Carson was born Sofia Lauren Daccarett Char[1] on April 10, 1993[2][3][4] inFort Lauderdale, Florida,[4][5] to José F. Daccarett and Laura Char Carson, who both moved to Florida fromBarranquilla,Colombia.[3][6] Sofia chose the stage name "Carson" after her American maternal grandmother, Lauraine Carson.[7]
She attended St. Hugh Catholic School and graduated fromCarrollton School of the Sacred Heart inMiami.[5] She attended In Motion Dance Studio, where she was part of the IMPAC Youth Ensemble program, competing across the United States.[5][8] She subsequently attendedUCLA, majoring in communications with a minor in French.[8][9]
Carson said she is mainly influenced bypop music and admires artists who "tell stories through their music", cited 20th-century acts likeThe Beatles and modern acts likeEd Sheeran andTaylor Swift as influences.[10] In 2013, Carson participated in aBMI Latina musical artist showcase.[11] She performed as part of the cast on the 2015Descendants soundtrack, which reached number one on theBillboard 200, including her single version of "Rotten to the Core".[12] She was also featured on theDescendants 2 andDescendants 3 soundtracks, which reached numbers 6 and 7, respectively, on theBillboard 200.[13][14]
Carson singing the national anthem at the 2017A Capitol Fourth concert
In an August 2015 interview Carson stated she was working on her first album.[15] In March 2016,Hollywood Records andRepublic Records officially announced that Carson had signed a joint worldwide record deal with both companies. Her debut single was "Love Is the Name", an interpolation ofOpus' "Live Is Life", and was released on April 8, 2016.[16] "Love is the Name" had an alternate version featuringJ. Balvin, and a music video with Carson and Balvin was released for that version.[17] Carson released her second single on August 26, 2016, entitled "I'm Gonna Love You". Carson has performed in NBC's 2015 Thanksgiving Parade, ABC's Disney Parks Christmas Celebration, Univision's Feliz 2016 (New Year's Eve Special), and the 2016Radio Disney Music Awards, and she was a presenter on ABC's Disneyland 60th Anniversary Special. She performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" accompanied by theNational Symphony Orchestra at the 2017A Capitol Fourth, an annual concert at theUnited States Capitol in celebration ofIndependence Day.[18]
On January 27, 2017, she released her single "Back to Beautiful" featuringAlan Walker, and on February 15, 2017, she released the official music video onYouTube. "Back to Beautiful" was written byJulia Michaels, who also wrote Carson's next single, "Ins and Outs".[19] In 2018, Carson was featured on three EDM songs:R3hab's "Rumors", Alan Walker's "Different World" andGalantis's "San Francisco".[20][21][22] Following the success of "Rumors", Carson collaborated again with R3hab in her next singles "I Luv U"[23] and "Miss U More Than U Know".[24]
On March 26, 2021, Carson released the single "Fool's Gold", produced byStargate and Jeff Jones.[25] It reached number 38 on the Mainstream Top 40.[26] The song was remixed byTiësto; his remix, "Fool's Gold (24 Karat Gold Edition)" was released on April 30, 2021.[27] On May 2, 2021, Carson performed "A Whole New World" (from the 1992 filmAladdin) onAmerican Idol with the show's nine finalists.[28] On September 2, 2021, Carson released "Glowin' Up" as a single as a part of theMy Little Pony: A New Generation soundtrack, prior to the film's release on September 24.[29] In March 2022, she released her debut studio album,Sofia Carson.[30] Carson andDiane Warren performed their ballad "Applause" from the filmTell It Like a Woman at the2023 Academy Awards, where it was nominated forBest Original Song.[31][32][33] The performance also featured a string section and a full choir.[34]
On January 9, 2015, Carson was cast in the co-lead role in the Disney Channel Original MovieAdventures in Babysitting. Filming began in spring 2015, for an early 2016 television premiere.[38] In March 2016,The Hollywood Reporter announced that Carson landed the leading role in the fourth installment of theA Cinderella Story series,A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits, directed by Michelle Johnston and produced by Dylan Sellers, which was released direct-to-video.[39][40]
Carson reprised her role as Evie in the 2017 sequelDescendants 2,[41][42] for which she was nominated for anImagen Award for Best Supporting Actress.[43] Carson played Sloane Silver in the second season of Freeform'sFamous in Love in 2018.[44] In January 2018, it was announced that Carson would be starring in the television seriesPretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists,[45][46] in the role of Ava Jalali;[47] it was picked up to series byFreeform in May 2018 and premiered in March 2019.[48][49][50] For her performance, she was nominated for aTeen Choice Award for Choice Drama TV Actress.[51] She once again played Evie forDescendants 3, the third installment of the franchise, which premiered on August 2, 2019.[52] In July 2019, it was announced that Carson would play April in theNetflix dance filmFeel the Beat,[53][54] which was released in 2020.[55]
In 2020, Carson joined the cast of thethriller filmSongbird, in which she played the main role of Sara.[56] Later that year, it was announced that she had been cast in the romance filmPurple Hearts as Cassie. Carson is also an executive producer for the movie[57] and wrote and performed on the film's soundtrack.[58] Her song "Come Back Home" from the film wonBest Musical Moment at the2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards.[59] She voiced Pipp Petals inMy Little Pony: A New Generation, which was released on September 24, 2021.[60] In July 2022,Purple Hearts was released by Netflix, reaching the number-one position worldwide.[61] Carson starred in theAmblin Entertainment filmCarry-On alongsideTaron Egerton andJason Bateman.[62] On May 10, 2023, it was announced that Carson would serve as guest mentor onAmerican Idol on its Disney Night themed episode, mentoring the top 5 contestants.[63]
In August 2019, Carson was designated as the first Global Ambassador of theLatin Grammy Cultural Foundation. Her role includes advocating, promoting, and increasing awareness of the foundation's mission and its charitable programs.[64]
In January 2020, Carson was named the new global ambassador of beauty brandRevlon.[65] In June 2020, Revlon released Carson's own collection, the Revlon x Sofia Carson collection, which includes lipsticks and nail polishes.[66] In October 2020, she was named aUNICEF Ambassador.[25] On February 28, 2021, she hosted theHollywood Foreign Press AssociationGolden Globes Red Carpet Pre-Show.[67] In April 2021, Revlon released a new fragrance for Carson, called One Heart.[68] In 2022, she partnered with the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation to announce the Sofia Carson Scholarship, which will fund a bachelor's degree atBerklee College of Music.[69] For her philanthropic efforts, in 2023 she was named Global Advocate of the Year by theUnited Nations Correspondent Association and received the award fromAntónio Guterres, Secretary General of theUnited Nations.[70]
