Christy Carlson Romano

Christy Carlson Romano (born March 20, 1984Template:Efn) is an American actress, podcaster, and singer. On the Disney Channel, she played Ren Stevens on Even Stevens and voiced the titular character from Kim Possible.

Early life

Romano was born on March 20, 1984, in Milford, Connecticut, the youngest of four children of Anthony and Sharon (née Carlson) Romano.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romano was raised Catholic. She is of Italian descent.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> She began her career at six years old when she was cast in several national tours of Broadway shows, including Annie, The Will Rogers Follies with Keith Carradine, and The Sound of Music with Marie Osmond.<ref name="Playbill1998">Template:Cite news</ref> She made her first feature film appearance in 1996 as a singing "Chiquita Banana" in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She also appeared in Henry Fool (1997) and Looking for an Echo (2000).<ref name="Playbill1998"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Career

File:Christy Carlson Romano 2, 2009.jpg

Romano in 2009

Film and television

Romano made her Broadway debut in 1998 as Mary Phagan in the musical Parade by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2002, she acted in three Disney Channel projects simultaneously, supplementing her work on Even Stevens with a starring role in Cadet Kelly, alongside Hilary Duff, and voice acting as the title character in Kim Possible. Romano was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for her work on Kim Possible. The show inspired an adventure scavenger hunt activity at Disney's Epcot which ran for over five years, as well as two Disney Channel movies Kim Possible: So the Drama and Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time.

Romano voiced Yuffie Kisaragi in the English version of the movie Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, as well as in the Disney/Square game Kingdom Hearts.<ref name="btva">Template:Cite web A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref> Throughout her teens and twenties, she starred in movies for ABC Family and Disney Channel, including Campus Confidential, Taking Five, The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold, and The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream. Various other appearances include MTV's Kaya, CBS' Joan of Arcadia, The WB's Summerland, and TNT's Hawthorne. Template:Citation needed

In February 2004, Romano began a 31-week run as Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.<ref>Gans, Andrew. Beauty and the Beast Welcomes New Trio Feb. 17 Template:Webarchive Playbill, Retrieved March 9, 2018</ref> Romano was the youngest actress to portray the character on Broadway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She reprised the role in Atlanta's 2005 Fox Theatre production of Beauty and the Beast.<ref>Christy Carlson Romano Is Beauty Again, This Time for Theater of the Stars in Atlanta Template:Webarchive Playbill, Retrieved March 9, 2018</ref> In September 2008, she joined the Broadway company of Avenue Q as Kate Monster for several weeks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Romano starred as Michelle off-Broadway in White's Lies at New World Stages in 2010, alongside Betty Buckley and Tuc Watkins.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Romano penned a novel, Grace's Turn, for Disney literary subsidiary Hyperion, which received accolades by the New York Public Library (NYPL) as the 2007 Teenage Book of the Year.<ref name="Carlson2008">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2012, she directed a music video for Steph Gold's "THE SUN" which was accepted into the Los Angeles Shorts Fest 2012. Template:Citation needed Amongst other titles, Romano has appeared in many films since her Disney days including Lifetime's Deadly Daycare, Wes Craven's The Girl in the Photographs, Loosies, and Christmas with the Andersons. In March 2016, she directed her first feature, Christmas All Over Again starring Nickelodeon's Sean Ryan Fox and YouTube star Todrick Hall; Lionsgate released the film for Christmas 2016.

