Sonya Balmores

Balmores was born to a Filipino father and a mother of Irish and Native American descent.^[2] She attended Kalaheo Elementary School and graduated from Kauai High School.^[3] She was a visual communications student at Hawaii Pacific University.^[1]

Balmores won the Miss Hawaii Teen USA title on May 16, 2004, at the Waikiki Sheraton Resort.^[4] Balmores represented Hawaii in the Miss Teen USA 2004 pageant held in Palm Springs, California on August 6, 2004. She placed first runner-up in the pageant, which was won by Miss Louisiana Teen USA Shelley Hennig.^[5] This was Hawaii's highest placement in the pageant since Kelly Hu won in 1985.

In 2005, Balmores appeared on the covers of Women's Health, Outside and Foam magazines.^[1]

Balmores played the series regular role of Kai Kealoha in Beyond the Break on The N, a series that was initially given the tentative title Boarding School.^[6]

In 2011, she portrayed the main antagonist, Malina Birch, in the biographical drama film Soul Surfer.^[7] In 2014, Balmores guest-starred in an episode of Hawaii Five-0 titled "Kanalu Hope Loa" ("The Last Break") as Alana Duncan, a tour bus robber. She joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2017, playing Auran in the television series Inhumans.^[8]

In 2022, Balmores appeared in the historical drama series The Chosen portraying the character Fatiyah.