Biography
Date of Birth
22 December 1992, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Birth Name
Sofia Vladimirovna Vassilieva
Nickname
Sonya
Fia
Height
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Trivia
She was a presenter of Family Feature Film on 19th Genesis Award 2005, which was broadcast on "Animal planet" on May 14 & 15, 2005.
She was nominated for a Syfyportal Genre Award as best young actor/actress for her role in Medium, lost the award to Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe.
Discovered at the IMTA in New York in 2000, where she won 7 awards including the title of Child Actress and first runner-up Child Model Of The Year.
When she was 3, she started speaking French and reading in Russian and English, being fluent in these three languages, she now enjoys studying Spanish and American Sign Language. As of 2015 speaks and writes about seven- eight languages.
Started taking ballet at 3, gymnastics at 5, playing piano at 7, riding horses at 10, and recently became fascinated by yoga. Still takes yoga, ballet and horse riding classes.
Beat out Dakota Fanning to the Eloise role in the Eloise movies.
At the age of 13, her favorite singer was Shakira, and later Sia.
Sofia's Maltese "Mefodi" appears as the dog in the hands of a Plaza girl in The Wonderful World of Disney: Eloise at Christmastime (2003).
By 14, she has already visited Italy, Austria, France, Canada, England, Japan, Spain and Germany.
Before moving to Los Angeles at 11, she lived in Minnesota, Oregon, Arizona and Utah.
She skipped one grade in Elementary School in 1999, before her success and winning the Child Actress award on IMTA 2000, i.e. before her real interest in acting began.
Was born at 2:22 and 22 sec. pm, CDT.
Accepted the part of Kate in My Sister's Keeper (2009) after Dakota Fanning stepped down, upon refusing to shave her head for the part - according to rumors.
Was offered the part of Claire in The Clique (2008), but bowed out due to scheduling conflicts.
In 2009 became an honorary ambassador for Stand Up to Cancer.
Graduated from Concord High School in Santa Monica, CA [June 7,2010].
At 17 became a student of Columbia University in New York City [2010].
Graduated from Columbia College, of Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree [05.21.2014]; Completed a Linguistics major with honors and a special concentration in Business Management.
Was accepted to and completed the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art's Acting Shakespeare course; London, UK [Summer 2013].
Won a 2006 Young Artist Award in the Best Performance in a TV Series (Drama) - Supporting Young Actress for her role as Ariel Dubois in Medium (2005).
Is an only child in the family of professor Larissa Vassilieva (nee Lara Kosmin), biologist, and professor Vladimir Vassiliev, physicist; Russian immigrants.
Quotes
About the filming of the "Eloise" movies: It was like a long vacation, a 54 -day vacation.
It (acting) is something I want to do as long as I live.
As long as you can laugh you are not old.
My mother is my hero.
There is work, and there is pleasure, Acting is pleasure.
[on her work in Medium] I want to be challenged, I want to work, and I want to feel that I am not being held back, that there is something in front of me, something more inspiring than... just eating breakfast, you know?
Oh! I would like to learn so many things: I'd like to take tennis classes, I'd like continuing vocal lessons, and I'd definitely like taking more ice skating and more tap. I'd like to really learn painting, and I'd like to learn Tibetan - Lhasa Dialect - and really learn Farsi, so that I can speak to my friend and her family; I would like to learn so many things. But I just barely have enough time to do what I am doing now.
On her role Kate in My Sister's Keeper (2009): There are scripts when you fall so much in love with your character. And if you are lucky and offered this part you should not tempt your fate and go to the greatest extent to be/to play this character. If you have an opportunity to do that and you do not, it's shameful. Shaving my head was the least I could do for Kate to experience the degree of her isolation and outcast from a 'normal' healthy life. Playing Kate was like balancing between two realities.
