Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter (born May 11, 1999) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her accolades include two Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, three American Music Awards, a Brit Award and six MTV Video Music Awards. She was recognized by Time in their Time 100 Next list in 2024. Carpenter first gained prominence starring as Maya Hart on the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World (2014–2017). She signed with Hollywood Records and achieved limited success with her studio albums, Eyes Wide Open (2015), Evolution (2016), Singular: Act I (2018), and Singular: Act II (2019).
Carpenter joined Island Records in 2021, releasing her fifth album, Emails I Can't Send (2022), featuring the multi-platinum singles "Nonsense" and "Feather". Her sixth studio album, Short n' Sweet (2024), topped the US Billboard 200 and won two Grammy Awards. It produced the global number-one singles "Espresso" and "Please Please Please", the latter becoming her first to top the US Billboard Hot 100. Her seventh studio album, Man's Best Friend (2025), also topped the Billboard 200 and spawned the US number-one single "Manchild".
Carpenter has acted in films such as Adventures in Babysitting (2016), The Hate U Give (2018), The Short History of the Long Road (2019), Clouds (2020), and Emergency (2022). She has also starred in the Netflix films Tall Girl (2019), Tall Girl 2 (2022), and Work It (2020). She has served as both a host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted the Netflix special A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter (2024), and guest starred in the Disney+ variety sketch special The Muppet Show (2026), the latter of which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award as an executive producer. On Broadway, she played Cady Heron in the musical Mean Girls (2020).
Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter was born on May 11, 1999, in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, to David and Elizabeth (née Sneidar) Carpenter, and raised in East Greenville. Her oldest sister, Shannon, is a dancer. Her older sister, Sarah, is her creative partner and a photographer. They have an older paternal half-sister, Cayla, who is a hairdresser and makeup artist. Their father is a step-brother of actress Nancy Cartwright.
Carpenter was homeschooled and moved to Los Angeles when she was thirteen. She began studying voice at age six. Around age ten, she began posting videos on YouTube of herself singing Christina Aguilera and Adele songs. When Carpenter was 10, her father built a recording studio for her to fuel her passion for music.
2008–2014: Breakthrough with Disney
In October 2008, Carpenter was one of 7,000 to enter the online singing contest The Next Miley Cyrus Project, run by Miley Cyrus. She placed third in 2010. Around this time, Carpenter signed with manager Bill Perlman.
Carpenter's first acting role was in 2011 in a guest role on the NBC drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Around the same time, she performed as part of the Hunan Broadcasting System's Gold Mango Audience Festival program in China, singing "Something's Got a Hold on Me". In the summer of 2012, Carpenter had a recurring role in the Fox sitcom The Goodwin Games. She appeared as young Merrin Williams in Horns (2013) and recorded "Smile" for the compilation album Disney Fairies: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust, inspired by the Disney Fairies film series; the song charted on Radio Disney. She had a recurring role as Princess Vivian in Sofia the First from 2013 to 2018, for which she recorded various songs, including "All You Need" with Ariel Winter.
In January 2013, Carpenter was cast in a Disney Channel series Girl Meets World, a spin-off of Boy Meets World, as Maya Hart. The show consisted of 72 episodes, and concluded on January 20, 2017. Carpenter recorded the show's theme song alongside her co-star Rowan Blanchard. From 2010 to 2013, Carpenter released various independent promotional singles before signing a five-album deal with Disney label Hollywood Records in 2014.
In March 2014, Carpenter released her debut single, "Can't Blame a Girl for Trying", which was co-written by Meghan Trainor. The single received positive reviews and titled her debut EP of the same name that was released in April 2014. In July 2014, Carpenter contributed lead vocals to the Disney Channel Circle of Stars cover version of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?". She recorded "Stand Out" for the Disney Channel movie, How to Build a Better Boy, which premiered in August 2014. She released her first Christmas single, "Silver Nights", that same year.
2015–2017: Eyes Wide Open and Evolution
In January 2015, Carpenter released the song "We'll Be the Stars". It served as the lead single for her debut studio album Eyes Wide Open, which was released on April 14, 2015, and peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200. According to Billboard, it sold over 12,000 copies in its first week. Upon release, the album received positive reviews and went on to win two Radio Disney Music Awards. The album was followed with a second single, "Eyes Wide Open". In August, Carpenter performed at the D23 Expo. In December, Carpenter released her second Christmas single, "Christmas The Whole Year Round".
In February 2016, Carpenter released the standalone single titled "Smoke and Fire". She performed the song at the 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards. In June 2016, Carpenter starred as Jenny Parker in the Disney Channel Original Movie Adventures in Babysitting (2016) alongside Sofia Carson. For the film, the two performed the theme track, "Wildside", together. Later that year, she appeared in a Pasadena Playhouse production of Peter Pan and Tinker Bell: A Pirate's Christmas. In August, Carpenter headlined the Bethlehem's Musikfest festival. She began voicing Melissa Chase on Milo Murphy's Law.
In October 2016, Carpenter released her second studio album, Evolution which debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 28, selling 13,000 copies in its first week. The album included two singles: "On Purpose", which was nominated for a Radio Disney Music Award, and "Thumbs", which peaked at number one on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Two promotional singles were released from the album including "All We Have Is Love" and "Run and Hide". Carpenter performed "Thumbs" on The Today Show and The Late Late Show with James Corden. She embarked on her first headlining concert tour, the EVOLution Tour, in autumn of 2016.
In March 2017, Carpenter performed the theme song for the Disney Channel show Andi Mack. In May, Carpenter featured on the single "Hands" with The Vamps and Mike Perry. In July, Carpenter released the single "Why", which received positive reviews, and peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, becoming her second entry on the chart. It was nominated for a Radio Disney Music Award. In the summer of that year, Carpenter embarked on her second headlining concert tour, the De-Tour. She opened for Ariana Grande on her Dangerous Woman Tour in São Paulo.
In December, Carpenter released a cover of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". That same year, she released covers of "Sign of the Times" and "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" with British singer Jasmine Thompson and violinist Lindsey Stirling respectively.
2018–2020: Singular and film projects
In March 2018, Carpenter released the song "Alien" with English DJ Jonas Blue. The song reached number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart and number 12 on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart. The duo performed it on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. In May, Carpenter was included in Nylon magazine's "25 Gen Z'ers Changing The World". In September, Carpenter appeared in The Hate U Give (2018), based on the novel of the same name.