Sofia Carson Bio
Sofia Lauren Daccarett Char, known professionally as Sofia Carson, is an American actress and singer. Born on April 10, 1993 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she first gained wide recognition playing Evie, the daughter of the Evil Queen, in the Disney Channel movie Descendants (2015) and later reprised the role in the franchise’s sequels. Across film, television, and music, Carson has built a career that bridges family-oriented Disney projects with more mature Netflix dramas, while also maintaining a steady recording career as a pop artist.
Her screen credits include Adventures in Babysitting (2016), A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits (2016), Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019), Purple Hearts (2022), and Carry-On (2024). In music, she released her eponymous debut studio album Sofia Carson in 2022 and performed the Diane Warren-penned ballad Applause at the 2023 Academy Awards, where the song was nominated for Best Original Song.
Early Life and Background
Sofia Carson was born Sofia Lauren Daccarett Char on April 10, 1993, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She is the daughter of José F. Daccarett and Laura Char Carson, both of whom moved to Florida from Barranquilla, Colombia, before she was born. Carson chose her professional last name from her American maternal grandmother, Lauraine Carson, embracing a piece of her family heritage as her stage identity.
She attended St. Hugh Catholic School and later graduated from Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami. During her school years, she trained at In Motion Dance Studio, where she participated in the IMPAC Youth Ensemble program and competed across the United States. These early experiences in performance helped shape her interest in acting and music long before she ever auditioned for a television role.
After finishing high school, Carson attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in communications with a minor in French. Balancing her studies with auditions, she laid the groundwork for a career that would soon move from the classroom to the screen.
Path to Celebrity
Carson’s professional path began in 2012, the same year she completed key steps toward an entertainment career. Her first on-screen credit arrived in 2014, when she guest-starred as Chelsea on the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally, followed by a recurring role as Soleil on MTV’s Faking It. These early television appearances gave her valuable experience in front of the camera and caught the attention of Disney casting teams.
In 2014, she was cast in the starring role of Evie in the Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants, a musical fantasy built around the children of famous villains. Released in 2015, the film became a defining moment in her career, introducing her to a global Disney audience and establishing her as a leading face of the network’s next wave of talent.
Sofia Carson Career
Early Career (2012–2015)
During her early years in the industry, Carson balanced auditions with her university studies at UCLA. Her first professional moves were small television parts, including guest spots on Austin & Ally and Faking It, which she used to build on-camera confidence and industry connections. These roles were stepping stones that led directly to her big break.
In 2015, her role in Descendants transformed her visibility overnight. The Descendants soundtrack, which included her version of Rotten to the Core, reached number one on the Billboard 200. The same year, she performed on NBC’s 2015 Thanksgiving Parade and ABC’s Disney Parks Christmas Celebration, signaling that Disney viewed her as a priority talent across both screen and stage.
Breakthrough (2015–2019)
Building on the success of Descendants, Carson quickly booked more Disney projects. In early 2016, she starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Adventures in Babysitting and later that year headlined A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits, the fourth installment of the Cinderella Story series, directed by Michelle Johnston and produced by Dylan Sellers.
She returned to the role of Evie in Descendants 2 (2017), earning an Imagen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and reprised the character again in Descendants 3 (2019). In 2018, she joined the cast of Freeform’s Famous in Love for its second season and in 2019 began starring as Ava Jalali in Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, a performance that earned her a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Drama TV Actress.
On the music side, Carson signed a joint worldwide deal with Hollywood Records and Republic Records in March 2016. Her debut single, Love Is the Name, was released on April 8, 2016, followed by additional singles including Back to Beautiful with Alan Walker, Ins and Outs, and features on tracks with R3hab, Alan Walker, and Galantis.
Recent Work (2020–2025)
Beginning in 2020, Carson expanded into more adult-oriented projects while continuing her music career. She starred in the thriller film Songbird, voiced Pipp Petals in My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021), and in 2022 released her debut studio album, Sofia Carson. That same year, she starred in and executive-produced the Netflix romance Purple Hearts, writing and performing on its soundtrack; the song Come Back Home won Best Musical Moment at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards.
In 2023, she performed Applause with Diane Warren at the Academy Awards, where the song from Tell It Like a Woman received a nomination for Best Original Song. She also starred alongside Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman in the Amblin Entertainment thriller Carry-On, released in 2024. In 2025, she took on leading roles in the romantic comedies The Life List and My Oxford Year, further extending her presence on Netflix.
Notable Works and Milestones
Among Carson’s signature works, Descendants stands out as the project that introduced her to a worldwide audience, while Purple Hearts marked her transition into a producer and recording artist for a major streaming release. Her Academy Awards performance of Applause in 2023 placed her on one of the most-watched stages in entertainment, underscoring her standing as both an actress and a recording artist.
Sofia Carson Award Nominations
Throughout her career, Sofia Carson has received recognition from several industry and audience-voted award bodies. Her nominations include an Imagen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Descendants 2 and a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Drama TV Actress for Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. In music, she earned a nomination at the Academy Awards for Best Original Song for Applause, performed with songwriter Diane Warren at the 2023 ceremony.
Sofia Carson Awards Won
Carson has also taken home awards that reflect both her acting and her music career. Her song Come Back Home from Purple Hearts won Best Musical Moment at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards. Beyond entertainment, she has been honored for her humanitarian work: in 2023, the United Nations Correspondents Association named her Global Advocate of the Year, an award presented by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
Sofia Carson Family
Carson is the daughter of José F. Daccarett and Laura Char Carson, both of whom moved to Florida from Barranquilla, Colombia, before she was born. She chose her stage name Carson after her American maternal grandmother, Lauraine Carson. Her Colombian and American family roots remain an important part of her public identity, and she has been involved with the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation since being named its first Global Ambassador in August 2019.
Personal Life
Carson attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she majored in communications with a minor in French. Beyond her screen and music work, she has taken on a number of ambassador roles, including positions with Revlon beginning in 2020 and with UNICEF beginning in October 2020. In 2022, she partnered with the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation to create the Sofia Carson Scholarship, which funds a bachelor’s degree at Berklee College of Music.