Laura Marano

Laura Marano stars as the lead “Ally” in the hit international Disney Channel television series “Austin and Ally.” Marano started acting in the theater when she was five years old. She appeared in numerous plays at the Agoura Children’s Theatre, and continued her acting in national commercials. Marano went on to booking recurring roles on the television shows: "Without a Trace," in which she plays Kate, the daughter of Emmy-Award winning actor Anthony LaPaglia's character, and in "Dexter" and "The Sarah Silverman Program." She has guest-starred on television shows including “Children’s Hospital”, “Flash Forward”, “True Jackson”, "Ghost Whisperer," "Medical Investigation," "Huff" and "Joan of Arcadia." She then booked a series regular role on “Back To You,” also starring Kelsey Grammar, Patricia Heaton and Ty Burrell. Since many of the shows Marano has worked on are not suitable for viewing by all ages, she did enjoy the fact that her classmates could watch her on the hit FOX quiz show, ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?

Marano's first film role was in "The Jacket," produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh and starring Adrien Brody. Marano appeared in Judd Apatow's film "Superbad" and starred in Joe Wein's short film, "Goldfish." Marano has had many voiceover roles, including the widely successful animated films "Finding Nemo" and "Ice Age 2: The Meldown." She is heard in recurring roles on the cable shows "The X's" and "Ni Hao Kai-Lan”, and the lead voice for the Disney pilot, “Lucky Beast”. Marano enjoys school, soccer, piano, tap dancing and singing. Her favorite thing to do is to read books. She loves to travel and has made three trips to Italy, where she and her sister learned to play the card game Scopa. Marano also has a penchant for songwriting, which is one of the reasons why she gravitated to the role of “Ally,” and she has written over 100 songs. Currently, she is recording her music. Marano lives with her parents and her dog Velvet in the Los Angeles area.