Laura Marano

Laura Marano (born November 29, 1995) is an American actress and singer, best known for her starring role in the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally as Ally Dawson. Marano was one of the five original classmates in Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?. She starred in Without a Trace for three seasons and also Back to You, in both instances playing the daughter of the main characters. Marano starred in the indie film A Sort of Homecoming. Marano also starred in the 2015 Disney Channel Original Movie Bad Hair Day along with Good Luck Charlie actress Leigh-Allyn Baker. She currently is signed with Big Machine Records and released her debut single "Boombox" on March 11, 2016. She is also the younger sister of actress Vanessa Marano who currently stars in Freeform's Switched at Birth.

Marano was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of college professor Damiano Marano and former actress Ellen Marano. Her father is of Italian descent. Her mother is the owner of Agoura Children's Theatre. Marano was first introduced to acting at her mother's theatre. At age 5, Marano began expressing interest in acting professionally to her parents along with her older sister Vanessa, who is also an actress. However, her mother had trepidation about the idea of her daughters working in the tough industry of acting. She took them to one of the strictest talent agents in Abrams Talent Agency in hopes that they would be rejected and then lose interest. To her surprise, the agency wanted both Laura and Vanessa. From there, Marano began her career.

Marano attended traditional school while she worked, even when she booked a full time job on Austin & Ally, instead of doing school on set. "I go to an actual high school and my friends and everybody there have been so supportive," said Marano. "It's nice when I'm not working to go to that school and be surrounded by really supportive friends."

2003–2010: Without a Trace and Back to You

Marano's first acting role was when she was five years old. Since then, she worked for multiple productions at the Stage Door Theater. She has appeared in numerous commercials and had small roles on Ghost Whisperer, Medical Investigation, Huff and Joan of Arcadia. Her bigger roles in television have been in Without a Trace and other shows. She played the child role of Keira Knightley's character in the film The Jacket and had a small flashback role in the film Superbad. She was a regular cast member on the FOX game show, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? and played the role of Gracie Carr on FOX's sitcom Back to You. Marano has since appeared in several episodes of The Sarah Silverman Program. Initially she was cast in the pilot episode, "Batteries", as the child version of Sarah Silverman, and the writers liked her so much they brought her back for a larger role as a girl Sarah coaches to win a beauty pageant ("Not Without My Daughter"). On the DVD commentary track, co-star Brian Posehn notes that Marano knew everyone else's lines better than they did. She also appeared in Dexter as the child version of Debra Morgan. She also played the child version of a character played by Diana Scarwid, Alice Shaw, sister of Angela Petrelli, on Heroes.

2011–2016: Austin & Ally

In 2011, Marano starred as Ally Dawson on the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally. In 2013, Marano recorded four solo songs and one duet with Ross Lynch for the soundtrack album Austin & Ally: Turn It Up. "Me and You" debuted within the U.S. Billboard Kid Digital Songs chart at number thirteen before rising to the sixth spot, spending eleven weeks on the chart. "Redial" debuted at number nineteen before peaking at number eighteen, spending four weeks on the chart. Also in 2013, Marano recorded a duet with her Austin & Ally co-star Ross Lynch entitled "I Love Christmas" for Disney Channel's third holiday compilation album, Holidays Unwrapped. On November 25, 2013, the song was released as a promotional single. On December 14, "I Love Christmas" debuted within the U.S. Billboard Holiday Digital Songs chart peaking at number fifty. Marano sings, dances, and writes songs. She hopes to perform in stage musicals in the future.

In 2014, Marano voiced as Rachel in four episodes of Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja. She also appeared as Hammu in Fish Hooks and as Fangs in Liv and Maddie. Also in 2014, she appeared in a music video produced for British pop-rock group The Vamps and American singer Demi Lovato called "Somebody To You". In March 2015, Marano stated that she had signed a record deal with Universal's Big Machine Records. In the same year, Marano starred in Disney Channel's Original Movie, Bad Hair Day. The film was first released on February 6, 2015 on Disney Channel and had its premiere broadcast in the US on February 13. She also starring as the young version of Amy in A Sort of Homecoming, which tells the story of a girl who returns to her home town in Louisiana from her career in New York City upon request of her high school debate coach. In flashbacks, she recalls her senior year, the politics surrounding debate competitions. On January 10, 2016, Austin and Ally ended after four seasons.

2016: Radio, films and debut album

On January 13, 2016, Marano debuted her own radio talk show on Radio Disney titled For the Record with Laura Marano. The weekly one hour show chronicles Marano’s journey as she launches her music career, featuring interviews with a guest star in each episode. The show also provides listeners tips on how one can pursue a career in music. The show has featured various guest stars including Nick Jonas, Ariana Grande, Meghan Trainor, OneRepublic, and Troye Sivan. The first episode of the show, which aired January 12, 2016, guest starred her co-stars of Austin & Ally. On March 11, 2016, Marano released her debut single called "Boombox" from her upcoming debut studio album. The music video for the single released on April 4, 2016 and accumulated over 6 million views in a week. The video currently holds over 42 million views. It guest stars actor and comedian Ken Jeong, along with his daughter Zooey, and was directed by Cole Walliser. On April 30, 2016, Marano performed the single at the 2016 Radio Disney Music Awards which aired on Disney Channel on May 1. Marano also performed the song on Today as Elvis Duran's artist of the month on May 31. On August 13, 2016, Marano announced that the second single from the album, "La La", would be released on August 25, 2016.

In August 2013, Marano has been named the 2013 UNICEF's Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Ambassador, which encouraged children to raise money on Halloween to help children around the world. About the campaign, Laura said "I'm so excited to celebrate Halloween this year by encouraging kids to support UNICEF's lifesaving work. The Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign is a fun, easy way for kids to learn about world issues and to help other kids who are less fortunate." In August 2014, Marano was ambassador for the Disney and Birds Eye Vegetables campaign 'Step up to the plate'. The campaign's goal is to encourage children in the United States to explore healthy foods such as vegetables.

Soundtrack albums

Singles

Promotional singles

Other appearances

Music videos