Ciara Renée
Ciara Renée | |
---|---|
![]() Renée in Los Angeles, CA, 2019 | |
Born | Ciara Renée Harper October 19, 1990 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Alma mater | Baldwin Wallace University (2013) |
Occupation | Actress, musician |
Years active | 2013–present |
Ciara Renée Harper (born October 19, 1990), better known as Ciara Renée is an American actress and musician. She is best known for her roles on Broadway as The Witch in Big Fish, the Leading Player in Pippin, and Elsa in Frozen. She played Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Paper Mill Playhouse and La Jolla Playhouse. She starred as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl in the CW series DC's Legends of Tomorrow, a spin-off of Arrow and The Flash. Her vocal type is mezzo-soprano.
Early life[]
Renée was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[1] She attended Central Dauphin East High School and graduated with a degree in Music Theatre from Baldwin Wallace University in 2013.[1]
Career[]
In September 2013,[2] Renée made her Broadway debut at the Neil Simon Theatre as The Witch in Big Fish[3] after working in a pre-Broadway workshop of Bull Durham.[1] In February of the following year, she was cast in a revival of the musical Pippin, replacing Patina Miller as the Leading Player.[1] Renée guest-starred on Law & Order: SVU in the fall of 2014 on NBC.[4] Based on the Victor Hugo novel and animated Disney film of the same name, Renée took on the role of Esmeralda in a musical adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Paper Mill Playhouse in association with the La Jolla Playhouse from March 15 to April 5 of 2015,[5] a performance the NY Daily News described as "earthy and lovely[6]". In March 2015, it was announced that Renée had been cast as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl in The CW's spin-off series DC's Legends of Tomorrow, an expansion of the network's existing universe of DC Comics adaptations.[4] She joined co-stars Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Franz Drameh, Dominic Purcell, Victor Garber, Wentworth Miller, and Arthur Darvill. Renée made a special guest appearance as Kendra Saunders on the first-season finale of The Flash on May 20, 2015.
In 2016, Renée played Susan in the Off-Broadway revival of Jonathan Larson's autobiographical musical Tick, Tick... Boom!.[7] The production ran from October 20 to December 18.[8]
In the summer of 2017 she played Mary Magdalene in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri.
It was announced on January 15, 2020 that Renee will return to Broadway to play Elsa in Frozen beginning February 18.[9] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Broadway theatres were closed in March 2020. Disney later announced Frozen will not reopen after the lockdown is lifted.[10]
Personal life[]
Ciara's mother's heritage comes from a mix of European cultures. Her father's heritage comes from African, Middle Eastern, Native American, and European cultures.
Filmography[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Señora Perez | Episode: "Girls Disappeared" |
2015 | The Flash | Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl | 4 episodes |
2015 | Arrow | Episode: "Legends of Yesterday" | |
2016 | Legends of Tomorrow | Main role, season 1 | |
2017 | Master of None | Ellen | Episode: "Le Nozze" |
2018 | The Big Bang Theory | Sunny Morrow | Episode: "The Conjugal Configuration" |
2018 | The Chinese Cop | Candace Walker | post-production |
TBA | Paint | Ambrosia Long | Filming |
Theatre[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Big Fish | Witch | September 5, 2013 – December 29, 2013 |
2014 | Pippin | Leading Player | April 1, 2014 – September 14, 2014 |
2014 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Esmeralda | October 28, 2014 – April 5, 2015 |
2016 | Tick, Tick...Boom! | Susan | October 20, 2016 – December 18, 2016 |
2017 | Jesus Christ Superstar | Mary Magdalene | June 12, 2017 – June 18, 2017 |
2019 | The Wrong Man | Marianna | Fall 2019, Lucille Lortel Award nominee[11] |
2020 | Frozen | Elsa | February 18, 2020 – March 11, 2020 |
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ciara Renée. |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Dunkle, David D. (February 28, 2014). "CD East graduate Ciara Renee gains starring role in Broadway[…]". PennLive.com §.
- ^ Gioia, Michael (September 5, 2013). "Andrew Lippa and John August's Big Fish Swims Onto Broad[…]". Playbill.com §.
- ^ "Andrew Lippa and John August's Big Fish Swims Onto Broad[…]". PlaybillVault.com §. Archived from the original on 2014-11-18. Retrieved 2015-05-21.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Andreeva, Nellie (March 30, 2015). "The Arrow/Flash Spinoff Casts Ciara Renée As Hawkgirl". Deadline.com §.
- ^ Playbill Staff (March 16, 2015). "The Verdict: Read Reviews of The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Playbill.com §.
- ^ Dziemianowicz, Joe (March 16, 2015). "'Hunchback of Notre Dame' review: Disney's dark […]". NYDailyNews.com §.
- ^ Clement, Olivia. "Tick, Tick…Boom! Opens Tonight". Playbill.
- ^ "Tick, Tick...BOOM!". Keen Company.
- ^ https://wearemitu.com/entertainment/afro-latina-ciara-renee-frozen-broadway/
- ^ "Broadway's Frozen Will Not Reopen Post-Pandemic". Playbill. 14 May 2020.
- ^ https://www.lortelaward.com/2020
External links[]
- Ciara Renée at IMDb
- Living people
- 1990 births
- Musicians from Pennsylvania
- American television actresses
- American musical theatre actresses
- American mezzo-sopranos
- 21st-century American actresses
- African-American actresses
- American people of Native American descent
- American people of European descent
- African-American female singers