Christy Carlson Romano

1.1. Childhood and Family Background

Christy Carlson Romano was born on March 20, 1984, in Milford, Connecticut. She is the youngest of four children born to Anthony and Sharon (née Carlson) Romano. Raised in a Catholic household, she also has Italian ancestry.

1.2. Early Acting Career

Romano began her career at the age of six, securing roles in several national tours of Broadway shows. These early stage appearances included Annie, The Will Rogers Follies where she performed alongside Keith Carradine, and The Sound of Music with Marie Osmond. Her feature film debut came in 1996 as a singing "Chiquita Banana" in Woody Allen's film Everyone Says I Love You. She further appeared in the films Henry Fool (1997) and Looking for an Echo (2000).

2.1. Film and Television

Romano made her Broadway debut in 1998 as Mary Phagan in the musical Parade, a work by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown. By 2002, she was engaged in three Disney Channel projects concurrently. This included her ongoing work on Even Stevens, a starring role in the television film Cadet Kelly alongside Hilary Duff, and voice acting as the titular character in the animated series Kim Possible. Her performance in Kim Possible earned her a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award. The popularity of Kim Possible also led to an adventure scavenger hunt activity at Disney's Epcot theme park, which ran for over five years, as well as two Disney Channel original movies, Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time and Kim Possible: So the Drama.

Throughout her teenage years and twenties, Romano starred in various films for ABC Family and the Disney Channel, such as Campus Confidential, Taking Five, The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold, and The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream. Her other television appearances included roles in MTV's Kaya, CBS's Joan of Arcadia, The WB's Summerland, and TNT's Hawthorne. She also appeared as pop star Poppy Blu in the live-action Kim Possible television film, which premiered on February 15, 2019. On November 15, 2024, Fox announced Romano as one of fifteen contestants for the third season of the reality quasi-military training television series Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.

2.2. Voice Acting

Romano has an extensive career as a voice actress, lending her voice to various animated series, films, and video games. Her most notable voice role is Kimberly Ann "Kim" Possible, the protagonist of the animated series Kim Possible from 2002 to 2007, and its associated television films. She also provided the voice for Yuffie Kisaragi in the English version of the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and in the Disney/Square game Kingdom Hearts. Other voice credits include a one-night-stand character in Family Guy (2006), Mantha in Casper's Scare School (2006), Little Girl #1 and Lunacorn in The Penguins of Madagascar (2010), and Trina in Big Hero 6: The Series (2018). She voiced the Proud Mother in the 2002 video Dinosaur Island and Mrs. Weatherbee in the 2003 video The Archies in Jugman. She is set to reprise her role as Kim Possible in an episode of Chibiverse in 2025.

2.3. Theater

Romano has a notable career in theater, performing in both Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Her Broadway debut was in 1998 as Mary Phagan in Parade. In February 2004, she began a 31-week run as Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, becoming the youngest actress to portray the character on Broadway. She reprised the role in Atlanta's 2005 Fox Theatre production. In September 2008, she joined the Broadway company of Avenue Q as Kate Monster for several weeks. In 2010, Romano starred as Michelle Off-Broadway in White's Lies at New World Stages, appearing alongside Betty Buckley and Tuc Watkins.

Her early stage career also included regional performances such as Molly in Annie (1990) in Atlanta, James Rogers in The Will Rogers Follies (1992-1994) on a national tour, Marta von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1994-1995) on a national tour, Tina Denmark in Ruthless! (1995) in Galveston, and Gertrude McFuzz in The Dr. Seuss Children's Opera (1995) in Boston. She also appeared Off-Broadway as Mary in Night of the Hunter (1996) and Jo Jenson in Stars In Your Eyes (1999). Additionally, she played Pippa in Spider's Web (1997) in a regional Westport/Connecticut tour.

