Ciara Renée

Actress Ciara Renee experienced a stratospheric career arc by vaulting from college graduate to Broadway star and then cast member on a network television series, all within two years' time. Born June 17, 1982 and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, she began singing at an early age and competed in talent contests throughout her state. Renee initially intended on pursuing a career as a recording artist, but fell in love with musical theater during her sophomore year at Central Dauphin East High School. She continued to pursue her stage dreams as a musical theater student at Baldwin Wallace University; after graduation in 2013, Renee worked steadily in regional productions of "Rent" and "The Wild Party," among other shows, before making her Broadway debut in the original run of "Big Fish" that same year. In 2014, she joined the cast of the Tony-winning revival of "Pippin," and made her network television debut in an episode of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999- ). Renee's meteoric rise continued to reach new heights in 2015 when she was announced as a cast member on an unnamed spinoff of the CW's popular "Arrow" (2012- ) and "Flash" (2014- ) series. Renee was tapped to play Kendra Saunders, the latest incarnation of DC Comics' long-running Hawkgirl character.