Top: Rebecca Minkoff; Pants: Single Dress by Galina Sobolev; Sunglasses: Mink Pink; Belt: Express; Bracelet: Charles Albert
Here at Cliché, we like to keep it all in the family. Back in February of 2014, we had Switched at Birth’s stunning Vanessa Marano as our cover girl. We dished about her career, her hobbies, and even her younger sister, who she referred to as her “best friend.” Now we’re lucky enough to have the equally beautiful and equally talented Laura Marano gracing our cover this month. While the two lovely actresses sound and look almost identical, they can easily be distinguished by their unique and distinct personalities.
Laura Marano is one big ball of positive energy. She’s nothing if not infectiously bubbly and a firm believer that once you put your mind to something, you will undoubtedly do it. After learning to act, she decided she wanted to sing—and so she did. After learning to play the piano, she decided she wanted to play the guitar—and so she inevitably will. When it comes to Laura Marano, the word “no” simply isn’t in her vocabulary (if you don’t believe us, just ask her mom, who tried to deter her from becoming an actress). It’s rare to find a talent that is always looking for the bigger and the better, but that’s our cover girl.
At 19 years old, the young actress has accrued plenty of television titles under her belt. While her recurring roles on series such as Without a Trace, Back to You, and The Sarah Silverman Program have all been great, we love her as the singer/songwriter Ally Dawson on Disney’s Austin & Ally. Perhaps it’s because we get to see her sing and dance in addition to her expert comedic performance episode after episode. Now, the talented actress is finally taking her talents to the big screen! We can’t wait to see what she does in her two upcoming films, A Sort of Homecoming and Bad Hair Day, due out in 2015. There’s never a dull moment for this girl, who is always bursting at the seams with creative energy. Whether it’s reaching new goals in singing, dancing, acting, or something else entirely, Laura Marano will undoubtedly never say never.
Top: Knitz by For Love & Lemons; Necklace: Ericskon Beamon Rocks
Cliché: You’ve been in the theatre since you were five years old. At what point did you decide that you would make acting a career as opposed to a hobby?
Laura Marano: I actually grew up in my mom’s theater since I was a baby. It was literally my home away from home. After my very persistent sister begged my mom for two years to be an actress, my mom finally agreed to bring us to an agent (well, my sister to an agent—I tagged along because I was five). After my sister went in, the agents called my mom in, and I obviously followed like the energetic, outgoing five-year-old that I was. They said they wanted to take my sister, and I was like, “Well, I don’t have an agent,” and they said, “Oh, honey, we’ll take you, too.” My mom, who didn’t even want my sister to act, basically had a heart attack.
When did you begin songwriting and who or what inspired you to do so?
I was always singing—like, always. I obviously would sing along to songs I knew sometimes, but I actually would mostly just sing random songs that I wrote. When I was doing homework, visiting family, or just chilling in my room, I was always making up songs. Whether they were actually good songs is a whole other conversation. Honestly, writing songs was just something I felt like I needed to do; it felt more unnatural to not write songs. When I turned twelve years old, I realized that music was something I really wanted to pursue. I started going to voice lessons and writing with people more aggressively because I knew if I really wanted it, I had to work really hard at it. I really wanted (and still want) it.
Your role on Austin & Ally enables you to do both singing and acting. In your personal life, do you prefer one over the other?
Honestly, I’ve always loved both. I started professionally acting before I started professionally pursuing music, but music was still a big part of my life. I feel so incredibly lucky to be able to do both on Austin & Ally. It’s so much fun!
Your character experienced severe stage fright in the earlier seasons of the show. Being in the business for so long, was that something that you were able to relate to?
Since I started acting pretty early, I was lucky enough to be pretty outgoing when it came to acting. With music, though, I definitely struggled with performance anxiety. Even now, I still get nervous when I perform.
