- Laura Marano stars in the Netflix movie “The Perfect Date,” but has been in the business for years.
- From Disney television shows to her own independent label, Marano is busy.
- Despite all that, she found time to go to a regular high school and college.
- Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.
In one of the latest romantic comedies to hit Netflix, “The Perfect Date,” Laura Marano plays the hardened, yet vulnerable, Celia Lieberman, opposite Noah Centineo’s Brooks Rattigan.
It’s not a typical rom-com, and the main love in the end might not have been the one you expected, but it has a fresh score of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes and features everyone’s favorite “internet boyfriend” in Centineo.
Marano is a big part of that movie, but this is by no means her first gig. She’s been in the industry for years now, and has taken part in several different ways.
In case you wanted to know more about Marano, keep reading, because she's got a pretty interesting resume.
She's a Disney darling.
While it wasn't her first acting gig, Marano's first big claim to fame was "Austin & Ally" on Disney Channel. It premiered in 2011 and also starred "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" star Ross Lynch.
The two were the title characters and the show was about how they became friends because Ally knew how to write songs really well and Austin was born to perform. Their relationship and characters evolved, but the wholesome duo really made this Disney Channel show a hit with their fans. Lynch was already a part of his family's band, R5, but the show was a kick starter for both of their music careers, especially Marano's.
She comes from an acting family.
If you haven't seen anything with Marano in it, but she looks familiar, it might be because her sister is also an actress. Vanessa Marano is almost three years older and had a lead role on the ABC Family show "Switched at Birth."
Marano went to a regular high school, even while being a full-time actress.
As seen in her Instagram post from 2014, Marano was a full-time student on top of having a hit Disney Channel show.
She wrote in the post: "AHHH, last Saturday morning, I felt a mix of pride, joy, sadness, and gratitude (Basically, I was an emotional wreck). In my four years of high school, I experienced some of the happiest moments I've had in my life so far... I literally can't describe how lucky I feel to have had those experiences! YAY #HighSchoolGraduate #Weirddd."
On top of that, she also attended college, going to the University of Southern California. In a recent interview with InStyle, Marano said she's taking her time with this one, but college is still something she wants to do.
"I'm lucky to have a really great family, but I also attribute it to school," she said. "I've been going to college part-time; I'm not going to graduate until I'm like 37 to 40 at this rate, but when you've been in the industry for such a long time and live in LA, it's so easy to think the whole world is this bubble. Going to school has enabled me to see that there's more out there. I think that's a positive aspect of social media, as well: it shows you so much more to the world than what's inside your own bubble."
She was on "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"
The first TV role she had was on "Without a Trace," in the recurring role of Kate Malone. In addition, she had a main role on "Back to You" as Grace Carr.
But she also had other little roles here and there, like being one of the children on "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" She even threw it back recently by sharing a picture with host Jeff Foxworthy.
Marano has another rom-com in the making, "A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish."
One thing Marano has in common with former Disney actress Hilary Duff is that she'll be portraying a Cinderella-type role in a fifth "Cinderella Story" movie. Gregg Sulkin ("Runaways") will be her Prince Charming and Isabella Gomez ("One Day at a Time") will portray her best friend. From a singing elf to a love interest, this is a fairytale story told time and again. The set seems like a lot of fun, too.
She has a music career.
Starting with the songs she sang on "Austin & Ally," Marano went into music in addition to her acting. Her first EP came out this year, but she had a single as early as 2016. She was signed to main labels, but as of 2018 became an independent artist at her very own label, Flip Phone Records.
"Honestly, I'm proud to be a young woman running my own label and in charge of my own musical destiny. It feels good," she told People.
She still has a flip phone.
Marano actually still uses a flip phone as her day-to-day phone as a way to detach from social media, apps, and the endless scrolling that can happen with a smartphone.