2.4. Music Career

While working with Disney, Christy Carlson Romano contributed songs to the soundtracks of Kim Possible and other Disney projects. Her musical journey began on a musical episode of Even Stevens, which opened doors for further singing opportunities within Disney. In 2004, Walt Disney Records released her debut album, Greatest Disney TV & Film Hits, which included a compilation of her previously released soundtrack appearances and new material. Following her Broadway run in Beauty and the Beast, Romano signed a record deal with Jason Flom at Atlantic Records. However, her deal was not honored after Flom was fired before she could release her first album. Undeterred, she continued to write music with notable collaborators like Kara DioGuardi and The Matrix, successfully placing her songs in several films. In 2009, she released an album titled CCR.

Romano also maintained a presence on MySpace Music, where she shared independent songs between 2005 and 2009. These tracks included "Simple," "Headphones On," "We'll Awaken," "Wrong" (originally titled "Hope"), "Closer to Closure," "Junky Love," "Just a Song," "She Waits," "A Boy Like You," "Changed," "No Such Thing," "Running Away," "Even a Hero," "Friday Night" (a cover of The Click Five song), "Rewind," "Celebrity," and "Point of View." She also contributed songs to film soundtracks like "Chiquita Banana" for Everyone Says I Love You (1996), various songs for the original cast recording of Parade (1998), "Anyone But Me" for Zenon Z3 Soundtrack (2004), "Toy Town" for Radio Disney Jingle Jams (2004), "We'll Awaken" for The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold (2006), "Let's Bounce" for The Princess Diaries 2 (2006), "Friday Night" and "No Such Thing" for Taking Five (2007), "Best Time of the Year" for Disney Channel Holiday (2007), "Catch Me If You Can" for The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream (2008), and "Let's Go Boogie Tonight" for Movin' In (2010).

2.5. Podcasting and Digital Content

Christy Carlson Romano has significantly expanded her presence in the digital content space, particularly through podcasting and her YouTube channel. In 2019, she launched her own YouTube show titled Christy's Kitchen Throwback, where she cooks various recipes with former child actors and Disney stars as guest hosts. In August 2020, Fox announced that Romano would host the digital cooking show Bucket List Bistro.

Romano hosts several successful podcasts. She leads Vulnerable, a podcast where she interviews other former child stars, providing a platform for them to share their experiences and insights. She also co-hosts I Hear Voices with her former Kim Possible co-star Will Friedle. Additionally, she hosts Even More Stevens alongside her former Even Stevens co-stars Nick Spano and Steven Anthony Lawrence, which revisits the popular series. She also appeared in the web series MyMusic as The Devil in 2012, in the episode "Sabotage!".

In 2023, Romano co-founded PodCo, a podcast network dedicated to producing "rewatch" podcasts. These podcasts are hosted by the original stars of popular television series, including Wizards of Waverly Place, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, and Even Stevens, offering fans a unique perspective on their favorite shows.

2.6. Other Ventures

Beyond her acting and singing careers, Christy Carlson Romano has engaged in various other creative and professional endeavors. She penned a novel titled Grace's Turn, published in 2006 by Hyperion, a literary subsidiary of Disney. The novel received critical acclaim, being recognized by the New York Public Library (NYPL) as the 2007 Teenage Book of the Year. Romano also provided the narration for the audiobook version of Grace's Turn.

Her work as an audiobook narrator extends to other titles, including Pop Princess by Rachel Cohn, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer trilogy by Michelle Hodkin, Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne M. LaFleur, 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.

In 2012, she ventured into directing, helming the music video for Steph Gold's song "THE SUN," which was accepted into the Los Angeles Shorts Fest that year. In March 2016, Romano directed her first feature film, Christmas All Over Again, starring Nickelodeon's Sean Ryan Fox and YouTube star Todrick Hall. Lionsgate released the film for Christmas 2016.

4.1. Filmography

4.2. Television

4.3. Video games

4.4. Theater Roles

4.5. Discography

Her discography includes studio albums, cast recordings, and contributions to various soundtracks.