Farrah Abraham gave birth to her daughter while MTV cameras rolled. 16 years later, Sophia’s ready to speak up.

Sixteen years ago, Sophia Abraham was born on television on MTV’s 16 and Pregnant. Each episode of the series followed a different pregnant teenager as she navigated young motherhood. The second episode of the first season focused on Sophia’s mother, then-17-year-old Farrah Abraham, a pregnant cheerleader from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Now Sophia, who was first introduced to the world as a newborn, is 16 years old, just a year younger than her mother was when she gave birth to her with TV cameras watching. She’s an influencer in her own right, with 829,000 followers on Instagram and more than 211,000 followers on TikTok, where her bio reads “born on MTV.” She’s in the 11th grade but is homeschooled, which allows her to tag along with mom Farrah as they travel extensively. The pair spent Sophia’s 16th birthday in Germany. “It was a great place,” Sophia tells me over the phone. “I plan on going to Egypt next for my 17th birthday. I really want to go see the Pyramids and everything.”

In recent photos and videos, Sophia showcases her unique aesthetic sensibilities, which veer toward the gothic and alternative. Her hair, she says, is currently dyed orange with black roots, and she has what she estimates to be 13 piercings, including her septum, tongue and “snake bites” on her lower lip.

Internet commenters have wildly differing opinions about Sophia’s appearance. Depending on who you ask, it’s either a sign of a troubled teen or proof that Farrah allows her daughter to express herself fully. Either way, people’s opinions aren’t getting to Sophia. “Ever since I was younger, I’ve realized how much people care about me and my mom and my family’s life,” she says. “I honestly have grown to almost be numb to it and not really care. It just feels very normal to me at this point.”

Having been born on television, Sophia has gotten “pretty used to” being in the public eye and the criticism that comes with it. “It’s very easy to get past that once you’ve pretty much grown up with it.” What’s changed is that, because she is a teenager with social media, critics now feel comfortable reaching out to her directly. Though people often have something to say about Sophia’s life, they tend to focus more on her mother’s. Farrah’s parenting has come under fire in the past, with people judging her experience working in the adult film industry. Farrah is also currently featured in the new A&E series Secrets of Celebrity Sex Tapes, in which she revealed she doesn’t have a relationship with either of her parents.

Sophia says she gets messages about her mother’s past or the plastic surgery she’s gotten. “I don’t agree with anything they say,” she says. (Farrah was also on the phone while Sophia spoke.) “I think that she’s a great mom and has raised me amazingly.”

Though Sophia made her television debut on 16 and Pregnant, her mother was also a star of the MTV spin-off Teen Mom for years. Sophia has watched parts of old episodes, she says, but not the entirety of her mother’s TV footprint. Watching the younger version of her mother struggle with parenthood is even stranger as she has become a teenager herself.

“Thinking about it, it’s just very mind-boggling … because I cannot imagine myself being 16 and pregnant right now and going through everything that my mom did when she was younger,” Sophia says. (Sophia’s father, Derek Underwood, died in a car accident before she was born.)

Sophia finds it interesting to watch old episodes of Teen Mom in which she appears alongside her mother and grandparents until the age of 8, when Farrah was let go from the show. Sometimes her younger self will say something she doesn’t remember saying or do something she doesn’t remember experiencing. “It was just really crazy seeing that,” she says. “Almost shocking.”

She hasn’t ruled out a return to reality TV, she says, but it would have to be the right fit. Sometimes it can be strange to become friends with other teenagers who haven’t lived their lives in such a public way. When she first meets people, she doesn’t tell them who she is — or who her mother is. “I can’t really tell people at first,” she says. “I just have to let them get to know me for me first.”

For now, Sophia is — despite her mother’s fame and infamy — almost like any other teenager. She spends time with her friends and loves video games and metal music. Right now she’s on a baking kick, and her latest creations have been Halloween-themed. “Recently, I did this caramel apple dip,” she tells me. “It was super cool. Me and my mom shared it together.”