Lara Raj

Lara Rajagopalan was born on November 3, 2005, in Connecticut, to an Indian Tamil mother, Kavita, and a Sri Lankan Hill Country Tamil father, Srivatsan. Lara's mother is a Bollywood dance teacher and chef, while her father is a businessman. Her older sister, Rhea, is a singer-songwriter with whom she learned how to produce music and shared a love for creating music. ==Career==

2010–2022: Career beginnings and early work Raj began performing when she was five years old. In 2019, Raj appeared in a principal role in former First Lady Michelle Obama's Global Girls Alliance campaign launch video. 2023–present: Dream Academy and debut with Katseye Lara Raj first gained attention by posting song covers on social media, which led to her being scouted to join The Debut: Dream Academy, a talent competition program created by Hybe and Geffen Records as part of their initiative to create a "global girl group". By the finale in November 2023, Raj placed second overall, securing her position in Katseye. As a result, she became the first Indian-origin artist to sign under a Hybe label. The group's formation process was later chronicled in the 2024 Netflix docuseries Popstar Academy: Katseye. Raj is credited for proposing that the group's initial name, "Catseye", be changed to the stylized form "Katseye", a suggestion that was ultimately adopted. In December 2025, Raj was included in GLAAD's 20 Under 20 list. Presented by Teen Vogue, the list honors influential LGBTQ youth aged 20 and below. In February 2026, Raj starred in rapper Baby Keem's music video for "Birds & the Bees", playing a character in a toxic relationship with Keem. == Media image ==

Raj is an advocate of South Asian representation in media. She appears with culturally specific adornments like a bindi, an Om necklace, and bangles. During Katseye's "Better in Denim" campaign with Gap, Raj spoke about how important it was for young brown girls to see someone who looks like them on billboards, saying that her mission is to make the South Asian community feel "uplifted, powerful and confident". In January 2026, Teen Vogue commended Raj for promoting body positivity and speaking out against diet culture. On March 3, 2026, Raj was featured in The New York Times' Midi crossword puzzle. == Personal life ==

Her grandmother, whom Raj considered a "spiritual anchor", gifted her a cat's eye crystal before her death. Soon after, when Raj was selected to be a part of the final group and its name was revealed to be "Katseye", she felt it was "destiny". ==Discography==

As a contestant of Dream Academy, Raj participated in the promotional release of the contestants' shared songs for competition. They were performed on November 17, 2023, and released to streaming platforms on August 21, 2024. As lead artist Songwriting and production credits ==Videography==

Public service announcement video Music video appearance ==Filmography==

Reality shows Films Television ==References==