Lara Raj

Lara Raj is the younger sister of singer-songwriter Rhea Raj. The sisters share an interest in creating music, and Lara contributed background vocals to Rhea's tracks. They also wrote and produced the song "Now That Ur Gone" together. Lara has described Rhea as an inspiration, role model, and close supporter of her career.

Raj was born to a Tamil family with roots in India and Sri Lanka. Her mother, Kavita, is a Bharatnatyam dance teacher and chef, while her father is a businessman. Raj publicly came out as queer on Weverse in March 2025, saying that she had known she was queer since childhood.

Raj began performing at five and trained in vocal performance, acting, and dance during her childhood in Dallas, Texas. She performed with Septien Entertainment Group at venues including the House of Blues, the Hard Rock Cafe, the American Airlines Center, and Six Flags. After winning a singing competition, she entered the group's professional program and moved to New York City.

Her early screen and commercial work included a role as Sara in an episode of The Blacklist, a part as Piper in the short film Emoting Emojis, and commercials for Macy's and Spotify. In 2018, she appeared in a principal role in the Obama Foundation's Global Girls Alliance launch video and worked with Michelle Obama. Raj also studied at the Professional Performing Arts School and LaGuardia High School, and performed as a company dancer at Broadway Dance Center.

Raj first attracted wider attention by posting song covers online, which led to her being scouted for The Debut: Dream Academy. The competition was created by HYBE and Geffen Records to form an international girl group. Raj placed second in the finale in November 2023 and earned a place in KATSEYE's six-member lineup.

Raj debuted as one of KATSEYE's main vocalists with the EP SIS (Soft Is Strong) in 2024. She temporarily served as the group's leader before passing the position to Sophia Laforteza. Raj became the first Indian-origin artist to sign under a HYBE label, and the group's formation and training were documented in the Netflix series Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE. She also suggested changing the group's initial name, "Catseye," to the stylized spelling "Katseye."

Raj has made South Asian representation a central part of her public image. She incorporates culturally specific adornments such as a bindi, an Om necklace, and bangles into her styling, and has spoken about wanting young brown girls to see people who look like them represented in advertising and entertainment. During KATSEYE's "Better in Denim" campaign with Gap, she described her mission as helping the South Asian community feel uplifted, powerful, and confident.

Raj has also spoken about body image, diet culture, mental health, and queer visibility. She was included in GLAAD's 20 Under 20 list in 2025 and received the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Blooming Impact Award. In an interview with BBC News, she discussed the effect of racist comments and death threats on her mental health and said that she deleted X to avoid seeing them.

As a Dream Academy contestant, Raj participated in the shared songs "Dirty Water" and "All the Same." She received songwriting and production credits on the 2025 "Gnarly" remix by KATSEYE, Lancey Foux, and Slush Puppy, and on KATSEYE's "Unloveu." She also appeared in her sister Rhea Raj's 2022 music video for "Outside."

Raj appeared as herself in the 2024 Netflix documentary series Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE. In 2026, she starred in Baby Keem's music video for "Birds & the Bees," playing a character in a toxic relationship with Keem.