Aviva Chiara Mongillo (born February 6, 1998), also known as Carys, is a Canadian pop singer and actress. She is known for her roles as Alya Kendrick in the Family Channel drama '' Backstage'' and Juniper in the CBC sitcom ''
Workin' Moms
''Workin' Moms'' is a Canadian television sitcom that premiered on CBC Television on January 10, 2017. The show stars Catherine Reitman, Jessalyn Wanlim, Dani Kind, Enuka Okuma, and Juno RinaldiEP '' To Anyone Like Me'' on October 2, 2020, through
Warner Music Canada
Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Music of Canada, Ltd. (French: ''WEA Musique du Canada, Ltée''), often shortened to WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA Internationa ...
.
Early life
Aviva Chiara Mongillo was born on February 6, 1998, in
Markham Markham may refer to:
It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873.
Biology
* Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia
* ...
, Canada. She was born into an Italian family, who she stated "always supported" her dreams. At the age of seven, she was enrolled in acting classes, followed by vocal lessons and guitar classes. She attended Unionville High School, and continued her education while appearing on '' Backstage''. Mongillo has suffered from
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
from a young age.
Career
Whilst attending Unionville High School, Mongillo posted a number of original songs to
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
. They caught the attention of a music producer in Toronto, who invited her to a recording studio there. She worked with the songwriters, and a month into her time there, they informed her that the music was being made for '' Backstage''. They told her that she should audition for a role on the series, and she was cast as Alya Kendrick. She portrayed the role for sixty episodes. In June 2016, Mongillo released her debut single, "Hype". The single was accompanied by a music video. On 15 September 2017, her debut EP, ''Songs About Boys'', was released. The EP received promotion from Family Channel, ''Backstage''s network. In 2017, she appeared in '' Don't Talk to Irene'', a Canadian comedy film.
In 2018, Mongillo began portraying the recurring role of Juniper in the CBC sitcom ''
Workin' Moms
''Workin' Moms'' is a Canadian television sitcom that premiered on CBC Television on January 10, 2017. The show stars Catherine Reitman, Jessalyn Wanlim, Dani Kind, Enuka Okuma, and Juno RinaldiLong Shot
In photography, filmmaking and video production, a wide shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or long shot) is a shot that typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surro ...
'', playing a teenage version of Charlize Theron's character, as well as making an appearance in the slasher film '' Random Acts of Violence''. Later in 2019, she began performing under the stage name Carys, with the single "Bad Boy" released on July 26, 2019. In August 2019, "Princesses Don't Cry", a song from the ''Songs About Boys'' EP, became a
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...
after going viral on social networking app
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version o ...
. Over 850,000 videos were made using the song, which was later rereleased as a single under her stage name. She stated that when the song began to gain traction, she was perplexed since she wanted Carys to be a character that she could feel "removed from", and did not want to be seen as vulnerable. She then became grateful for the opportunity to become vulnerable with her music. The music video for "Princesses Don't Cry" was released on November 12, 2019. In June 2020, "No More" was released as her next single, accompanied by a music video. On August 28, 2020, she released the single "Crush", and announced that her debut EP as Carys, '' To Anyone Like Me'', would be released on October 2, 2020. Upon the release of ''To Anyone Like Me'', the song "When a Girl" was released as a single, with an accompanying music video.