Reneé Mary Jane Rapp (born Reneé Jane Rapp; January 10, 2000) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She gained recognition for starring as Regina George in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical ''

Mean Girls ''Mean Girls'' is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey. It stars Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Ana Gasteyer, Amy Poehler, and Fey. The film follows Cady Heron (Lohan), a naïve t ...

'' (2019–2020). She reprised the role in the 2024 musical film adaptation and also contributed to its soundtrack. Rapp has also starred in the

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

comedy series ''

The Sex Lives of College Girls , creator = {{nowrap, Mindy Kaling & Justin Noble , showrunner = {{Plainlist, * Mindy Kaling * Justin Noble , starring = {{Plainlist, * Pauline Chalamet * Amrit Kaur * Reneé Rapp * Alyah Chanelle Scott ...

'' (2021–2024). She released her debut EP '' Everything to Everyone'' in 2022, which was followed by her full-length studio album '' Snow Angel'' in 2023.

Early life

Reneé Jane Rapp was born on January 10, 2000 to Denise Rapp, who purposefully chose an

alliterative Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a List of narrative techniques#Style, litera ...

name for her daughter to ensure future success in pursuing a music career. She attended Hopewell High School in

Huntersville, North Carolina Huntersville is a large suburban town in northern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County () is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, in the United States. As o ...

, a suburb of Charlotte, for two years, performing in the theater program and playing on the varsity women's golf team before transferring to Northwest School of the Arts. Corey Mitchell, Rapp's theater teacher, said Rapp "has a special distinction...There is a difference when that vocal ability is coupled with sincere emotions that can move an audience and that literally can excite an audience". In 2018, Rapp won the Best Actress award at the Blumey Awards, Charlotte's premier musical theater awards, for her portrayal of Sandra in her school's production of ''

Big Fish ''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy drama film directed by Tim Burton. It is based on the 1998 novel '' Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions'' by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange ...

''. Rapp then attended the tenth annual

Jimmy Awards The National High School Musical Theatre Awards, more commonly known as the Jimmy Awards, are awards given annually to recognize musical theatre performances by high school students in the United States. Two main awards are given each year, Best ...

in New York City, where she ultimately won "Best Performance by an Actress", beating forty other competitors for the award. This win earned her a $10,000 scholarship. Actress

Laura Benanti Laura Ilene Benanti (née Vidnovic; born July 15, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Benanti made her Broadway debut as an ensemble member and later as Maria von Trapp in the 1998 revival of '' The Sound of Music''. Benanti went on to ...

, who presented the award to Rapp, said, "I will never be as confident as that 18-year-old".

Career

2018–2019: Musical theater beginnings

In 2018, Rapp was cast as Wendla in Theatre Charlotte's regional production of '' Spring Awakening''. On July 27, 2018, Rapp performed at the 2018 Supergirl Pro Surf and Music Festival. On September 23, 2018, she took part in The Educational Theatre Foundation's fourth annual Broadway Back to School event held at

Feinstein's/54 Below 54 Below is a nonprofit cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performer ...

. In December 2018, she read the role of Monteen in

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization, non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fr ...

's reading of ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

''. On January 12, 2019, Rapp performed at BroadwayCon's 2019 Star to Be event, singing "They Just Keep Moving the Line" from the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

musical drama series '' Smash''. She was next seen on March 4, 2019, performing at Feinstein's/54 Below's ''54 Sings The High School Musical Trilogy,'' followed by their ''FOR THE GIRLS'' event on March 28. On May 28, 2019, it was announced that Rapp would be taking over the role of Regina George in the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-nominated

musical, ''Mean Girls'', first for a limited run from June 7–26, then permanently starting September 10, 2019. On June 3, Rapp performed at The Green Room 42, singing songs from the show after an introduction by

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...

. The production closed on March 12, 2020, in accordance with Broadway's shutdown; it was later announced, on January 7, 2021, that the show would not reopen.

