17 June 2024
Botswana-born Malia Baker has featured in Disney Walt movie, The Descendants: Rise of Red, starring alongside popular musicians, Brandy and Rita Ora. In the latest Disney movie, Malia plays the role of the teenage daughter of Cinderella, who embarks on a magical time travel journey to save her mother’s life in the present day. Baker admitted to PEOPLE that portraying this role initially felt daunting for her.
Not only was she portraying the on-screen daughter of one of her musical influences, but she was also joining the iconic Descendants franchise, of which she is a “huge fan.”
The latest Disney musical fantasy film, Descendants: The Rise of Red, premiered in theatres last weekend on July 12. Alongside the returning original cast members reprising their roles, the new ensemble cast, including Malia Baker, received acclaim from both critics and fans.
17-year-old Malia portrays the character Chloe Charming in the film. Known for her role, she has been making waves in Hollywood with her performance.
About the film Descendants: The Rise of Red and its cast
Directed by Jennifer Phang, Descendants: The Rise of Red is the fourth instalment in the Descendants franchise. Serving as both a follow-up to Descendants: The Royal Wedding and a spin-off of the original trilogy, the film follows Chloe and Red, the daughter of the Queen of Hearts, as they join forces. Together, they use the White Rabbit’s pocket watch to travel back in time, aiming to prevent an incident that threatens Auradon with grave consequences.
The movie features Kylie Cantrall in the role of Red, alongside China Anne McClain reprising her role as Uma and Melanie Paxson returning as Fairy Godmother. Brandy stars as Cinderella, and Paolo Montalban portrays King Charming, among other cast members.
Maria Baker’s early life and career
Born in Botswana, Southern Africa, Malia Baker‘s family relocated to Vancouver, Canada, where she was raised. While there isn’t extensive information available about her family online, Malia mentioned in a recent interview with BET that she has a single mother and a younger sister.
Malia began her acting career with an uncredited role in a television movie. Her first credited roles include appearances in DJ Nash’s ABC drama A Million Little Things and The CW’s superhero series The Flash in 2019. The same year, she also appeared in Rod Serling’s anthology series The Twilight Zone, which premiered on CBS All Access.
However, her breakthrough came with the role of Mary Anne Spier in the first season of Netflix’s comedy-drama The Baby-Sitters Club in 2020, which garnered attention for her. She continued in the role into the second season. Following this success, she appeared in the second revival of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? Season 2, the Lifetime TV movie Caught in His Web, and the Miramax dramedy Harvest Moon.
