“Shining star” actress with Down Syndrome inspires people to face their fears

Image Credit: Made with Love via YouTube Screengrab

A young actress with Down Syndrome, who is known for starring in the most recent Hunger Games film, has been described as a “shining star” who is inspiring people to face their fears and feel good about themselves.

Father and Son filmmaker duo, David and Jackson Hughens are currently in the process of attempting to bring a screenplay of Made with Love to film; a story that is inspired by their friend Jay who has Down Syndrome. Throughout this process, the pair have met with many people with Down Syndrome and their families, sharing their inspiring stories in a video series on YouTube titled “Stories Made With Love”. The latest story shared is that of Sofia Sanchez, an actress who is known for starring in the latest Hunger Games movie.

Sofia’s mother, Jennifer Sanchez, shares how she and her husband had adopted baby Sofia after the birth of their third child Joaquin, who also has Down Syndrome. The birth of their son opened their eyes “to this beautiful world of disability.” It was then that she came across a charity, Reese's Rainbow, who help to find orphans with disabilities a home, and it was in response to a donation she gave where the organisation sent her an ornament with baby Sofia’s face on it.

“When you get a child that has a disability, you're going to worry but the love that I was feeling and the connection I had with [Joaquin] was so special that I just couldn't imagine babies not having that with the family. I decided I would donate some money to one of these websites that had all these babies with disabilities,” she said.

“I got an envelope from the organization that we had donated to it was Reese's Rainbow and in it was an ornament with a picture of Sophia on it,” she explained, saying that instantly she knew she was to adopt her. “Here I am trying to help this baby find a family so that she can be taken away from this orphanage and live a beautiful life, why aren't we the ones doing that.”

The family welcomed baby Sofia after adopting her out of an orphanage in Ukraine, and she instantly connected with her new brother Joaquin, Ms Sanchez explains. When the family would take part in a photography session, Ms Sanchez said that Sofia would “steal the show” adding that she was “a shining star”.

“There was a light about her that was magnetic.”

After her kindergarten teacher cast her in the lead in their gingerbread play, Ms Sanchez, realising that this was her gift, and got her into a local theatre and dance classes, as well as finding her an agent that specialises with people with Down Syndrome.

She later got hired by Target to feature in their adverts, where the commercial director “fell in love” with her and wanted to use her in almost every advert for about 2 years. She was also cast in the series Switched at Birth where the director had commented on how happy she was despite the gruelling day of repeated takes, as well as saying that she was able to things that typical children were not able to do.

 When Sofia was 7-years-old, a video of her went viral where she says that Down Syndrome is “not scary; it’s so exciting!”

Ms Sanchez told CBS news at the time, “I’ve read message after message saying, ‘It’s so inspiring to hear about someone who loves themselves so much.’ I realized that I don’t think people hear enough from people with the disability describe just how great they feel about themselves.”

She later was cast in the role as Wovey in the latest Hunger Games film, the Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes where her mother explained that she was cast because she was good for the role.

“I felt like there was a movie hiring her for the role not because she had Down syndrome cause the character in the movie and the book did not have Down syndrome, they were simply hiring her because she was the right person for the role from that movie,” she said.

In 2024, she received the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award, alongside Hunger Games star, Woody Harrelson, an award given for those who have championed people with disabilities.

Ms Sanchez added that she wants to share the story of her children, Sofia and Joaquin, because she wants “to support them and I hope their community supports them so there's this urgency for me to share and continue to advocate because I just want a world that values them as much as I do.”

“I think every human wants to feel accepted for who they are,” she added. “Her gift is definitely to share love and to share life, and I don’t know any other human that is more inclusive, naturally. She just draws people in.”

Speaking to the Made with Love creators, Sofia said “I am brave because I did some hard things in my life. I did a big TEDx talk speech in TEDx reno. I was like so nervous, a little bit, but the, like fear, didn’t hold me back. Because I wanted to do something brave.”

“Everyone is brave. Well human beings can be brave, because they can do hard things,” she added.

"I can do this. I got this. You can face your fears, it's not easy, but remember there is power in being brave,” she said in her TEDx talk.

“She’s just so inspiring in everything she does. She touches people and leaves people feeling better about themselves,” Ms Sanchez said.

Sandra Parda of the Life Institute commented, saying, “What an amazing and inspirational story of an amazing and inspirational girl! Every single life is unique and precious, and Sofia and her brother Joaquin are showing us just how precious every single person is.