Romano appeared as pop star Poppy Blu in the live action Kim Possible television movie which premiered on February 15, 2019.<ref name="PoppyBlu">Template:Cite web</ref> Starting that year, Romano started her own YouTube show called Christy's Kitchen Throwback, in which she would cook recipes with former child actors and Disney stars as guest hosts.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In August 2020, it was announced that Romano would host the cooking show Bucket List Bistro for Fox.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On November 15, 2024, Fox announced that Romano was one of fifteen contestants to appear in the third season of reality quasi-military training television series Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Podcasts

Romano hosts several podcasts. She hosts Vulnerable where she interviews former child stars.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also hosts I Hear Voices with her former Kim Possible co-star Will Friedle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also hosts Even More Stevens with her former Even Stevens co-stars Nick Spano and Steven Anthony Lawrence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2023, Romano launched a company called PodCo, a podcast network that focuses on rewatches hosted by the stars of popular TV series such as Wizards of Waverly Place, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Even Stevens, and others.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Music

While working at Disney, Romano recorded songs as part of soundtracks for Kim Possible and other Disney projects. She first sang on the Disney Channel on a musical episode of Even Stevens which led to more singing on the series and with Disney in general. In 2004, Walt Disney Records released Romano's debut album Greatest Disney TV & Film Hits, a compilation of previously released soundtrack appearances and new material. After her Broadway run of Beauty and the Beast Romano signed a record deal with Jason Flom at Atlantic Records. Flom was fired before Romano released her first album and Romano's deal was not honored. She continued to write music with Kara DioGuardi and The Matrix and placed her songs in several movies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Christy Carlson Romano FashionTails interview 2.png

Romano at FashionTails interview in 2015

Other ventures

After her singing career, Romano began narrating audiobooks, including Pop Princess by Rachel Cohn, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin, and Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne M. LaFleur.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also narrated audiobooks To Catch a Killer by Sheryl Scarborough, Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong, Kaleidoscope Hearts by Claire Contreras, and the Adventures of Owl Series by Kristi Charish. On August 22, 2006, she published her own novel, Grace's Turn, for which she provided the narration as well.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

After Even Stevens ended, Romano struggled with depression, self-harm, and alcohol abuse during her late teen years and early twenties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her experience of playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway was taxing on her voice, which was already in delicate condition after she had to have surgery to remove vocal nodules right before her audition. She also admitted that she was pushing her voice past its limit in order to get through her run while trying to make Disney Theatrical Productions proud.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Romano later attended Barnard College and received her degree in Film Studies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Romano and writer-producer Brendan Rooney met in February 2011 while she was studying at Barnard College. They became engaged in November<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and, after two years of engagement, married on December 31, 2013 at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They have two daughters: Isabella Victoria, born December 24, 2016, and Sophia Elizabeth, born February 18, 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On February 7, 2025, Romano was shot in her right eye during a clay pigeon shooting outing with Rooney for his 42nd birthday, which was accidentally caused by another party. Rooney assessed the situation and had Romano taken to a hospital. Some of the shrapnel was removed, but one fragment was lodged behind her eye and was left alone due to being too risky to remove. Romano stated that the doctors will continue to monitor her and that she can see normally at the moment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	RoleTemplate:Cn	Notes
1996	Everyone Says I Love You	Trick-or-Treat Child
1997	Henry Fool	Pearl
1999	Goosed	Gail
2000	Looking for an Echo	Tina Pirelli
2005	Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children	Yuffie Kisaragi	Voice role<ref name="btva" />
2007	Taking Five	Danielle Thompson
2010	The Legend of Secret Pass	Nica	Voice role<ref name="btva" />
	Suicide Dolls	Amber
	Movin' In	Ann Beck
	Mirrors 2	Jenna McCarty
2011	Loosies	Carmen
2012	Infected	Kelly
2013	Lucky Dog	Sharon
2014	Prism	Grace
	Real Love	Brie	Short film
	Bear with Us	Quincy Adams
2015	The Girl in the Photographs	Britney
2016	Christmas All Over Again	Marilyn	Also director and producer
2017	Blood Circus	Sherry
2021	Single Mother by Choice	Herself	HBO Max original film<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The Many Trials of Tammy B	Dani	Television film
1999	Guiding Light	Erica
2000–2003	Even Stevens	Ren Stevens	Main role
2001	B.S.	Andy Brenner	Television film
2002	Cadet Kelly	Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone	Television film
2002–2007	Kim Possible	Kimberly Ann "Kim" Possible	Lead voice role<ref name="btva" />
2003	The Even Stevens Movie	Ren Stevens	Television film
	Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time	Kim Possible	Voice role; television film
2004	Joan of Arcadia	Officious Hall Monitor God	Episode: "The Book of Questions"
2005	Kim Possible: So the Drama	Kim Possible	Voice role; television film<ref name="btva" />
	Summerland	Gigi	Episode: "Where There's a Will There's a Wave"
	Lilo & Stitch: The Series	Kim Possible	Voice role; episode: "Rufus"
	Campus Confidential	Violet	Television film
2006	The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold	Jackie Dorsey
	Family Guy	Quagmire's One-Night-Stand	Voice role; episode: "I Take Thee, Quagmire"
	Casper's Scare School	Mantha	Voice role; television film<ref name="btva" />
2007	Kaya	Kat	3 episodes
2008	The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream	Jackie Dorsey	Television film
2009	Hawthorne	Alex	Episode: "Night Moves"
	Wolvesbayne	Alex Layton	Television film
2010	Iris Expanding	Zelda	Unsold television pilot
	Template:Sortname	Little Girl #1 / Lunacorn	Voice role; episode: "Hello, Dollface/Huffin and Puffin"
2012	MyMusic	The Devil	Web series; episode: "Sabotage!"
2014	Deadly Daycare	Gabby	Television film
2016	Christmas with the Andersons	Caroline
2018	Big Hero 6: The Series	Trina	Voice role; 6 episodes<ref name="btva" />
2019	Maternal Instinct	Gloria	Television film
	Dream Killer	Grace Rodson
	Kim Possible	Poppy Blu	Television film<ref name="PoppyBlu"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2025	Special Forces: World's Toughest Test	Herself	Contestant in season 3<ref name=":0" />
	Chibiverse	Kim Possible	Voice role; episode: "Dr. Doof's Lab"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Kingdom Hearts	Yuffie Kisaragi<ref name="btva" />	Voice role
	Kim Possible: Revenge of Monkey Fist	Kim Possible

