Early Life
A southern girl, China Anne McClain, was born in 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia. Although she’d spent most of her life in her home state, she now resides in Los Angeles.
She comes from a musical family, with her father Michael being a music producer, and her mother Shontell being a songwriter. Although she’s listed some of the most excellent musicians of today as her role-models, no one was a more significant influence on her than her parents.
China Anne’s talents were discovered very early on. She was barely seven years old when director Rob Hardy invited her to audition for his movie “The Gospel.” Although she might’ve been too young to know, this was a turning point in her life.
Career
After her fantastic performance as Alexis in The Gospel, she was cast as Jazmine Payne in the TV series Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. This role got McClain her first big award, the NAMIC Vision Awards for Best Performance – Actress of Comedy in 2011.
In the next few years, she’s starred in many TV series and movies, Daddy’s Little Girls, Hannah Montana, NCIS, Grown Ups, and Wizards of Waverly Place to name but a few.
McClain’s first lead role was in Disney’s A.N.T. Farm, where she was also asked to sing the theme song. Most recently, China Anne got the role in CW’s Black Lightning as Jennifer Pierce.
In the News
She might not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame just yet, but China Ann McClain’s hard work and continuous stellar performances have earned her a star at Tyler Perry’s Studio!
Yes, that’s right! Earlier in October, China received this great honor in her hometown of Atlanta. The star was revealed at the grand opening of Tyler’s studio on October 6th.
If you want to keep up with China Anne McClain, be sure to follow The Shade Room!
