Who Is Ciara Bravo? The Cherry Star Landed Her Breakout Role in an Unexpected Way

Published on March 10, 2021 at 7:30 PM

Though you'll likely recognize the male lead from Cherry, you may not be as familiar with Tom Holland's costar. Ciara Bravo, 23, has been acting for years now, but her role in Cherry is her biggest role yet. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and based on Nico Walker's novel of the same name, Cherry tells the story of an Army vet and opioid addict who risks losing the love of his life because of his addiction. The role is a dark turn for Ciara — who rose to fame on Big Time Rush and Red Band Society — and here's what you should know about the up-and-comer before Cherry hits Apple TV+ on March 12.

She Wanted to Be a Jockey When She Was Younger

Ciara grew up in Alexandria, KY, where she began riding horses when she was 6 years old. She never had dreams of becoming an actress, and instead aspired to become a professional jockey. "I was very into horseback riding and I wanted to be a jockey when I was older," she told Teen Vogue during a November 2014 interview.

She Was Discovered at a County Fair

When Ciara was 9, she and her mother were approached by an agent at the Alexandria County Fair. According to Ciara, the agent said he loved her "look" and thought she should get into acting or modeling. "That was the first time I ever really thought that acting was a possibility," she told Celebuzz in August 2014. "I loved it and I got so excited about it! I went in to his office and I went in to a talent expo in Dallas and I met my managers and my agents. I've been auditioning in the summers and a few weeks during the school year and I haven't looked back since! Best decision I've ever made."

One of Her First Major Roles Was in a Music Video

One of the first jobs Ciara booked was a part in Natasha Bedingfield's 2007 music video for "Love Like This," and though the role was small, Ciara was still thrilled by the experience. As she told J-14 in May 2013, "It was a lot of fun. Your first experience on set, everything is so crazy because it's something you wouldn't imagine would happen in your wildest dreams and finally, your first job, your dreams are starting to come true. It's an amazing feeling." Once the video was released, Ciara's teacher made all her classmates watch it. "She played it on a big screen for my whole English class and paused it on my face!" Ciara recounted to V Magazine during a June 2020 interview.

Her Family Owns a Limo Service

Ciara never had any formal acting training, and no one in her family is from the entertainment industry. Instead — like Ally in A Star Is Born — Ciara's family owns and operates Executive Transportation, a black car and limousine rental company started by Ciara's grandfather. "It was great!" she told V Magazine when asked about her experience growing up. "For family gatherings, everyone would pull up in their black Cadillacs. We looked like a mob convention!"

She Self-Taped Her Audition For Cherry

Believe it or not, Ciara never met the Russo brothers in person before booking her biggest role yet in Cherry. Instead, she made a self-taped audition with the help of a friend and sent it off on a whim, never believing she would actually get the role. "I saw the breakdown and the names attached and I was like, 'Oh, this is so out of my league. There's no way I'm getting this project,'" she explained to The Playlist in February 2021. "But I fell head over heels in love with the sides. And knew I wanted to put my all into it."

After sending off the audition tape, Ciara did her best to put it out of her mind, "just to protect [her] own sanity." Then she got a call from her agent. As she told The Playlist, "He was like, 'I don't know if you had some sort of intuition or like what was going on, but you just booked Cherry opposite Tom Holland.' And I was truly left speechless. I thought he had called the wrong number."