Laura Marano

  Laura Marie Marano (born November 29, 1995) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her part in the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally as Ally Dawson. Marano was one of the original five classmates in Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader. She starred in Without a Trace for three seasons and Back to You. Marano played in the indie film A Sort of Homecoming, the Disney Channel Original Movie Bad Hair Day, and the Netflix original film The Perfect Date.In 2015, she signed with Big Machine Records and released her first single "Boombox" on March 11, 2016, as well as "La La" in the following year. On October 5, 2018, Laura Marano released the single "Me" as an independent artist.Marano was born in Los Angeles, California. She is Damiano's younger daughter, and Ellen Marano's former actress. They also own the Agoura Children's Theatre. Her father is of Italian descent. Marano first became interested in acting when she was in her mother's theatre. When she was five, Marano began expressing interest in acting professionally to her parents, along with her sister Vanessa who was also an actress.Marano was a traditional student while she worked, even when she booked the full-time position for the show Austin & Ally, instead of doing school on set. Marano stated, "I go to an actual secondary school and my fellow students have been extremely supportive." "It's great when I'm working not to go to school and have very supportive and caring friends. Marano studied Philosophy, Politics, and Law at the University of Southern California in 2015.