Kaitlyn Ashley Maher (born January 10, 2004) is an American singer and actress known for being the Youngest Top 10 Finalist on America's Got Talent and for her roles in films such as The Search for Santa Paws, Santa Paws 2, Free Birds, and the PupStar series; as well as television shows such as FOX's The Goodwin Games and PBS' Mack and Moxy. She serves as the first-ever youth ambassador for the global nonprofit Compassion International and is a national debate champion, singer/songwriter, and global advocate.
In 2008, at the age of 4, Maher appeared on the third season of America's Got Talent and for her audition sang "Somewhere Out There". She reached the top 10 of AGT season 3, and was the youngest person to ever reach that level. Maher has since appeared live at The Great Kids Expo[3][4] in Chantilly, Virginia, on October 25, 2008, a live broadcast of the 2008 lighting of the National Christmas Tree,[5] on December 4, 2008, attended by President George W. Bush and over 7,000 guests, and the 2009 Cherry Blossom Festival on April 11, 2009, attended by First Lady Michelle Obama.[6] On October 3, 2009, Maher was the opening act of The Addi and Cassi Hempel Fund benefit.[7] Maher appeared in a Harris Teeter[8] commercial airing during December 2008. She was also selected by Compassion International as its first ever Child Ambassador, visited children in El Salvador with Compassion, got to meet her sponsored child, and shot a music video to her title song "You Were Meant to Be." Maher has toured internationally and sang on behalf of special needs children for the nonprofit, Jill's House;[9] for critically ill children at the National Institutes of Health Children's Inn; for wounded warriors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center; and for retired soldiers at the Veterans' Affairs Center in Washington, D.C.[10]
Maher continues to write and release music, including her 2023 album "When Did We All Grow Up?" and subsequent singles "We Could Be" and "Fill It Up" in 2024.[20]
Early life and education
Maher was born Kaitlyn Ashley Maher in Novi, Michigan, on January 10, 2004, and raised in Ashburn, Virginia. To accommodate a demanding film and performance schedule, she was homeschooled until 9th grade,[21] when she began attending The Potomac School. In high school, Maher competed on the USA Debate Team[22] and captained her school's nationally ranked speech and debate team,[23] placing first in the nation in Extemporaneous Debate at the 2021 National Speech and Debate Tournament.[24] Passionate about public speaking and political advocacy, her writing has been published by The Aspen Institute, a leading global think tank.[22] She currently attends Duke University.[25]
Career
America's Got Talent
Maher began her career on the third season of the American television reality showAmerica's Got Talent, when she reached the top ten.[26] Producers from the show first became aware of her from a video that was uploaded to YouTube. The video had been made after she had been asked to sing at a birthday party for one of her family relations in Canada and the video was later posted because her mother, Alison was pregnant with her second child and they could not travel to the country. Around Maher's fourth birthday, five months after the video had been made, her parents received an e-mail from AGT's Website on NBC.com, asking if their daughter would be able to audition for the show's third season in 2008.
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