It's barely 9 a.m. on a Thursday and Dara Reneé needs a hug. "What can I say? I'm a hugger," she exclaims as she introduces herself to everyone on set before sweeping them into a welcoming embrace. In person, Dara radiates just as much warmth and joy as she does on social media. You get the sense that if Disney villains existed in real life, Dara could win over just about any of them by the end of brunch.

Given her undeniable star quality, it's not a shocker that she grew up in show business (her mother, Kimberly Brooks, is a successful voice actress who runs a youth performing arts studio). But Dara's Baltimore upbringing was, well, pretty normal. She's an only child, but she has a "big, big, big family with about 30 cousins, aunts and uncles," with whom she's very close. "The only difference between them and having siblings is I had my own room!"

Her passion for performing was obvious from an early age. "When I was really little, I got my first gospel choir solo, and the teacher was like, 'She's a good singer. I want to give her private lessons—you don't even have to pay,'" Dara recalls. "That was the first time I thought, maybe this is something."

Photographed by Mike Azria

Emboldened, Dara and her mother moved from Maryland to Los Angeles. It wasn't long before Dara got an agent and began auditioning for projects—including High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

But Dara was never one to leave her future up to fate. After her reps submitted her self-tape, Dara doubled back and auditioned *again* through an open call among kids across the country.

"My mom and I got up at 5 a.m. and stood in line for hours," Dara recalls. "I just had a feeling that we really needed to go. I felt something in my spirit so deeply. I was just so sure it was going to work out."

And it did work out…three (very long) years later. Dara finally got a call from the same producer she had open-auditioned for, offering her the role of Kourtney, a student makeup artist and Nini's (played by Olivia Rodrigo) best friend. Even better? Kourtney was a series regular, and Dara wound up staying on the show for four years.

That call (and the role that followed) became a defining moment in Dara's career—and taught her so much about trusting her gut. "There was a point when we were just waiting for something to happen that my mom almost took me out of the business," Dara says. "When I finally got the role, I was like, 'Mom, I told you!' And she was like, 'You did tell me! I'm sorry I doubted for a second!' It was really magical."

And the magic has continued: Following HSMTMTS, Dara scored the part of Uliana (younger sister of Ursula, the villainous sea witch from The Little Mermaid) in Descendants: The Rise of Red. To truly capture Uliana's complex personality, Dara dove deep into studying the "why" behind Uliana's need to torment all those who cross her path.

"There's a motive to her trying to be as mean as she can be. Everybody just looks at her as not good enough to be like her sister Ursula," says Dara. "But there's so much more to it than that—she is dealing with the insecurities and vulnerabilities we all face in our lives."

Whether it's making an evil underwater witch relatable or bonding with her castmates, Dara has been riding an incredible wave. She counts co-stars Frankie A. Rodriguez (from HSMTMTS) and Kylie Cantrall (who starred with her in both HSMTMTS and Descendants) as good friends, along with a slew of other castmates she's shared screen time with.

"I still talk to people that I've worked with on Freaky Friday, High School Musical and now Descendants. No matter how big they get, or no matter what different things each of us do, we all just make sure we support each other no matter how far apart we are," she shares. "I was just at Frankie's nail polish launch party. We will do dinner dates. And the showrunner of High School Musical invited everybody from the show to celebrate Descendants—he even got dolls of Kylie and me."

Now that they've paired up on two projects, Dara is especially close to Kylie. Their bond solidified as they've grown up together and experienced different dynamics as actors.

"In High School Musical, she played Dani, so she was my bully. At the same time, I was auditioning for Uliana, which meant I was the villain—and I just thought that was hilarious." (In their real-life friendship, "the villain of the situation is us not getting enough sleep," Dara says, laughing.)

Photographed by Mike Azria

Next summer, Dara and Kylie will be reunited once again with the rest of their Descendants castmates on Disney's Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour (look for tickets to go on sale in November). "We're going to get even tighter because we're going to sleep in bunk beds," she says of the tour bus they'll be traveling the country in. "I couldn't ask for a better group of people to do it with—they're so hilarious and so much fun."

And Dara's looking forward to getting to know the Zombies cast as well, even if it's under more intense circumstances than usual: "It's a heck of a way to make a new friend, like, 'Hey, we're living together!'"

Before that happens, though, Dara will be taking on her most challenging role yet: solo musician, with her first single slated to come out by the end of the year. "I'm shy to release music," she confesses, "because with acting I get to be someone else. With music, I can't hide behind the mask of a character. It's just me."

As nervous as she is, Dara's excited to share her personal work—and hopes her fans can see themselves reflected in her songs, too.

"My music is my heart," she says. "It's gotten me through so many different struggles with anxiety and the pressure of feeling good enough—things that so many people my age go through when they're still learning about who they are and trying to be the best person they can be."

It's been a journey from her days on the stage in Baltimore. "Musical theater is very big and full, and my sound is a bit more Willow Smith or Erykah Badu. I'm still figuring out who I am, but it's giving alternative, freedom, vulnerability and self-expression. I've truly evolutionized my music style over the years." One thing's for sure: We can't wait to see who Dara Reneé becomes next.

Hey, girl! Just wanted to let you know that this story originally ran in our October/November 2024 issue. Want more? Read the print mag for free *today* when you click HERE.

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Photographed by Mike Azria. Styled by Lo Vonrumpf. Hair by Araxi Lindsey. Makeup by Sophia Hutch.