Every parent wants the best for their child -- call it living the American dream. Most kids definitely dream to be recognized on social media, especially if they can sing, dance, act, make people laugh or are talented at something different.
There is so much unrecognized talent out here, so much competition, and most people figure why not just post a video on YouTube. It just might get noticed. Just look at how many kids have been discovered through the videos they posted. If they’re lucky enough or talented enough, the video gets international recognition and goes viral with celebrities wanting to host the child on their shows, interview them and as they say, the rest is history. The child then goes on to become an overnight Internet sensation.
That is exactly how the girls Sophia Grace and Rosie started out. Their aunt posted a video of them performing a Nicki Minaj song that went viral. Ellen DeGeneres noticed them and hosted them on her show. You'll never guess how different they already look. You probably wouldn't recognize them if you saw them on the street.
Ellen reigns when it comes to daytime television and she can turn a random guest on her show into a star overnight. Her award-winning talk show is famous for using the Internet to scour for new and young talent. From singers, dancers and hilarious personalities, Ellen can find just about any talent. Sophia Grace and Rosie sure have Ellen to thank for their rise to stardom! Below are 15 things about Sophia Grace and Rosie’s childhood you probably didn’t know.
15 Sophia And Rosie Are Actually Cousins
Sophia Grace Brownlee was born in April 2000, whereas Rosie McClelland,who was really camera shy at first, was born in September 2006.
The girls are cousins who both hail from Essex in England. Sophia’s dad describes the girls’ childhood as quiet. He further states that his daughter was very quiet in class, but started coming out of her shell a few years later and even started singing around their house.
Sophia’s dad and manager is a former party MC and he hails from a music-loving family. Clearly, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. The dad even blows his trumpet a little by claiming that he introduced Sophia to rap. Totally adorable! Sophia Grace and Rosie went to the same school, which was only a ten-minute drive from their homes. When they returned home after the Ellen show everyone was excited, showing them love, screaming delightedly at meeting the girls. They were now famous! Sophia, however, didn’t enjoy the attention at school; she only preferred it while on stage.
14 Their Youtube Video Has Over 52 Million Views
They were just spending quality family time and Aunt Daniella had a light bulb moment. She decided to make a video of the girls. She went further and got some tiaras and tutus out of the dress-up box, which is the look the girls are now popular for. Talk of a supportive mum and auntie! Initially, the idea was to put only Sophia Grace on the video. However, since they enjoyed spending time together, they eventually added Rosie as a last minute thought. Rosie just danced while her mum filmed the video.
What transpired next was something we are increasingly seeing in this YouTube age with the plot ending up to be one of a kind. On September 19, 2011, Sophia’s auntie posted the video on YouTube.
The views kept accumulating and in early October the family received a call from the Ellen show.
The dad initially thought that Sophia Grace would be too nervous to perform in front of an audience, but when the show insisted that Rosie came along, he knew that Rosie’s presence would make Sophia more confident. The video has over 52 million views to date.
13 They Made An Appearance For Ellen's 60th
On January 26th this year, the adorable duo took time to wish Ellen DeGeneres a very happy birthday. Ellen, the famous talk show host was wished a happy 60th birthday by the two.
DeGeneres was amazed by the sweet message the girls sent her and even stated that she felt old cause she knows tons of people who have kids and seeing the girls all grown makes her feel a tad bit old. In the video, Sophia Grace, a 15-year-old teenager and her cousin Rosie, now 11, got to share their favorite memories from the times they were on the show.
Rosie reminded them that her favorite moment was when Ellen slimed the girls stating that she loved it, but it was so cold. Sophia chimed in stating that she loved the moment when Ellen gifted them with Minaj-style wigs saying that it was hilarious.
Other big-time celebrities who got to wish the day-time talk show host a happy birthday included Justin Timberlake and Kristen Bell.
12 They Starred In Their Own Film
Sophia Grace and Rosie starred in their own movie, Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure. The 2014 flick is about their employer and pal Ellen sending them off to Switzelvania to report that a new queen will be crowned.
On Rotten Tomatoes the movie has no critic reviews but on IMDb, the movie has a not-so-bad star user rating of a 4.2 out of 10. This is a pretty good rating considering this was their first movie.
TMZ reported that according to the girls’ movie contracts there were plans for feasible sequels. The contracts allegedly stated that the girls made good money from the movie.
Sophia Grace made $50,000 for the movie and if the sequels happen she will earn $75,000 on each second and third sequel.
The deal gets better with a promise of $100,000 per film for a third and fourth installment. The reports, however, don’t give details about Rosie’s pay.
11 They're Published Authors
Look out, Charles Dickens. Sophia Grace and Rosie with neither a diploma nor a composition class (maybe) have managed to write not only one, but two books! They announced it on Ellen’s show.