Theater

Year	Title	RoleTemplate:Cn	Notes
1990	Annie	Molly	Regional; Atlanta
1992–1994	The Will Rogers Follies	James Rogers	National Tour
1994–1995	The Sound of Music	Marta von Trapp
1995	Ruthless	Tina Denmark	Regional; Galveston
	The Dr. Seuss Children's Opera	Gertrude McFuzz	Regional; Boston
1996	Night of the Hunter	Mary	Off-Broadway
1997	Spider's Web	Pippa	Regional; Westport/Connecticut Tour
1998–1999	Parade	Mary Phagan	Broadway
1999	Stars in Your Eyes	Jo Jenson	off-Broadway
2004	Beauty and the Beast	Belle	Broadway
2005			Regional; Atlanta
2008	Avenue Q	Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut	Broadway
2010	White's Lies	Michelle	Off-Broadway

Discography

Album

• Greatest Disney TV & Film Hits (2004)

Cast recording

• Parade – Original Cast Recording (1999)

Other album appearances

Title	Year	Album
"Chiquita Banana"	1996	Everyone Says I Love You
"Say the Word"	2003	Kim Possible
"Circle of Life" Template:Small	2004	Disneymania 2
"Teacher's Pet"		Teacher's Pet
"Anyone But Me"		Zenon: Z3
"Let's Bounce"		The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
"Toy Town"		Radio Disney Jingle Jams
"Colors of the Wind"	2005	Disneymania 3
"Best Time of the Year"	2007	Disney Channel Holiday

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Refs
2001	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Leading Young Actress	Even Stevens	Template:Won	<ref name="YAA23">Template:Cite web</ref>
2002	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series – Leading Young Actress		Template:Won	<ref name="YAA24">Template:Cite web</ref>
2003	Young Artist Award	Best Young Adult Performer in a Teenage Role	The Even Stevens Movie	Template:Nom	<ref name="YAA25">Template:Cite web</ref>
2005	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program	Kim Possible	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

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