Caroline Sunshine

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Caroline Mohr Sunshine (born September 5, 1995) is an American political aide and former actress. She worked as a White House staffer in 2018 during Donald Trump’s presidency.

As an actress, Sunshine is best known for playing Tinka Hessenheffer, a flashy European exchange student, on the Disney Channel show Shake It Up. She also appeared in Marmaduke (2010) and The Outfield (2015). Sunshine was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in Orange County, California, the daughter of Thom and Karen Sunshine. She has two younger brothers, Johnny and Christopher. She began studying ballet at age 3, acted in local theater, and started professional auditions at 11 in 2006, landing early commercials for products like a talking doll, Yoplait Go-Gurt, and Cap’n Crunch.

Her acting career includes Marmaduke (2010), Shake It Up (recurring in season 1 and a regular in seasons 2–3), and a contribution to the Disney Channel Christmas album Holidays Unwrapped. She pursued a 2014 pilot for Recovery Road but did not appear in the final series. She acted in Go Four Broke (2015) and The Outfield (2015), and her last acting role was in Mommy I Didn’t Do It (2017) before she moved to public service in 2018.

Sunshine’s political career began with internships for Kevin McCarthy, the College Republican National Committee, and the California Republican Party. She became a White House intern in January 2018 and later joined as a press assistant. In 2023 she served as the press secretary and communications director for Indiana gubernatorial candidate Eric Doden, and in December 2023 she became the press secretary for Vivek Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential campaign. In June 2024, she was re-hired by Donald Trump as Deputy Communications Director for his 2024 campaign.

Education and philanthropy: Sunshine attended Orange Lutheran High School and later earned a degree from Claremont McKenna College. She has been involved in charitable work, including being a spokesmodel for Puppy Love 4 Girlz to support animal shelters, and supporting various causes such as helping veterans, domestic abuse survivors, and the homeless. In 2011, she was named one of Dream Magazine’s Top 16 Under 16.