Tea Time with Sophia Grace & Rosie, the duo's first publication was released in February 2013. The book was an impressive No. 2 on the Bestseller list of the Children’s Picture books on the New York Times.
Readers who have reviewed the book called it a good read. Moms described the book as very easy to read and understand for their kids. The book describes the duo arranging a tea party that they hope will turn out perfect and they have the task of figuring out who is appropriate to invite for their party while using their imagination. Their plan is perfect as they transform their bedroom and make it a princess castle, they plan on the food service and the party decorations.
Their second book, Showtime with Sophia Grace & Rosie, was debuted in March 2014. The book also received critical and commercial success. Shelagh McNicholas illustrated the books right after the girls wrote them. Orchard Books was in charge of their publishing.
10 Sophia Grace Became A Judge
Last year, according to Broadway World, Sophia Grace served as a judge on The Toy Box, an ABC's reality show.
The show involves enthusiastic toy inventors pitching their unique ideas to a panel of celebrity kid judges.
ABC’s the Toy Box broadcasted the judges and mentors who decided the winning toy designed by Mattel and it was exclusively sold after the series finale at Toys "R" Us. In each episode of the show, the inventors demonstrate their unique toy concepts to a number of mentors that included Dylan Lauren, the Dylan's Candy Bar owner; Jen Tan, the Creative Director of Consumer Products at Pixar; and Jim Silver, the toy guru.
If the toy maker successfully goes beyond the mentors, they will proceed to The Toy Box. Here they meet the panel of young famous, outspoken judges who decide the toys that get to the final round and eventually who takes the award home. Sophia Grace Brownlee was definitely suitable for the role and proved her prowess through making some really good decisions.
9 And Is Also An Aspiring Singer
Rosie and Sophia Grace became an overnight sensation as a result of their audacious performances and Sophia Grace is determined to ride on that fame as far as she can until she gets exactly where she wants. Taking it beyond being a cute little girl, she decided to release some singles, and signed with Abrams, according to Billboard.
Girls Just Gotta Have Fun was the first song she released in 2013 and it featured the girls riding pink toy cars and sitting on pink thrones. This particular song didn’t make it to the charts, but the songs that followed did pretty well. Her next solo track Best Friends, did not feature her flaxen-haired, mostly silent cousin/best friend.
The track inspired Sophia Grace to keep singing after it was on The Hot 100, bagging the 87th position. In January last year, Sophia released her first album, Hollywood, which is a six track album.
Sophia further released a track in October 2017 dubbed Why U Mad? and she wrote it to address the people who are always negative about her. Sophia became an irrefutable brand and further went on to start her own clothing line.
8 The Girls Met More Celebs Than We Can Count
The girls got to meet so many celebrities while on the red carpet and enjoyed interacting with them. Katy Perry was one of the celebrities they were especially excited to meet and she complimented their adorable pink outfits. They also blew bubbles with the country music band, Lady Antebellum. Sophia Grace declared they loved the bubble party with Lady Antebellum, before they said hi to Fergie, who looked stunning in a bright orange dress.
Rosie went on to tell Fergie that her favorite color was orange and Fergie replied “That’s amazing.” Rihanna hugged the girls who seemed pretty overwhelmed on meeting the Diamonds singer. Rosie went on to further tell Rihanna that she is her favorite artist and Rihanna responded by telling Rosie that’s she is her favorite too asking how that will work.
The girls were equally thrilled to meet a rather preoccupied Taylor Swift, whom they’d correctly predicted would wear gold since it suited her. Taylor described the girls as cute, stating that the girls were the same size as her Grammy Trophies. They finally serenaded Adam Levine with a Maroon Five track, then signed off.
7 Remember When They Worked The Red Carpet?
After the girls wowed people on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2011, little Rosie and Sophia were given a rather daunting job of interviewing stars at the Grammy Awards on behalf of the Ellen show. They definitely did not disappoint. The girls were dressed in their signature tiaras and pink tutu dresses while on The Ellen Show as they discussed their glamorous appearance and described what the red carpet appearance felt like. Rosie described how all the stars came to see them and they weren’t nervous at all.
Sophia enjoyed meeting Flo Rida the most since he put his shades on her and said he wouldn’t let anyone take them off her. Just cute! What worried Sophia wasn’t really meeting the celebrities on the big day; she was concerned about her next meal. She said that they were hungry, but had sandwiches and cotton candy, which was so much fun.
They also represented Ellen on the red carpet of The American Music Awards and their segment won the Choice Web Star and Teen Choice Awards.
6 Sophia Was Almost Cast In 'Into the Woods'
Sophia Grace was reportedly cast in Into the Woods as Red Riding Hood in early 2013. The huge cinematic Disney adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical starred prominent stars including Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Chris Pine and Anna Kendrick. Some people criticized this decision stating that Sophia, who was only 10, was not old enough for the role, which had minimal sexual undertones.
