Laura Marano |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Information | |
| Full Name |
Laura Marie Marano |
| Nickname(s) |
Laura |
| Gender |
Female |
| Born |
November 29, 1995 (age 19) |
| Eye Color |
Brown |
| Hair Color |
Medium brown with caramel highlights |
| Occupation |
Actress, singer-songwriter, model |
| Years active |
2003-Present |
| Role |
Monica |
Laura Marano (born November 29, 1995)[1] is an American actress and singer.[2] She starred inWithout a Trace for three seasons and also Back to You, in both instances playing the daughter of the main characters. She stars in the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally[3][4] as Ally Dawson. Her older sister Vanessa Marano is also an actress.[5] Marano will be starring as a lead role in the new film, A Sort of Homecoming.[6] Marano will also be starring in a 2015 Disney Channel Original MovieBad Hair Day along with Good Luck Charlie actress Leigh Allyn Baker.[7]
Early life[]
Marano is the daughter of college professor Damiano Marano and former actress Ellen Marano.[8] Her father is of Italian descent.[9] Her mother, Ellen, is the owner of Agoura Children's Theatre.[10] Marano revealed that she doesn't go to school on the set of Austin & Ally. Instead, she attends a regular high school: "I go to an actual high school and my friends and everybody there have been so supportive [...] It's nice when I'm not working to go to that school and be surrounded by really supportive friends."[11]
Career[]
Acting[]
Marano's first acting role was when she was five years old.[12] 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 has also been heard in the animated films Finding Nemo and Ice Age: The Meltdown. She played the child role of Keira Knightley's character in the film The Jacket and had a small flashback role in the filmSuperbad. 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. Marano is best known for her role as Ally Dawson on the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally.[13][14]
Music[]
In 2013, Marano recorded four solo songs and one duet with Ross Lynch for the soundtrack album Austin & Ally: Turn It Up.[15] "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.[16] "Redial" debuted at number nineteen before peaking at number eighteen, spending four weeks on the chart.[16]
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.[17] On November 25, 2013, the song was released as a promotional single.[17] On December 14, "I Love Christmas" debuted within the U.S. Billboard Holiday Digital Songs chart peaking at number fifty.[18]
Marano sings, dances, and writes songs. She hopes to perform in stage musicals in the future.[19][20] In 2014, Marano appeared in a music video produced for British pop-rock group The Vamps and Demi Lovatocalled "Somebody To You".[21] In February 2014, Marano recorded "The Me That You Don't See" for the album Disney Channel Play It Loud; the song peaked at number eighteen within the U.S. Billboard Kid Digital Songschart.[16]
Philanthropy[]
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.[22] 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."[22]
In August 2014, Marano was ambassador for the Disney and Birds Eye Vegetables campaign 'Step up to the plate' [23] The campaign is to raise the amount of children who eat vegetables in the United States.
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–06 | Without a Trace | Kate Malone | Recurring role (Seasons 2–4) |
| 2004 | Joan of Arcadia | Emily | "Night without Stars" (Season 1, Episode 15) |
| 2005 | Medical Investigation | Brooke Beck | "Tribe" (Season 1, Episode 13) |
| 2005–08 | The X's | Scout Y | Main role; Voice |
| 2006 | Ghost Whisperer | Audrey | "Friendly Neighborhood Ghost" (Season 1, Episode 13) |
| Huff | Amelia | "Black Shadows" (Season 2, Episode 12) | |
| Dexter | Young Debra | "Let's Give the Boy a Hand" (Season 1, Episode 4)
"Father Knows Best" (Season 1, Episode 9) | |
| 2007 | Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader | Herself / Judge / Mentor | Season 1 |
| 2007–08 | Back to You | Gracie Carr | Main role |
| 2007–10 | The Sarah Silverman Program | Heather Silverman / Young Sarah Silverman | Recurring role |
| 2008 | Ni Hao, Kai-Lan | Mei Mei | "Kai-Lan's Trip to China - Part 1" (Season 1, Episode 119)
"Kai-Lan's Trip to China - Part 2" (Season 1, Episode 120) |
| Gary Unmarried | Louise Brooks | "Pilot" (Season 1, Episode 1)
"Gary Gets Boundaries" (Season 1, Episode 2) | |
| 2009 | Heroes | Young Alice Shaw | "1961" (Season 3, Episode 23) |
| Little Monk | Cousin Lauren | "Little Monk and the Monk Cousin" (Season 1, Episode 5) | |
| 2010 | True Jackson, VP | Molly | "Little Buddies" (Season 2, Episode 7) |
| Telepathic | Marsha | Unsold Nickelodeon series pilot | |
| FlashForward | Young Tracy | "Blowback" (Season 1, Episode 13) | |
| Childrens Hospital | Haley | "Frankfurthers. Allman Brothers. Death, Frankfurters" (Season 2, Episode 7) | |
| 2011–present | Austin & Ally | Ally Dawson | Lead role |
| 2012 | Jessie | "Austin & Jessie & Ally All Star New Year" (Season 2, Episode 6) | |
| 2014 | Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja | Rachel | Voice; "True Bromance" (Season 2, Episode 6)
"Let the Wonk One In" (Season 2, Episode 15) |
| 2014 | Fish Hooks | Girl Hamster #2 | Voice; "Algae Day" (Season 3, Episode 14) |
| Liv and Maddie | Fangs | "Howl-A-Rooney" (season 1, episode 16) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Jacket | Young Jackie | |
| 2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | Various role | |
| 2007 | Goldfish | Suzy | Short film |
| Superbad | Young Becca | ||
| 2015 | A Sort of Homecoming | Amy | |
| 2015 | Bad Hair Day | Monica | Disney Channel Original Movie[24] |
Discography[]
Soundtrack albums[]
| Title | Album details | Peak
chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US
[25] |
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Soundtracks US
OST] [25] | |||||||||||||
| Austin & Ally: Turn It Up |
|
89 | 6 | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Promotional singles[]
| Title | Year | Peak | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_charts US
Holiday] [18] | |||||||||||
| "Words" | 2010 | — | N/A | ||||||||
| "I Love Christmas"[17]
(with Ross Lynch) |
2013 | 50 | Holidays Unwrapped | ||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||
Other appearances[]
| Song | Year | Other(s) artist(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Poop Song" | 2010 | Sarah Silverman | From Our Rears to Your Ears[26] |
| "Shine" | 2012 | N/A | Disney Fairies: Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust |
| "Me and You" | 2013 | Austin & Ally: Turn It Up | |
| "Parachute" | |||
| "Redial" | |||
| "Finally Me" | |||
| "You Can Come to Me" | 2014 | Ross Lynch | Disney Channel: Play It Loud |
| "The Me That You Don't See" | N/A | ||
| "Austin & Ally Glee Club Mash Up" | Austin & Ally cast |
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Comedy | Austin & Ally | Nominated | [27] |
Trivia[]
- Her sister, Vanessa Marano stars in Abc Family's Switched At Birth.
- She has been playing piano since she was little.
- She once co-wrote a song for Austin & Ally.
- It is rumored that her first kiss was with her Austin & Ally co-star, Ross Lynch.