Jade
Rising multi-hyphenate talent Sònia Victoria Werner is making waves with her Netflix debut as a series regular in the global reboot Winx Club: The Magic Is Back, which premiered this month. She voices Flora, the beloved Fairy of Nature, marking the first time the character has been portrayed with a Hispanic accent.
As a trilingual actress fluent in English, Spanish, and German, and a first-generation Hispanic-American, Sònia brings authentic representation to an international franchise cherished by millions of fans worldwide. Her portrayal not only celebrates diversity but also adds a fresh, culturally rich dimension to Flora, resonating with audiences seeking inclusive storytelling.
Off-screen, Sònia is equally impressive as the co-founder and CEO of Lighthouse Ladies, an award-winning, women-led production company focused on amplifying underrepresented voices. Lighthouse Ladies has gained recognition at prestigious events, including the Oscar-qualifying Tasveer Film Festival and the Cannes World Film Festival. Their initiatives—ranging from networking lounges to artist databases—actively connect creators to opportunities, building sustainable infrastructure for emerging talent in the industry.
This is a breakthrough moment for Sònia, who is stepping onto the global stage through Netflix while simultaneously driving meaningful change behind the scenes through Lighthouse Ladies. Her journey is an inspiring example of how artistry, representation, and entrepreneurship can intersect to create lasting impact.
Recently, StarCentral Magazine had the opportunity to sit down with Sònia to discuss her experience voicing Flora, her approach to inclusive storytelling, and her mission to support emerging artists through her production company.
Flora is a beloved character, and now she’s being portrayed with a Hispanic accent for the first time. How did you approach bringing authenticity to Flora while staying true to the character’s essence?
She truly is so beloved! The really special thing is that because I grew up watching The Winx Club, I already carried a deep respect for the character and for every voice actress who shaped her before me. Layering in this accent was a natural next step towards reconciling the cultural nuance inherent in Flora with her outward portrayal. There’s warmth and generosity in her, and layering in the musicality of my heritage felt like the most honest continuation of who she already was. It was a joy to honor her being while giving her a texture that felt culturally true to me, the creatives, and the fans.
Photo Credit: Sophia Riseman
As a first-generation Hispanic-American and a trilingual actress, what does it mean to you to bring authentic representation to an international franchise like Winx Club?
It means so much, truly, more than I can put into words. To even be a part of The Winx Club legacy feels unreal! Seeing fans embrace Flora’s new sound with such warmth gives me hope for all the future voices, characters, and stories that will continue expanding what representation looks like in media and entertainment. This is such a special privilege.
You perform and produce in English, Spanish, and German. How does working across languages influence your approach to acting and connecting with global audiences?
I love this question because my multilingualism really unlocks different parts of me. Not only does it make me more marketable and versatile, but it also opens doors to connecting with other people, creatives, markets, and more. And it’s not just the languages, it’s the fact that those cultures live within me, in my heritage, in my beloved family members all over the world. It’s an authenticity that lives and breathes within me, and I’ve gotten the privilege of sharing it with the characters I bring to life on screen, on stage, via voice, or as a producer/multi-hyphenate.
Photo Credit: Sophia Riseman
Lighthouse Ladies is an award-winning, women-led production company. What inspired you to co-found it, and how do you see it shaping the future for underrepresented voices in film and media?
When I first arrived at NYU Tisch, I was resolute that I’d be an actor and only an actor. What I didn’t realize was that this conviction came more from defiance than desire: the classic “prove them wrong” fire that burns when you grow up hearing well-meaning people ask for your backup plan before you’ve even begun. But thanks to various experiences, opportunities, professors, collaborators, essays, and philosophical musings, I began to realize that artistic talent didn’t need to be limited to one discipline. I began writing, inspired by James Baldwin’s words: “If we knew ourselves better, we would damage ourselves less.” I began producing because I was witnessing through acting gigs just how much power and strength lived on the business and producing side of things. I was called a “showrunner” by a screen acting professor before I fully understood what one was, and that word flipped a switch in me. I quickly added two minors—Entertainment Business and Producing—to my undergraduate coursework, knowing I’d have to take the maximum amount of courses in order to stay on track with my early graduation plans, and I am proud to say I made it all happen.
Amidst all of this self-discovery, 3 other multi-talented, multi-hyphenated artist best friends and I came together one summer for a guerrilla filmmaking experiment. Over a few weeks, we created a short film from the ground up on a budget of ~$90. The four of us did everything, from writing, directing, sound, editing, producing, acting—you name it, one of us did it. Through that experience, we realized just how much we loved creating together, and how well our varied skill sets complemented one another’s… and soon enough, Lighthouse Ladies was born.
We spent our first year building the foundation with intention: who we are, what we stand for, what sets us apart, and what systems we need to establish to embody not only an artistically robust company but also an operationally sound one. Now we’re a team of about 15 core members, producing a slate of dozens of projects at once, championing underrepresented voices, turning empathy into our operational backbone amid commercially successful projects, and creating genuine opportunities and resources for artists at all career stages. We do things differently at Lighthouse Ladies from the ground up… that’s the future we’re shaping. Feel free to check out more at www.lighthouse-ladies.com
Your company has created community initiatives like networking lounges and artist databases. Can you share a story of how Lighthouse Ladies has helped an emerging creator get opportunities they might not have had otherwise?
