Dara Renee Brooks (born November 7, 2000) is an American actress who is best known for her role as Kourtney Greene in the Disney+ Mockumentary series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Renee was born in Los Angeles, California, and was raised in Baltimore where her mother Kimberly Brooks, founded a non-profit performing arts school, Encouraging Youth to Dream in Pikesville. Brooks is also an actress and Renee's grandmother was a member of the 1960s Baltimore soul group The Royalettes. Renee attended John Paul Regional Catholic School in Milford Mill. She initially tried auditioning for theater roles in New York before moving back to California to finish high school at Charter High School of the Arts (CHAMPS) in Van Nuys.
Career[]
Renee debuted with the role of Savannah in the 2018 Disney Channel Original Movie Freaky Friday. In 2019, she had an recurring role as Stunts in the fifth season of the ABC Television series Black-ish. She also had a guest role in The Kids Are Alright. Renee starred in the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series as Kourtney Greene, a student costume designer and Nini's best friend. The series premiered in November 2019. Renee had auditioned for the roles of Ashlyn, Gina, and Kourtney; Kourtney was originally intended to be an one-off character, but Renee was invited to become a series regular. She created the series' arrangement of "Bop to the Top". Starting in Season 2 of the series, her own mother played her character Kourtney's mother, Michelle. In 2021, It was announced that she would be hosting Disney's Magic Bake-Off with Raven's Home star Issac Ryan Brown. In 2024, She will be playing Uliana in the upcoming Disney+ and Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants: The Rise of Red.
