All About Katseye’s Members

Katseye’s rise has been anything but typical. The six-piece girl group was formed in 2023 through HYBE and Geffen Records’ The Debut: Dream Academy, a survival-style competition that drew over 100,000 contestants from around the world. After 12 weeks of challenges, six young women—Sophia, Daniela, Megan, Lara, Manon, and Yoonchae—earned their places in the lineup.

Since their official debut in 2024 with SIS (Soft Is Strong) and its viral single “Touch,” the group has grown into one of pop’s most-watched newcomers. Their second EP, Beautiful Chaos, released in June 2025, marked a bold new chapter for the group with tracks like “Gnarly,” “Gabriela,” and “M.I.A.”—songs that highlight both their sonic range and the individuality of each member.

As leader Sophia told Variety in June 2025: “Beautiful Chaos is the season we’re all in. It’s very much us, but it’s also us constantly evolving and finding ourselves. It’s a big transitional part of Katseye, in discovering who we are and the different sides of us.”

As further proof of their success, they won their first MTV VMA award Sunday night: Push Performance of the Year for “Touch.” Here’s a closer look at each member of Katseye, their stories, and what they bring to the group.

Considered the group’s leader, 21-year-old Sophia Laforteza brings confidence to the group. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she has been singing since she was three and calls music her “first love.” “We can’t fake this,” she told Rolling Stone in June 2025. “We all have that shared goal of Katseye’s success and we really nurtured our friendship a lot. We got really lucky.”

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, 20-year-old Daniela Avanzini was raised in a Cuban–Venezuelan household where dance was central.

“Growing up in a Spanish-Latin household, my family has always tried to kind of make sure that I’m infused with the culture as much as possible growing up, and to embrace my culture as much as I can—whether it’s through music, dance, or fashion,” Daniela shared in her Billboard Philippines cover profile. “My mom was the one who taught me how to dance when I was three, so I would watch her dancing as well when I grew up.”

That early foundation has shaped her artistry in Katseye, especially on the single “Gabriela,” where she sang an entire verse in Spanish and leaned into Latin-inspired choreography. “I’m just so excited to finally be able to have sung in my native language and share that part of me with the rest of the world, because nobody knew that I could sing in Spanish!” she continued.

Daniela also describes her onstage confidence as key: “As long as I feel confident, that’s all that matters,” she told ELLE in August 2025.

Eighteen-year-old Megan Skiendiel grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she spent her childhood dancing, modeling, acting, and playing the ukulele. With Katseye, she’s emerged as one of the group’s most magnetic performers, known for her high-energy choreography and bold stage presence. “I like to be very free, but at the same time I love showing a little skin and being hot and confident,” she explained to ELLE.

She’s also been open about how much adapting to the group has changed her approach. “It was definitely a journey to adjust to doing all of the skillsets together, because it’s not just dancing and singing together, but you also have to think about… group chemistry and how to convey the story behind what we’re doing,” she told WWD in an August 2024 interview.

At just 19, New York-and-Los Angeles-raised Lara Raj has already become a strong voice for representation as an Indian American and as an openly queer pop star. She has spoken about growing up without role models who looked like her in the entertainment industry and her desire to fill that gap. “Being Indian, there’s not many girls or just people in the entertainment space to have as a role model. I want to be that person,” she told WWD.

Her commitment to authenticity has defined her contributions to Katseye’s music as well. “I feel like this era, we have been a lot more authentically ourselves,” she told Rolling Stone. “I don’t have to put on a facade of any kind when talking to anyone anymore. I think that’s a beautiful thing, and you can see that more within the album. You see more of our fire,” she explained.

Swiss-born Manon Bannerman, now 23, brings a blend of Swiss, Italian, and Ghanaian heritage into her artistry. Speaking about Beautiful Chaos, she told Rolling Stone: “We’ve paid a lot more attention to detail. It’s been a really fun experience and it feels authentic to us.”

Her sense of purpose extends beyond the studio. In her Billboard Philippines cover profile, recalled watching a video of a young Black girl pointing to her on the screen and saying, “I love her.” For Manon, the moment was profound: “All my life, growing up in Switzerland, that is something I wanted to see on TV, which was someone who looked like me on the screen. So seeing that was just super surreal.”

“I think we just want to show an authentic part of ourselves to the world, and for me, that’s to openly be proud of my culture,” she added. “I remember back in Switzerland, I would try to fit in as much as possible and maybe not bring my culture everywhere as it wasn’t something that was the norm, you know. So just being able to live that out proudly and loud and showing other people that it’s okay and you should be proud where you’re from, and representing it whenever you can—it really is like the impact that we wanted to bring to the world.”

The youngest member of Katseye is 17-year-old Jeong Yoonchae, who grew up in Seoul, South Korea. A product of the rigorous K-pop training system, she initially struggled to stand out during Dream Academy but has since transformed into a confident performer. “I really do think confidence was the biggest thing that I changed,” she said in her Billboard Philippines cover profile. “After we became Katseye, I learned how to show more of myself and to showcase the real side of me to the world.”

“Because before, I used to look at the comments and see people’s reactions in order to try and be that person who the Eyekons loved. And even though it wasn’t truly me, I tried to be their definition or assumption of who Yoonchae was,” she continued. “Eventually, I realized that it wasn’t the real me. And both my sisters and the Eyekons really loved how I act in real life too, so I think that’s how I learned how to act authentically, be myself, and be confident about everything.”