Christy Michelle Romano (born March 20th, 1984 in Milford, Connecticut) is an American actress best known for Even Stevens and Kim Possible. As you'd expect by those credentials, she was a child performer; being among the Disney Channel alumni of the early 2000s, and also playing Belle in the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast (also becoming the youngest actress to play the character, at only twenty years of age). She has several other Broadway credits too, having began her career there before Disney came calling.
She has two daughters with husband Brendan Rooney.
Outside of acting, she's also a published author and audiobook narrator. She's also a YouTuber, first with a cooking show called Christy's Kitchen Throwback, with the gimmick of her guests all being former Disney stars and child actors. She also has a personal channel
devoted to lifestyle, self-care and a few candid stories from her child actress days.
Filmography:
- Even Stevens (2000 - 2003) as Ren Stevens
- Cadet Kelly (2002) as Cadet Captain Jennifer Stone
- Kim Possible (2002 - 2007) as Kim Possible
- Kingdom Hearts (2002) as Yuffie Kisaragi
- Summerland (2004) (2005) as Gigi
- Big Hero 6: The Series (2018 - 2020) as Trina
- Kim Possible (2019) as Poppy Blu
Tropes associated with her work:
- The Cast Show Off: An accomplished musical theatre performer, she sang on a Musical Episode of Even Stevens.
- Former Child Star: In her thirties, she's more focused on her other exploits, and even titles a vlog 'Why I Ran Away From Hollywood'. She admits that she went through many of the struggles a lot of child performers do - particularly a bad battle with alcoholism - but counts herself lucky she didn't suffer as badly as some of her contemporaries.
- Hostility on the Set: She devotes a video talking about the media's obsession with this trope - pointing out that the media was profiting off what was essentially the squabbles and disagreements of children and preteens, overblown to sell magazines. She personally believes the famous Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan feud was exaggerated by the press.
- Jail Bait Wait: She says that her agent and manager warned her that when she turned eighteen, she would be asked to do nudity in her roles and to be prepared for other such events once she became legal. She also recalls instantly getting all sorts of unwanted attention now that she was no longer a minor.
- The Other Darrin: She voices Yuffie in Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, but is replaced with Mae Whitman from Kingdom Hearts II onwards.
- Remake Cameo: She, the original voice of the animated Kim Possible, has a role in the live action version as Poppy Blu.
