Ciara Renée Harper (born October 19, 1990) 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 Frozen may refer to: * the result of freezing * a paralysis response in extreme cases of fear Films * ''Frozen'' (1997 film), a film by Wang Xiaoshuai * ''Frozen'' (2005 film), a film by Juliet McKoen * ''Frozen'' (2007 film), a film by Sh ...

.'' 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 An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'' and '' The Flash.'' Her vocal type is

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Early life

Renée was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She attended Central Dauphin East High School and graduated with a degree in Music Theatre from Baldwin Wallace University in 2013.

Career

In fall September 2013, Renée made her Broadway debut at the Neil Simon Theatre as The Witch in ''Big Fish'' after working in a pre-Broadway workshop of ''Bull Durham''. In February of the following year, she was cast in a revival of the musical ''Pippin'', replacing Patina Miller as the Leading Player. Renée guest-starred on '' Law & Order: SVU'' in the fall of 2014 on NBC. Based on the

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

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, a performance the NY Daily News described as "earthy and lovely". 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 DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

adaptations. She joined co-stars Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Franz Drameh,

Dominic Purcell Dominic Haakon Myrtved PurcellO'Connor, B,Break Out". ''Men's Fitness''. December/January 2007 Issue; retrieved 18 December 2006. (born 17 February 1970) is a British-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Lincoln Burrows in F ...

, 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 An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

revival of Jonathan Larson's autobiographical musical '' Tick, Tick... Boom!''. The production ran from October 20 to December 18. In the summer of 2017, she played Mary Magdalene in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri. It was announced on January 15, 2020 that Renee will return to Broadway to play Elsa in ''

'' beginning February 18. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, all Broadway theatres were closed in March 2020. Disney later announced ''Frozen'' will not reopen after the lockdown is lifted. Renee replaced country singer Jennifer Nettles as Jenna in the Broadway musical '' Waitress'' on November 25, 2021.

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

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Renee, Ciara 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 21st-century African-American women singers