Keneti James Fitzgerald Apa was born on 17 June 1997 in Auckland, New Zealand, the son of Keneti and Tessa Apa (née Callander). His father is Samoan and a matai (chief) of his village in Samoa; his mother is a European New Zealander. He has two older sisters, and is the nephew of former rugby union player and coach Michael Jones. He attended high school at King’s College in Auckland before beginning his acting career.

From 2013 to 2015, Apa starred as Kane Jenkins in the New Zealand prime-time soap opera Shortland Street. In 2016, Apa was cast as Archie Andrews in the CW drama series Riverdale, after a four-month worldwide talent search.

In 2017, he starred as teenage Ethan Montgomery in the comedy-drama film A Dog’s Purpose, which was released on the same day as Riverdale premiered on television. Apa’s next film role was replacing Kian Lawley in the 2018 drama film The Hate U Give. Apa starred as Griffin in the Netflix film The Last Summer, which was released on 3 May 2019. He also starred as singer Jeremy Camp in the biographical romantic drama film I Still Believe, which was released in March 2020.

Apa was involved in a minor car accident in Vancouver in September 2017, but was uninjured when the passenger side of his car hit a light pole. The event was reportedly the result of Apa falling asleep at the wheel after a long day of shooting the previous night.

In July 2020, it was announced that Apa had joined the cast of Adam Mason’s upcoming thriller film Songbird, produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes.