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ArtSpotlight
Jr.
Sophia Bairley
Actress
At
the age of five, Sophia Bairley informed her mother that she wanted
to be an actress. Since this was coming out of the mouth of a five year
old, her mother didn't take it too seriously. Dressing up and playing
different characters, each having a unique voice, was something Sophia
enjoyed and seemed like nothing more than child's play. Looking back
seven years later, it is clear that Sophia knew exactly what she wanted
at the tender age of five.
Sophia is the daughter
of Rick and Bettina Bairley. They reside in Winter Haven, Florida where
Rick is a Certified Building Contractor and runs his own business. Bettina
is a State Certified Real Estate Appraiser. Sophia is the youngest of
three children. Sophia's brother Nicholaus, is a graduate of Jacksonville
University and is currently working as a sales rep for Brighthouse Communications.
Her sister Brittany lives in San Diego, California and is working at
Olive Garden and will attend interior design school in the fall.
When she was six
years old Sophia stepped out of her generally shy nature and volunteered
to sing the Star Spangled Banner at her brother's high school
soccer game. Since her debut, she has been invited to sing the National
Anthem at many local professional and amateur sporting events. When
she was seven, she began vocal training with Alayne Archer (Orlando)
who gave Sophia the necessary foundation for Broadway style vocals.
Sophia fell in love with show tunes.
Her acting career
followed suit. At age seven, Sophia was cast as one of the king's daughters
in the musical The King and I that played at Theatre Winter Haven. After
that, she was hooked. For the next two years, Sophia performed in many
different stage events in Winter Haven, Lakeland, Orlando and Tampa.
Her performance as 'Opal' in the musical Opal received a great
review in the Orlando Sentinel. In 2004, writer and director Steven
Scott Lay was so impressed upon meeting Sophia that he created a role
just for her in his musical, A Whale of a Tale. The show was
performed at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and Sophia melted
the hearts of the audience.
With singing and
acting training going so well, Sophia expressed an interest in expanding
her skills once more to incorporate dance. Since entering Kindergarten,
she has been a student at Jewett School of the Arts. School tradition
calls for all fourth graders to choose a major and Sophia chose dance.
She began daily training in ballet and jazz with dance teachers Gloria
Haigler and Annie Campbell. Sophia's passion for dance soon led her
to after school classes at the Wright Step School of Dance. She continues
to dance at the Wright Step taking classes in ballet, jazz, hip-hop,
tap, musical theatre and lyrical. Her teacher Amy Wright has been a
great inspiration. Amy's husband, Kevin (Rockapella) also works with
Sophia on pop style vocals which Sophia sees as a must as she approaches
her teen years.
In June 2003, Sophia got her first taste of acting in film when she
landed a lead role in the independent film, Little Men. It was
a very exciting time for her and she cherishes her memories of working
on the film. Since then she has worked with other seasoned actors such
as Rhoda Griffis, and Paul Lasa . In 2005, Sophia was thrilled when
offered a lead role in Canvas and had the amazing opportunity
to work with Academy Award winner, Marsha Gay Harden and Emmy Award
Winner, Joe Pantoliano. The film is currently in post production.
Creating character
voices has been a past time of Sophia's since she was a young child.
Sophia's dream of providing the voice for an animated character was
soon realized when she booked Nickelodeon's, Furby Island, as
the voice of 'E Lo'. In June 2006, Sophia was invited to Los Angeles
to participate in a voice-over showcase and performed in front of representatives
from companies such as Disney Animated Films and Nickelodeon. It was
great fun for her and she's looking forward to booking her next animated
project.
Sophia, now a seventh
grader, realizes that receiving a good education will be her most important
achievement in life. She has managed to maintain straight A's throughout
her entire education. Last year, she spent about two months in Los Angeles,
auditioning for film, commercials and television. While in L.A. she
receives assignments from her teachers and works on them at home so
she can keep up with her school work.
In her spare time,
Sophia enjoys designing homes on her computer. Other extracurricular
activities such as community service, tumbling, trampoline, and just
hanging out with her friends give Sophia real life skills that she can
bring to her acting, making it natural and believable.
Watch
a Reel of Sophia's Work
Click
on Image to Enlarge

Age 8 Performing in Gypsy
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Studying in her trailer on the set
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At a radio interview
at WLKF
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On set for Pringles Commercial
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On set with director for Yours Mine and Ours promo
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On the set of
Little Men
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On set for Brighthouse Commercial
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With Marsha Gay Harden
on the set of Canvas
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With and Shelly Burch
on stage during Opal
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Getting make-up
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