The 8-Year-Old Nicki Minaj Fanatic, Sophia Grace, Who Stole Ellen DeGeneres’s Heart Is All Grown Up
One of Ellen DeGeneres’s special traits is her ability to relate to kids. The talk show host often has children appear on her show that she’s discovered through viral videos and has been intricate in helping to launch them into entertainment careers. One of the most memorable child guests on her show is Sophia Grace.
Sophia and her cousin appeared on the show and stunned viewers with their rendition of a Nicki Minaj song. Sophia is now all grown up, but many will always remember her as a little girl with much enthusiasm while fearlessly rapping her favorite tune on live television.
Sophia Grace steals the show during an appearance on ‘Ellen’ and meets Nicki Minaj
Grace first caught the attention of DeGeneres from her YouTube video that went viral of her and her cousin Rosie performing to Minaj’s hit single, “Super Bass.” The England natives were 8-years-old and 5-years-old respectively at the time of their appearance.
Sophia was a huge fan of Minaj and enlisted the help of Rosie to help ease her stage freight, with Rosie acting as her hype man.
“We learned it [the lyrics] about in a week, but really we picked up the words in about two days,” Sophia revealed. She hilariously admitted that she had no idea what the lyrics to the song meant at the time, garnering laughs from DeGeneres and the audience.
They took to the stage to show off their chops and performed the song acapella. The girls stole the heart of viewers and DeGeneres for their spunk and charisma. But the biggest surprise came when Minaj emerged from backstage to meet Sophia. The girls’ parents became overwhelmed with emotion in the audience at the special moment.
Minaj was impressed with the little entertainers. “This is a superstar,” the rapper exclaimed. “I feel like we are watching a journey that’s going to be amazing.” She encouraged the girls to follow their dreams and to stay in school.
Together, Minaj performed the song with Sophia and Rosie, leaving the rapping to Sophia and her chiming in to sing the chorus. They were also gifted colorful wigs to mimic Minaj for future performances.
They made several more appearances after their first Ellen debut and became instant fan favorites. The talk show host has kept in touch with the girls throughout the years, updating her viewers on them along the way.
Sophia Grace just turned 17-years-old and continues pursuing entertainment and has her own clothing line
Sophia has amassed a social media following that she transferred from her popular YouTube videos as a child to her now popular Instagram page. She recently just celebrated her 17th birthday and fans are amazed at how she’s grown.
“17,” she captioned a photo of her holding a large chocolate birthday cake.
“Don’t seem that long ago when you were on Ellen singing,” one commented with a laughing emoji.
“Happy birthday I watched you since you were on Ellen,” wrote another.
She, along with her cousin, has continued her pursuit of entertainment, vying to work as an actress. They released a film, Sophia Grace and Rosie’s Royal Adventure, in 2014.
Sophia remains a YouTube influencer and is the owner of her own clothing line, Lolo London, which is based in the UK. The line sells comfortable attire, including branded hooded sweatshirts and hats. From the line’s Instagram account, it appears it was launched just this year.
Sophia and Rosie remain close and share pictures of one another on their social media accounts.
They also surprised DeGeneres for her 60th birthday by sending her a video message that aired on her talk show in 2018.
Let’s see what Sophia, and Rosie, decide to tackle next!
