Ciara Renee

Ciara Renée Harper, born on October 19, 1990, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is an actress, model, singer, and dancer. She completed her music theatre degree from Baldwin Wallace University in 2013. Renée began her career in theatre, landing her Broadway debut in September 2013 as The Witch in “Big Fish” at the Neil Simon Theatre. The following year, she took on the role of The Leading Player in the Broadway revival of “Pippin,” stepping in for Patina Miller. Her early stage work included a pre-Broadway workshop of “Bull Durham” and regional productions such as “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” where she portrayed Esmeralda.

Renée expanded her acting into television in 2014 with a guest appearance on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” A significant career milestone came in 2015 when she was cast as Kendra Saunders, also known as Hawkgirl, in The CW’s interconnected DC Comics universe. This role began with guest appearances in “The Flash” (4 episodes in 2015) and “Arrow” (1 episode in 2015), leading to a main cast position in “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” for 16 episodes in 2016. She continued to balance television and theatre, appearing in “Master of None” (2017) and “The Big Bang Theory” (2018), while also performing in Off-Broadway’s “Tick, Tick… Boom!” (2016) and as Mary Magdalene in “Jesus Christ Superstar” at The Muny in 2017.

In recent years, Renée returned to Broadway as Elsa in “Frozen” starting February 2020, though the production was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She later replaced Jennifer Nettles as Jenna in “Waitress” on Broadway in November 2021. Her film work includes “A Shot Through the Wall” (2020) and “Paint” (2023). In 2025, Renée was involved in a legal dispute with the producers of the musical “Wanted” (formerly “Gun & Powder”) after being recast despite leading its Paper Mill Playhouse run. In 2023, she also co-produced the short film “Elle” and directed a developmental production of “Millennials Are Killing Musicals” Off-Broadway.