Other people further stated that Sophia Grace may have been popular for her musical prowess on viral videos, but she wasn’t cut out for that role, stating that she could not have possibly pulled off Stephen’s Broadway musical.
The cast of the movie was eventually unveiled and the role went to 13-year-old, Broadway star Lilla Crawford. Sophia’s father and manager Dominic Brownlee, later revealed that after careful consideration the family felt that their daughter was too young for the part. It was a joint decision between the parents, the producer and the director of Into the Woods for Sophia Grace to be withdrawn from the film.
5 They Have Their Own Singing Dolls
The girls got so popular that everything they did had to get commercialized! The legendary duo even had their own singing dolls launched. You heard that right! Just Play in April 2014 premiered a two-doll pack with both Rosie and Sophia Grace.
The dolls initially, during the first month, were sold exclusively Walmart. However, later on the dolls were made available at Claire's due to high demand.
Just Play teamed up with Sophia Grace and Rosie to create their own toy, which was inspired by their obsession with dolls, music, dress-up and more. These dolls feature the duo dressed in their well-known tiaras and the trademark hot pink tutus that made them popular.
Every doll is fully poseable and comes with ruffled socks, a matching microphone, and shoes. Sophia Grace is singing to Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass”, when you press the doll’s belly.
4 And Each Their Own YouTube Channel
Sophia Grace posted just one YouTube video that led to her merchandise selling out. This is not a shocker considering that Sophia had over 2.5 million subscribers. In an interview on Lorraine in October 2017, Sophia Grace had gotten a whopping 605 million views on her YouTube page. It sounds hard to believe, but it’s no fluke.
She maintains her presence diligently compared to most teens. She told Bustle that she uploads videos each week though it isn’t easy since she’s busy with school and other stuff.
The video for Hollywood, her song, has over 18 million views and counting.
Rosie, on the other hand, has a high YouTube following with over 295,000 subscribers. She doesn’t release music videos or songs but rather, she prefers posting ‘viral video’ content with extreme recipes, reaction videos, makeup challenges and hauls. Despite having around a tenth of her cousin’s followers, Rosie also obtains a good number of views. In October 2017, a video she did title Reacting to Myself on the Ellen Show garnered over 2 million views.
3 Ellen Jumpstarted Their Careers
Once the girls became routine on the show, they got to host their own segment called ‘Tea Time with Sophia Grace & Rosie’.
This was another big break since while on their show the girls got to interview many celebrities including Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Hugh Grant, Justin Bieber and many more stars. The girl warmed lewd wisecracker Russell Brand’s heart, who even stated that he would love to babysit them. Each segment involved having tea while interviewing the stars (so British!). The girls got to meet Katy Perry again. The I Kissed a Girl singer even dressed in a tiara and a pink tutu for the episode.
Full House with Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate is the only show that can be compared to having been so popular like Tea Time with ‘Sophia Grace & Rosie and their segment could have a huge potential payoff for the girls. There are some adults in Hollywood who wish they had half the recognition that these girls seem to be enjoying!
2 The Girls Made Appearances On Sam & Cat
Sam & Cat, the Nickelodeon series features a miniature British invasion in two of their episodes. The episode was dubbed Brit Brats. According to Sweety High, Rosie McClelland and Sophia Grace Brownlee will star as guests and in their roles they are two English girls who are being babysat by Sam and Cat.
The girls initially appeared as well-behaved and sweet, but eventually, they end up being mischievous and quite a handful. Apparently, they were con artists.
Ariana Grande who stars as Cat, in an interview with the EW, described the girls as the most incredible and professional kids she’d ever met. She recounted the experience with the girls as unreal.
She even felt embarrassed, considering the girls knew their lines better than she did. Ariana also recalled how excited both McClelland and Brownlee were when trying on new dresses every time there was a costume change and how well conversant with TV set jargon they were.
1 Forever Nicki Minaj Fans
Is it just me or is being discovered by Ellen a big deal? Every child wants Ellen to be their stepping stone to fame. Ellen DeGeneres invited the girls to her show changed everything. The girls were so excited about being on daytime television. Upon meeting Nicki Minaj, Sophia Grace couldn’t hide her disbelief and joy. She jumped up and down in her trademark pink dress telling Nicki that she couldn’t believe that she was real and Nicki even high-fived her. This was ultimately golden and it was like watching Sophia meet The Tooth Fairy.
The pumped-up duo in their legendary tutus and tiaras completely crushed their rendition of Nicki Minaj’s "Super Bass". The most entertaining part was where the five-year-old Rosie and her eight-year-old cousin Sophie belted out Nicki’s harmonies and her fast rap. Rosie seemed a little camera shy back then just standing next to her cousin and not speaking much. Way to go girls!
References: TheList, Today, NickiSwift, HelloGiggles, Bustle