Darci Lynne Farmer

Darci Lynne Farmer lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She was born on October 12, 2004. Growing up, Farmer loved to sing, but she was shy and was afraid to perform in front of an audience. Her parents encouraged her to overcome her shyness by participating in the International Cinderella Scholarship Program where she was crowned International Mini Miss. At that pageant she also met International Teen titleholder, Laryssa Bonacquisti, a young ventriloquist who inspired the shy Farmer to try ventriloquism herself. She is self-taught and would practice her ABC's without moving her lips. She then asked her parents, Clarke and Misty Farmer, for a puppet, insisting that it would overcome her shyness. On her tenth birthday, her parents presented her with a puppet. Farmer's idol is past America's Got Talent winner Terry Fator. Because ventriloquism is not very common, the once shy Farmer made a commitment that she personally wanted to keep the art of ventriloquism alive.

In 2014 she entered Edmond's Got Talent where she won first prize after a month's preparation on Bonacquisti's tips. Since then she has worked with ventriloquy coach Gary Owen and vocal teacher Tiana Plemons. In 2016, Farmer made an appearance on Little Big Shots (U.S.). Then in early 2017, she competed on Little Big Shots UK (both on episode 4 of season 1 of those series).

2017: America's Got Talent

Farmer competed on the twelfth season of America's Got Talent in 2017. During the first episode broadcast on May 30, Farmer and her puppet, a girly rabbit named Petunia, performed George Gershwin's "Summertime". The comedy–singing act featured Petunia cutting off Farmer so Petunia could continue singing instead. Judge Mel B praised the act and pressed her Golden Buzzer, allowing Farmer to bypass the judge cuts and go straight to the quarterfinals. For Farmer's first live presentation after her Golden Buzzer performance, she serenaded judge Mel B with her shy, stuttering Motown mouse puppet, Oscar, performing Smokey Robinson's "Who's Lovin' You". Judges Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Simon Cowell gave Farmer a standing ovation. For this performance, Farmer received enough viewer votes to move on to the semifinals, where she brought her puppet Edna Doorknocker to sing Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", and stood next to the judges' table so Edna could flirt with Simon Cowell. All four judges gave Farmer a standing ovation. Viewers voted Farmer through to the finals.

For her final competition appearance, Farmer performed The Beatles’ "With a Little Help from My Friends", with Petunia and Oscar interacting for comedic effect. Again, she earned standing ovations and judges' praise; Cowell predicted, "I think you’re going to win." For the finale in episode 22, Farmer fulfilled her dream by performing "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun with her idol and mentor Terry Fator, with Farmer singing as Petunia and Fator singing as Winston the Impersonating Turtle. After tripping over the first line of the song, she recovered and the act continued. The field was cut to the top five, and then to the top two finalists, Farmer and Angelica Hale. Host Tyra Banks then announced Farmer was season 12 winner, having received the most votes out of the 52 million votes cast. With the win, Farmer received the $1 million prize and a headline gig at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, set for November 2, 3, 4, and 5.

• Petunia – A singing rabbit “who thinks she’s a diva”.
• Oscar – A stuttering Motown mouse who has a crush on Mel B.
• Edna Doorknocker – A naughty old lady with a crush on Simon Cowell.
• Katie – A sassy cowgirl who yodels.
• Okie – A yellow bird who sometimes impersonates Elvis Presley.

Farmer attends Deer Creek Middle School near her home in Edmond, Oklahoma. She missed the first day of her seventh grade year due to appearing live on America's Got Talent on August 16.

Her parents are Clarke and Misty Farmer. Farmer has three brothers: Nick, Dalton, and Nate. Nick, 20, is the oldest and attends the University of Oklahoma. He is the most supportive brother, according to Darci. Dalton is 17 and is in high school. Her youngest sibling is Nate, who is nine years old.