Cierra Alexa Ramirez (born March 9, 1995) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for playing Mariana Adams Foster in the Freeform television series '' The Fosters'' and reprising her role in the spin-off series '' Good Trouble'', which she also co-executive produced with co-star Maia Mitchell. Her accolades include an

ALMA Award The American Latino Media Arts Award or ALMA Award, formerly known as Latin Oscars Award, is an award highlighting the best American Latino contributions to music, television, and film. The awards promote fair and accurate portrayals of Latino ...

and a

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...

nomination.

Early life

Ramirez was born on March 9, 1995, in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Her father, Sonny Ramirez, was a

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and her mother, Cris Ramirez, was a kindergarten teacher. Ramirez was raised in

Sugar Land, Texas Sugar Land (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Sugarland) is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a po ...

, and attended Westside High School for two years before moving to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She graduated high school through a home-school program to allow her to pursue her acting career.

Career

Music

Music led to Ramirez making her television debut—when she was 10 years old, she performed a song the "Apollo Kids Star of Tomorrow" segment of ''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987, to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harve ...

''. Ramirez is signed to Empire and Tribeca Music Group. She has performed as the opening act for a number of musical acts, including

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Ruben Studdard Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of ''American Idol'' and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recordi ...

. On June 20, 2016, Ramirez released her first EP ''Discreet''. Her singles subsequently followed her first EP: "Faded" Feat. Baeza in 2017. In 2018, Ramirez released the first single “Bad Boys” off of her debut album, Over Your Head, which was released February 28, 2020. Singles that followed “Bad Boys” were; “Liquid Courage (Love Me Better)", "Broke Us" Feat. Trevor Jackson in 2019 and “Over Your Head” in 2020. Music videos for the singles "Faded", "Bad Boys", "Liquid Courage" and "Broke Us" were released. "Liquid Courage (Love Me Better)", "Broke Us", and “BBU” were directed by Maria Skobeleva.

Acting

In 2007, Ramirez played a recurring role on the Disney Channel series ''

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' is an American teen sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series aired on Disney Channel from March 18, 2005, to September 1, 2008. The series was nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for ...

'' as Jasmine, a young camper with anger management issues. Ramirez played recurring character Kathy in ''

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 features an ensemble ...

'', introduced in the 100th episode as a pregnant freshman. Ramirez had her film debut in the titular role for the 2012 feature film '' Girl in Progress'', for which she won an

for Favorite Movie Actress Supporting Role. Starting in 2013, Ramirez played Mariana Foster in the ABC Family (renamed " Freeform" channel) series '' The Fosters''. Her character is a straight-A student who, with her fraternal twin Jesus, has been adopted by a lesbian couple into a multi-ethnic blended family. The show premiered on June 3, 2013, and in January 2017, Freeform announced that it had been renewed for its fifth season. However, according to

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

, the series would be cancelled after a three-night limited series on June 6, 2018, to be followed with a spin off, '' Good Trouble'' premiering January 9, 2019, featuring Ramirez and Maia Mitchell. In 2017, Ramirez starred in the '' Lifetime'' film ''Drink, Slay, Love'' co-produced by

Bella Thorne Annabella Avery Thorne (born October 8, 1997) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles as Margaux Darling in the series '' Dirty Sexy Money'' (2007–2008) and as Ruthy Spivey in the drama series ...

and based on the novel by

Sarah Beth Durst Sarah Beth Durst (born May 23, 1974) is an American author of fantasy. Her 2016 novel ''The Queen of Blood'' won a 2017 Alex Awards, Alex Award from the American Library Association. Durst writes for adults, young adults, and middle grade level r ...

. Her character is a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

who becomes immune to sunlight after a freak accident.

Personal life

She is of Colombian and Mexican descent. She dated Youtuber and comedian Jeff Wittek in 2015 for 3 years. Since 2019, she has been in a relationship with musician OTHRSYDE, also known as Jonathan Zallez. They announced their engagement in September 2023.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other appearances

Music videos

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Cierra 1995 births Living people American people of Colombian descent American actresses of Mexican descent American musicians of Mexican descent American child actresses American child singers American film actresses American television actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Houston People from Sugar Land, Texas 21st-century American singers Hispanic and Latino American actresses Hispanic and Latino American musicians Hispanic and Latino American women singers