoya, but the villager soon cast Kyoshi out onto the streets. Kyoshi then spent a year as a homeless orphan, feeding on garbage, and blamed her parents for her misfortune.

Then, in 305 BG, Jianzhu and Kelsang paid Yokoya a visit. In search of the Avatar, the two masters had traversed the Earth Kingdom for seven years now. The two presented a test to the children of Yokoya to identify the Avatar. Though mistrustful, Kyoshi took a clay turtle that had belonged to a past Avatar. When Kelsang told her that she could take three more toys to confirm whether she was the Avatar, Skeptical of further promises, she fled, leaving the masters to misidentify Yun as the Avatar.

Fast forward to years later after Kelsang took Kyoshi to his care and she eventually becomes Yun’s servant in the Avatar mansion. Over time, she grew increasingly close to Yun and Rangi, a firebender who had been appointed Yun’s bodyguard. Kyoshi’s life drastically changed in 296 BG when Kelsang began to suspect that she might be the actual Avatar.

How was Kyoshi identified as the Avatar?

To establish a deal with the Fifth Nation, a group of pirates, Kyoshi accompanied Yun on a journey that took them close to the South Pole in 296 BG. Tagaka, the head of the Fifth Nation, soon exposed that the gathering was a ruse to seize the Avatar, but Kyoshi rescued Yun. In an incredible performance of earth bending, she annihilated a large portion of the Fifth Nation fleet using both her strength and her first use of the Avatar State.

This fueled suspicions regarding the true Avatar’s identity. To settle the matter, Jianzhu presented Kyoshi and Yun to a malevolent spirit in the southeast Earth Kingdom known as “Father Glowworm” The creature immediately identified Kyoshi as the true Avatar and Jianzhu rescued her back to safety while leaving YUN to the spirit’s wrath.

Fearful and desperate for revenge against Jianzhu, Kyoshi then fled with Rangi, and joined her parents’ old criminal gang, the Flying Opera Company. With these unlikely allies, Kyoshi consequently traveled to the Earth Kingdom and became involved in the criminal underworld while being chased by Jianzhu. Along with her criminal associates, Rangi, and an unexpected reappearance of Yun, she then eliminated Jianzhu.

Afterwards, Kyoshi ventured to the Southern Air Temple and revealed her identity as the Avatar to the Air Nomads.

Who will portray Avatar Kyoshi in Avatar: The Last Airbender?

In the upcoming Netflix live-action series remake, Yvonne Chapman will appear as Avatar Kyoshi in a recurring role. In the original story, Kyoshi appears in Aang’s story during his trip to Kyoshi Island, as he observes the statue erected in her honor. Chapman was cast in the role in Dec. 2021, having risen in fame due to her role as the villain Zhilan Zhang in The CW’s Kung Fu.

Avatar: The Last Airbender premieres on Feb. 22, 2024.