Reneé Rapp Is Taking Over the World
Image Courtesy: Rolling Stone
Twenty-three-year-old Broadway star turned pop star Reneé Rapp is rising on the charts with her debut album Snow Angel, gaining popularity in anticipation of her starring role as Regina George in the upcoming musical movie adaptation of Mean Girls.
From a small town in North Carolina, Rapp has climbed her way to stardom. Rapp attended the Northwest School of the Arts for high school, where she was the lead in her school’s production of Big Fish in 2018. Her performance led to her winning the prestigious Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress, giving her the accreditation to pursue professional acting and enter the world of Broadway.
Image Courtesy: Teen Vogue
Shortly after her win, Rapp starred as Regina George in Mean Girls: The Musical on Broadway at 19 years old. In an interview with Teen Vogue in 2019, Rapp recalls her first thought after earning the part: “OK, I’ve got a lot of work to do.” Despite being much younger than the rest of the cast, freshly graduated from high school when she took over the part from Tony-nominated actress Taylor Louderman, Rapp dominated the stage and galvanized the critics over her performance.
This was just the beginning of Rapp’s success. In 2021, she was cast to play posh legacy student Leighton Murray in Mindy Kaling’s hit HBO comedy The Sex Lives of College Girls. Her role in the show hit close to home, as Rapp played a queer character who was coming to terms with her sexuality. This was her coming out—not only on the show but also in real life. In an interview with The Today Show, Rapp talked about how playing Leighton empowered her on her own queer journey, "I had never gotten, like, a breakdown for a queer character before and being a queer person myself, I was over the moon excited just to audition.”
As much as Rapp enjoyed being on the show, she announced in her interview with The Today Show that she would be departing from the cast after season three to pursue her music career. “I mean, hopefully, I will have, like, acting coupled with a music career and they'll both serve each other and go hand in hand.” Fast-forward to now, and that is exactly what she is doing.
Following her 2022 EP Everything to Everyone, Rapp released her debut album Snow Angel this past summer, which has been a major success. The title track, and first single off the album, was inspired by a traumatic experience Rapp had endured when she was drugged in 2022. She opened up with Billboard about that night. “When she woke up the next day, she saw blood on her pants and had no idea what happened during that lost time,” Billboard reported. Rapp said, “I was drugged, and I had just been missing for seven hours. I stopped being friends with those people and stopped doing as much partying as I was doing.”
Image Courtesy: ABC News
Rapp and collaborator Alexander Glatz, professionally known as Alexander 23, turned the terrifying event into a beautiful song. The lyrics in the chorus speak volumes, “I’ll make it through the winter if it kills me / I can make it faster if I hurry / I’ll angel in the snow until I'm worthy / But if it kills me, I tried.” Not only is “Snow Angel” moving, but its catharsis as an anthem of female rage and resilience makes it the perfect song to blast in the car.
Rapp is currently on tour, singing her heart out to fans across the country. Don’t worry if you don’t get to see her in person; you’ll see her on the big screen soon. Expect to see a lot more of Reneé Rapp, as I think it’s safe to say that she is taking over Hollywood and the entire entertainment industry.
Strike Out,
Writer: Nikki Cohen
Editor: Noelle Knowlton
Tallahassee