How Sofia Carson’s Parents and Biculturality Helped Her Life and Career

Sofia Carson is a multi-hyphenated artist with a great career in both acting and singing-songwriting. The actress is at the top of her game right now with the release of Purple Hearts, a Netflix movie she appears in opposite Nicholas Galitzine.

She has always taken her acting and singing careers together, for both of which she got inspiration from her childhood idols. And while she definitely had celebrity idols, she also had people to look up to in her immediate family — her parents.

The Latino star gives a lot of credit to her parents, who taught her about both American and her native Colombian cultures and languages, and also always supported her in whatever she pursued in life.

Sofia Carson's Parents, Ethnicity, and Bicultural Raisings

Carson, whose real name is Sofia Daccarett Char, was born on April 10, 1993, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Colombian immigrants. Her father, Jose F. Daccarett, and her mother, Laura Char Carson, are from Barranquilla, Colombia.

She is related to the Char family of Colombian politics through her mom. However, her maternal grandmother, Lauraine Carson, is American, and inspired her stage name, Sofia Carson.

Despite being born in Florida, her parents taught her and her sister, Paulina Char, both American and Latin culture.

Sofia Carson with her father, Jose F. Daccarett, and sister, Paulina Char. (Photo: Jose F. Daccarett/Instagram)

"My mom is Colombian, so I was raised going to Colombia every year to see my family," she told Mom magazine during an interview in July 2015. When asked about her bilinguality, she said she was "lucky" to be able to speak both English and Spanish.

"We were raised eating mac and cheese and popcorn, but also, deditos de queso, empanadas, arroz con pollo," she added. And she was raised both on reggaeton and pop, with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder being the most played American artists at home.

However, despite knowing it was good to have known both cultures so well, she did not understand how important her parents' teachings were until she started achieving success in the industry.

She had that revelation when she landed the role of Evie in The Descendants in 2015. Her character was to have a journey to a place that was like another world — an experience similar to what her parents went through when they arrived in the US.

Her understanding of that scenario helped her relate to and portray Evie better. And it also helped her communicate with her fans around the world, some of who might not necessarily understand English but understand Spanish.

Carson was always into performing. "I've known since I was 3, twirling around the living room in my Belle gown from Beauty and the Beast," she said of her interest in acting and singing in an interview with Miami Herald in July 2015. "I couldn't picture myself doing anything else."

At 18, she moved across the country to study at UCLA. Her parents would let her do however many acting auditions she wanted as long as she was also studying.

Now, she is adding the tags of a producer and a soundtrack writer to her actress/singer-songwriter resume. And she is the first-ever global ambassador for the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation.

Sofia Carson's Mom's Influence

Purple Hearts was the most difficult job Carson has ever undertaken. She would not have made it out the other side if it was not for her mother's support.

Laura was the one to first inspire Carson to be a multi-hyphenate. She introduced her daughter to Jennifer Lopez, Barbra Streisand, and Cher, all of whom were more than just one-trick ponies.

And while Carson looked up to those famous women, she looked up to her mother more. "We worked together on my career. I call her my head of management. She is my partner. She is my everything," she said of Laura during her interview with Netflix.

Carson also realized the importance of speaking up for herself from her mother. She noticed how Laura and Paulina were never afraid to speak their mind and Laura, especially, never took no for an answer "in the best way."

Her inspiration to pursue her interests in human rights and justice, eventually leading to her Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation ambassadorship, also came from her mother.

"My mom leads with love, kindness and empathy in everything that she does, and I strive to follow her example," Carson asserted.

Laura taught her that nothing is impossible and she is now achieving what she might have once thought was impossible for a Colombian girl from Florida.