Renee Olstead (born June 18, 1989) is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles on the CBS sitcom '' Still Standing'' and on the ABC Family drama ''

The Secret Life of the American Teenager ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (often shortened to ''Secret Life'') is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It aired on ABC Family from July 1, 2008 to June 3, 2013. The series received mixed to som ...

'' as Madison Cooperstein. In addition, she has recorded four studio albums, primarily of jazz music.

Early life

Olstead was born in

Kingwood, Texas Kingwood is a 14,000 acre (57 km²) master-planned community located in northeast Houston, Texas, United States. The majority of the community is located in Harris County with a small portion in Montgomery County. Known as the "Livable F ...

, to Christopher Eric Olstead and Rebecca Lynn Jeffries. Olstead is of Norwegian ancestry. She also attended Centre Stage theatrical school and is mentioned on their website's list of alumni.

Career

As a child actress, she made films and commercials from age eight onwards. From 2002 to 2006, she appeared in the TV sitcom '' Still Standing'' as middle sister Lauren Miller. Olstead was presented with the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy) - Supporting Young Actress for ''Still Standing'' in 2002. She also had a small part in the 2004 film ''

13 Going on 30 ''13 Going on 30'' (released as ''Suddenly 30'' in some countries) is a 2004 American fantasy romantic comedy film written by Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith, directed by Gary Winick, and starring Jennifer Garner. It follows a 13-year-old girl in ...

''. She co-starred in the ABC Family series ''

'', about fifteen-year-old Amy Juergens's struggle through her unexpected pregnancy and how it affected her peers. Olstead played the character Madison Cooperstein, one of Amy's best friends. In 2004, Olstead released a self-titled album of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

songs and

pop standards Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standard ...

for

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to good reviews. Since her previous releases had limited distribution, this album was considered her official debut. She subsequently performed in Berlin during the

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concert on July 2, 2005. Olstead also recorded with trumpeter

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album ''Impressions''. He was also nominated in ...

on his 2005 album '' To Love Again: The Duets'' and appeared on the 2006 DVD ''Chris Botti Live with Orchestra and Special Guests''. Her singing style is influenced by such great jazz vocalists as

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and Sarah Vaughan. Reportedly, her musical talent was discovered by composer

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

, who produced her 2004 album. She later performed with him on ''

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''. A follow-up album entitled Skylark, also produced by Foster, was originally announced for release in 2005, but it was subsequently pushed back several times, with release dates in the summer of 2006 and early 2007 being mentioned on online retailers such as

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. It was then scheduled for a June 2008 release, but was delayed once again. It was finally released on January 27, 2009, nearly four years after it was originally announced. Olstead most recently starred as Kaitlan in the 2013 supernatural thriller '' The Midnight Game'' and as Jess Felton in the 2014

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

-themed thriller film ''

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''. On November 30, 2020, Renee announced that she was launching an Onlyfans page. Her introductory subscription fee was set at $9.99 per month. She was the

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Pet of the Month in January 2023.

Personal life

Renee was married to pianist Tommy King, and legally took his last name. The two divorced in 2020. As Renee King, she was crowned Ms. West Coast at the Miss West Coast pageant in 2016. Olstead is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

. She appeared in a PETA ad, ''Fish Are Friends Not Food'', urging her fans to become vegan themselves. In 2012, Olstead joined PETA's campaign to free the

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

Mali from captivity at the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, where she has been alone for the last three decades. On September 14, 2011, as the result of a criminal complaint initially made by actress

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

, the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

announced it was investigating the alleged hacking of celebrity cellphone and email accounts and the dissemination of explicit nude photographs of Johansson and approximately 50 other celebrities, including Olstead. As a result of the investigation, 35-year-old Christopher Chaney of Jacksonville, Florida, was arrested in October 2011. During the trial, Olstead testified that she attempted suicide after the nude photographs were leaked, adding that she had never before considered suicide before the hacking. Chaney was sentenced to 10 years in prison in December 2012.

Discography

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions

Singles

Other charted songs

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olstead, Renee 1989 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Houston American child actresses American child singers American women jazz singers American jazz singers American people of Norwegian descent American television actresses Living people Musicians from Houston Warner Records artists 21st-century American women singers People from Kingwood, Texas 21st-century American singers Jazz musicians from Texas OnlyFans creators