2020–2023: Television and music

On October 14, 2020, Rapp was cast as Leighton Murray, one of the four leads in

Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Known for her work on television, she has received a Tony Awa ...

teen comedy series ''

''. During July 2023, it was reported that she would not be returning as a lead for season 3. In October 2023, Rapp mentioned having no desire to return to acting after ''Mean Girls'' due to the anxiety the environment gave her, wanting to instead focus on a music career. She had previously said that working on the Broadway production of ''Mean Girls'' had exacerbated her eating disorder. Renee rapp

Rapp released her debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) '' Everything to Everyone'' on November 11, 2022. In February 2023, a deluxe version was released, featuring two new songs. On November 14, 2022, Rapp announced her first tour, "Everything to Everyone: The First Shows". There were four tour dates across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in

Los Angeles 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, ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Due to high ticket demand, a new date was added in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

as well as extra shows in Los Angeles and Manhattan, and upgraded venues in Manhattan and Atlanta. Rapp's sold-out US tour ran from December 6–18, 2022, with a total of 8 shows. On January 12, 2023, Rapp announced her first international performance of her debut EP. On January 19, 2023, she performed a three-time venue-upgraded sold-out show at the O2 Forum Kentish Town. Rapp's debut studio album, '' Snow Angel'', was released on August 18, 2023. On June 16, 2023, Rapp announced an international ''Snow Hard Feelings'' tour, supported by

Alexander 23 Alexander Glantz (born January 23, 1995), known professionally as Alexander 23, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Since releasing his first string of singles and EP in 2019, he has worked with artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, ...

and

Towa Bird Victoria "Towa" Bird (born 30 March 1999) is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Bird released her first single "Wild Heart" in 2023 with Interscope Records, which she signed under in 2021. She was one of two openers for the North America ...

. On November 17, 2023, a deluxe version of ''Snow Angel'' was released, featuring four new songs, including a remix of "Tummy Hurts" with

Coco Jones Courtney Michaela Ann "Coco" Jones (born January 4, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born in Columbia, South Carolina and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee, Jones began auditioning as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Sh ...

. The official video for the remix was released on November 17, 2023.

2024–present: Breakout in film and other ventures

On December 9, 2022, it was announced that Rapp would reprise her role as Regina George in a

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

adaptation of ''

''. On January 12, 2024, the film was released in theaters nationwide. On March 5, 2025, the film became available for streaming. On January 20, 2024, Rapp performed "Snow Angel" and "Not My Fault" on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', with the latter featuring

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...

. On February 4, 2025,

L'Oréal Paris L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris

announced Rapp as its newest global ambassador. Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, L'Oréal Paris Global Brand President, stated that she "was very touched, attending Reneé’s concert in Paris, to see how much the young people in the room were loving her, supporting her, believing in her honesty and kindness and feeling understood by her." On May 21, 2025, Rapp announced her second studio album, ''Bite Me'', and released the lead single " Leave Me Alone". On May 25, 2025, she performed the song at the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

. In June 2025, Rapp served as one of

WorldPride WorldPride is a series of international LGBT pride events coordinated by InterPride; they are hosted in conjunction with local LGBT pride festivals, with host cities selected via bids voted on during InterPride's annual general meetings. Its cor ...

DC's grand marshals alongside

Laverne Cox Laverne Cox (born May 29, 1972) is an American actress and LGBTQ advocate. She rose to prominence with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series '' Orange Is the New Black'', becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for a ...

Personal life

Rapp came out as a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

in 2024. She had previously identified herself as

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

in a 2022 interview. She has been diagnosed with

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

(ADHD). She has been outspoken about her struggles with an eating disorder and her mental health. From 2019 to 2021, Rapp was in a relationship with fellow Broadway actor Antonio Cipriano. Rapp was in a relationship with

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

personality Alissa Carrington from January to October 2023. In March 2024, Rapp and English musician

made their public debut as a couple on the red carpet at the '' Vanity Fair'' Oscar party.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Discography

Studio albums

Soundtrack albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other charted songs

Tours

* Everything to Everyone: The First Shows (2022) * Snow Hard Feelings Tour (2023–2024) * Bite Me Tour (2025)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rapp, Renee 2000 births Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American LGBTQ people Actresses from Charlotte, North Carolina American lesbian actresses American lesbian musicians American LGBTQ singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American musical theatre actresses American film actresses American television actresses GLAAD Media Awards winners Hopewell High School (North Carolina) alumni Interscope Records artists Lesbian singer-songwriters LGBTQ people from North Carolina People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Singers from North Carolina