Renee Olstead (born June 18, 1989) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles on the CBS sitcom ''
Still Standing'' and on the ABC Family drama ''
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (often shortened to ''Secret Life'') is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It aired on ABC Family from July 1, 2008 to June 3, 2013.
The series received mixed to some ...
'' as Madison Cooperstein. In addition, she has recorded four studio albums, primarily of jazz music.
Early life
Olstead was born in
Kingwood, Texas
Kingwood is a 14,000 acre (57 km²) master-planned community located in northeast Houston, Texas, United States. The majority of the community is located in Harris County with a small portion in Montgomery County. Known as the "Livable F ...
, to Christopher Eric Olstead and Rebecca Lynn Jeffries. Olstead is of Norwegian ancestry. She also attended Centre Stage theatrical school and is mentioned on their website's list of alumni.
Career
As a child actress, she made films and commercials from age eight onwards. From 2002 to 2006, she appeared in the TV sitcom ''
Still Standing'' as middle sister Lauren Miller. Olstead was presented with the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy) - Supporting Young Actress for ''Still Standing'' in 2002. She also had a small part in the 2004 film ''
13 Going on 30''. She co-starred in the ABC Family series ''
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (often shortened to ''Secret Life'') is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It aired on ABC Family from July 1, 2008 to June 3, 2013.
The series received mixed to some ...
'', about fifteen-year-old Amy Juergens's struggle through her unexpected pregnancy and how it affected her peers. Olstead played the character Madison Cooperstein, one of Amy's best friends.
In 2004, Olstead released a self-titled album of
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
songs and
pop standards
Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...
for
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
to good reviews. Since her previous releases had limited distribution, this album was considered her official debut. She subsequently performed in Berlin during the
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...
concert on July 2, 2005.
Olstead also recorded with trumpeter
Chris Botti
Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer.
In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album ''Impressions''.
He was also nominated in ...
on his 2005 album ''
To Love Again: The Duets'' and appeared on the 2006 DVD ''Chris Botti Live with Orchestra and Special Guests''. Her singing style is influenced by such great jazz vocalists as
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
and
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer.
Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...
. Reportedly, her musical talent was discovered by composer
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
, who produced her 2004 album. She later performed with him on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
''.
A follow-up album entitled Skylark, also produced by Foster, was originally announced for release in 2005, but it was subsequently pushed back several times, with release dates in the summer of 2006 and early 2007 being mentioned on online retailers such as
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
. It was then scheduled for a June 2008 release, but was delayed once again. It was finally released on January 27, 2009, nearly four years after it was originally announced.
Olstead most recently starred as Kaitlan in the 2013 supernatural thriller ''
The Midnight Game''
and as Jess Felton in the 2014
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
-themed thriller film ''
Unfriended
''Unfriended'' is a 2014 computer screen supernatural horror film directed by Levan Gabriadze and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. The first feature film to be entirely set on a computer screen, it is produced in the so-called Screenlife format. T ...
''.
On November 30, 2020, Renee announced that she was launching an Onlyfans page. Her introductory subscription fee was set at $9.99 per month. She was the
Penthouse (magazine)
''Penthouse'' is a men's magazine founded by Bob Guccione. It combines urban lifestyle articles and softcore pornographic pictures of women that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore pornographic pictures of women.
Although Guccione was American, ...
Pet of the Month in January 2023.
Personal life
Renee was married to pianist Tommy King, and legally took his last name. The two divorced in 2020. As Renee King, she was crowned Ms. West Coast at the Miss West Coast pageant in 2016.
Olstead is a
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
. She appeared in a
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
ad, ''Fish Are Friends Not Food'', urging her fans to become vegan themselves.
In 2012, Olstead joined
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
's campaign to free the
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
Mali from captivity at the
Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, where she has been alone for the last three decades.
On September 14, 2011, as the result of a criminal complaint initially made by actress
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...
, the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
announced it was investigating the alleged hacking of celebrity cellphone and email accounts and the dissemination of explicit nude photographs of Johansson and approximately 50 other celebrities, including Olstead. As a result of the investigation, 35-year-old Christopher Chaney of Jacksonville, Florida, was arrested in October 2011. During the trial, Olstead testified that she attempted suicide after the nude photographs were leaked, adding that she had never before considered suicide before the hacking.
Chaney was sentenced to 10 years in prison in December 2012.
Discography
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Singles
Other charted songs
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olstead, Renee
1989 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Houston
American child actresses
American child singers
American women jazz singers
American jazz singers
American people of Norwegian descent
American television actresses
Living people
Musicians from Houston
Warner Records artists
21st-century American women singers
People from Kingwood, Texas
21st-century American singers
Jazz musicians from Texas
OnlyFans creators