The Hunger Games and Barbie Actress Sofia Sanchez Born in Ukraine
14-year-old Sofia Sanchez, who starred in the films Barbie and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, was born in Ukraine. She announced this on Instagram.
She posted a video on stories saying that she was born in Ukraine and her parents abandoned her when they found out about her illness.
Sofia's adoptive mother, Jennifer Sanchez, told the Water Prairie Chronicles podcast that they first saw their daughter on a website for orphans.
At the time, the family, who lived in California, Jennifer and Hector Sanchez, already had three sons, the youngest of whom had Down syndrome.
The family planned to raise Sofia and their younger son as twins.
Sofia first saw her future parents in person in Dnipro when they flew to her orphanage.
"Her documents indicated that she was born in the same year as our youngest son Joaquin, so we thought we were going to raise twins. But a few months later, we found out that the Ukrainian orphanage had recorded the wrong year of birth. At first, we were a little disappointed... But now, it seems that we are raising twins, because the boys are a little behind the girls in development. They both go to the local school," Jennifer says.
Over time, when Sofia was already living in the United States, she began recording and posting videos on social media, in which she talked about her peculiarities due to the disease.
Sofia also shared stories about her brother Joaquin, who, in addition to Down syndrome, has mild autism.
The girl gained international fame in 2023, when the film Barbie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and the third part of the Hunger Games franchise with Jennifer Lawrence, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, were released.
In the comedy about the iconic doll, Sofia played one of the Barbies, and in The Hunger Games, she played a contender for the 10th annual Hunger Games.
Sofia has also created illustrations for a series of books about children with Down syndrome called You Are Enough and You Are Loved.
In July 2022, after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sofia posted a photo in front of the Ukrainian flag, noting that she continues to "pray for Ukraine".
On social media, Sofia addresses her followers, calling for support for her small homeland.