Biography: Christy Carlson Romano

Christy Carlson Romano (born Christy Michelle Romano March 20, 1984) is an American actress, author and singer. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the sitcom Even Stevens and the animated series Kim Possible, in which she is the voice of the title character, as well as garnering a considerable boost in fandom for providing the voice of Yuffie Kisaragi in Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children.

Early life

Romano was born in Milford, Connecticut to Sharon Carlson and Anthony Romano, and attended Orange Ave Elementary School. She attended Professional Children's School in NYC. She has two older sisters and one older brother. Romano moved to Atlanta, Georgia as a child, and landed her first acting job at the Atlanta production of Annie.

Career

Actress

In 1997, Romano made her Broadway debut in the musical Parade by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown in the role of Mary Phagan. In 2002, Romano became the first person to act in three Disney Channel projects simultaneously, complementing her work at Even Stevens with a starring role in a movie named Cadet Kelly (alongside Hilary Duff) and voice acting as Kim Possible. She is also the voice of Yuffie Kisaragi in the English version of the movie Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, as well as in the Disney/Square Enix game Kingdom Hearts. On February 17, 2004 Romano began a 31 week run of playing Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast on Broadway where she replaced Megan McGinnis as Belle. For her Beauty run, she recorded a New York radio commercial in which she asked, "What's the sitch?" (from Kim Possible). She left the production on September 12, 2004 and was succeeded by Brooke Tansley. On February 22, 2005 Romano won the very first Connecticut's Finest award. Romano recently starred in the Broadway company of Avenue Q, in which she played Kate Monster, Lucy the Slut, and two of the singing moving crates, among other characters. She began her run on September 29, 2008, replacing Carey Anderson, and stayed with the show till November 23, 2008.

Singer

While working at Disney, Romano has recorded songs in the soundtracks of some Disney movies and TV series such as Kim Possible and Teacher's Pet. The writers of Kim Possible wrote the episode "Blush" based on Romano; She will apparently blush at even the slightest compliment or awkward situation. Romano first sang on Disney Channel on a first season episode of Even Stevens (in 2000) which led to more singing on the series and with Disney in general. In 2004, following her stint on Broadway, Romano focused on her recording career full-time. Romano began collaborating with Matthew Gerrard, Andy Marvel, and Martin Briley. Romano has worked with Kara DioGuardi, Stacy Jones (of 'American Hi-Fi'), Shelly Peiken, Richie Sambora, Jaret Reddick (of Bowling for Soup), The Matrix, Diane Warren, Jonnie "MOST" Davis.

In 2004, Walt Disney Records released Christy Carlson Romano: Greatest Disney TV & Film Hits, featuring her new single "Dive In" (which was written by Christian music singer Cindy Morgan) and her other song, "Could It Be" from the television movie, "Kim Possible: So The Drama". In 2005, Romano was featured in Chris Brown's music video for "Run It" .

Also in 2005, Romano signed with Atlantic Records for a 2006 debut. However, in 2006, Romano stated in an interview with TV Guide that she was in between labels once again, this time with Virgin Records.

In November 2005, Romano launched a music account on Myspace. She has used her account to post many new songs to share with fans, and showcase her own artistic evolution. It is unclear which, if any, of the songs will be on her upcoming album. In November 2006, Romano changed her Record Label status on her official MySpace page from Major to Indie. The reason for this and her new record label were not stated.

She contributed to the soundtracks to Takin' 5 and The Cutting Edge 2.

She is now currently working on a studio album, titled CCR, to be released in summer of 2009. Its first single, "Window," will be posted on her MySpace page soon.

Author

She also wrote a book entitled Grace's Turn, which is the recipient of the New York Public Library's Book for the Teenage 2007.

The novel is about a teenaged girl named Grace and her year of high school that follows. The story details love, friendship, music, and growing up.

Personal life

Romano was a member of the Barnard College of Columbia University class of 2006, majoring in Political Science. She was a sister of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority. Milford Mayor James Richetelli Jr. named February 22, 2005 as Christy Carlson Romano Day, and she received the "Connecticut's Finest Citizen Award". She interned for Connecticut Senator and 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Christopher Dodd, who is her godfather.

Discography

Albums

• 2004:Greatest Disney TV & Film Hits

MySpace Music

Shared Songs (in order of when released):

1. The Problem - November 2005 - March 2006
2. Simple - November 2005 - February 2006
3. Promise - November 2005 - October 2007
4. Headphones On - November 2005 - January/February 2006
5. We'll Awaken - March 2006 - June 2006 (following The Cutting Edge 2 TV premiere)
6. Hope - March 2006- Later retitled to "Wrong"- October 2007
7. Closer to Closure - March 2006 - June 2006
8. Junky Love - June 2006 - September 2006 and October 2007 - Present
9. Just A Song - June 2006 - September 2006
10. She Waits - September 2006
11. A Boy Like You - September 2006 - November 2006
12. Changed - September 2006 - November 2006
13. No Such Thing - September 2006 - October 2007
14. Running Away - September 2006 - November 2006
15. Even A Hero - November 2006 - October 2007
16. Friday Night (cover of The Click Five) - March 2007
17. Rewind - October 2007 - present
18. Celebrity - October 2007- present

Soundtracks

We'll Awaken - The Cutting Edge: Going For The Gold
Friday Night - Taking Five
Toy Town - Radio Disney Jingle Jams
Best Time of The Year - Disney Channel Holiday

Unreleased

1. Catch Me If You Can

Filmography

Television

Broadway theatre

• Parade as Mary Phagan
• Beauty and the Beast as Belle
• Avenue Q as Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut

References

1. Gans, Andrew (2008-09-29). "Avenue Q Welcomes Beauty's Romano Sept. 29", Playbill.com. Retrieved on 29 September 2008. 
2. Christy Carlson Romano Headed for Broadway's Avenue Q