When I say we do things differently at Lighthouse Ladies, that extends to everything we do! You’ll never see us do an average mixer or a standard panel. Instead, we infuse intentionality and genuine care into each unique event. For example, we host a quarterly paired artist networking event called The Lighthouse Lounge in partnership with the Dramatists Guild Foundation (where we are honored to be one of a few selected community partners for nearly 3 years). One of my favorite examples comes from this very event. After receiving the final RSVP list, we spend a solid week hand-pairing artists (because real humans do the matching here, not AI algorithms) based on their submitted preferences. We guide the room with prompts, games, gentle structure, yummy bites, and a standing promise that by the end of the night, everyone will have met everyone at least once.
What’s come out of these evenings has honestly blown us away. Writers have found directors for passion projects they’d been sitting on for years. Actors have booked paid gigs from people they met during a ten-minute pairing. New musicals have found composers. First-time filmmakers have met their future producers. We’re nearing the hundreds now in terms of collaborations, jobs, and long-term creative partnerships sparked in those rooms. It’s one thing to talk about dismantling gatekeeping, and it’s another to build rooms where everyone genuinely gets to be seen and heard by the people they need to meet. That’s what we’re committed to continuing.
Moving from festival films to a high-profile Netflix debut is a big leap. What has been the most challenging part of this journey, and what advice would you give other artists navigating their breakthrough moments?
I think a big challenge exists in that oftentimes artists’ brains are wired to think “that’s good, but not enough,” or “what’s next?” or “how do I keep progressing?” I’m living dreams I once wrote about in journals or secretly thought about when watching TV, yet my instinct is to immediately set a higher bar. I’ve had to remind myself to pause and think: wow… I’m Flora in The Winx Club: The Magic is Back. My time for the other on-camera bookings and future streaming and theatrical successes will come, but what a magical present I’m currently living. I think it’s natural (especially given my background as first-gen, first-born, first artist in my family, first of so much!) to always be looking for what’s next and always be hustling, but… I’m also grateful to be right where I am. For artists in their own breakthrough era: celebrate the moment, don’t sprint past it. Honor the people who carried you. And trust that what’s next will come. My mamá Trini always told me growing up, “Your time will come,” and I know it will continue to.
Your Netflix role coincided with Hispanic Heritage Month. How do you see your work contributing to conversations around representation and cultural pride?
Representation comes in so many beautiful forms. As a writer, I’ve always believed you can highlight identity either by writing roles centered on specific cultures (which I can write authentically, of course) or by casting intentionally and allowing performers to bring their lived nuance. Both approaches matter (and there are tons more that exist between the two and beyond). I hope to continue having conversations year-round about making art that reflects just how beautiful and different we all are, not a token “diverse” character here and there, but an intentional approach to uplifting voices and talents with empathy and equity at the forefront. As an actress, I continue to show up as my authentic self, honoring my multiculturalism and multilingualism inherent in the people who raised me. As a multi-hyphenate and entrepreneur, I ensure our stories are genre-bending, offer new perspectives, amplify emerging voices, and feature at least 51% female/NB participation above the line. My advocacy lives in action as much as it does in conversation.
Looking ahead, how do you plan to balance your career as an actress with your entrepreneurial mission at Lighthouse Ladies, and what dream projects are on the horizon for you?
I like to view everything I do as symbiotic in that each hyphenate feeds the next. Producing successes also coincide with acting wins, as I typically appear in the work we produce, and external acting wins continue to amplify the reach of Lighthouse Ladies and get us into more “rooms where it happens”. Thanks to the people I surround myself with, I’m confident the question of balance and success is not a question of “if” it will happen, but “which” will take off first. I say this without ego, rather wholehearted belief in myself and the best teams out there… from my collaborators to my agents to my managers and beyond.
My big-picture dream and goal is to make as much money as I can doing what I love (primarily acting!), so I can reinvest whatever I can into producing the most genre-bending, voice-amplifying, daring new commercially successful works, which I’d love to continue acting in. I grew up as the first-born, first-gen kid who had to build her own roadmap, and I hope to take as many people with me on the journey. Overall, I don’t see these parts of my life as competing for balance or attention… they’re different limbs of the same organism, all growing in the same direction to open varied doors.
And dream projects? Well, we’re gearing up for an incredible 2026 and 2027 (and beyond!). I’m thrilled to be showrunning a new romance revenge drama series this coming January 2026, where you’ll see me inhabiting my Phoebe Waller-Bridge dreams as actor, producer, and writer. In addition, we’re in development for an exciting artist-centric docuseries going into production in March/April 2026, currently drafting and editing a feature screenplay surrounding performance as survival in relationships featuring a majority female ensemble, and tons more just about to enter the festival circuit, plus… another avenue you’ll have to stick around to see in 2026. Beyond Lighthouse Ladies’ work, I’m excited to continue acting on-camera and in the booth across mediums. Lots to come and I’m ready for it! Thanks for giving me the space to name and celebrate it, Starcentral (and readers!).
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