Ciara was born in Austin, Texas October 25, 1985. She is the only child of Carlton and Jackie Harris. She is of Creole, German, and Irish heritage. Due to her father being in the United States Army she grew up on army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada. During her teens, Ciara and her family settled in Atlanta. Ciara said that watching Destiny's Child perform on a television program while staying home from school inspired her to pursue a career in music. Later on, Ciara would join a girl group called Hearsay and worked on her songwriting. The group recorded demos, but began to have differences. Eventually, she left the group, got a publishing deal, and found a "musical soul mate" when she met producer Jazze Pha. Ciara graduated from Riverdale High School in Riverdale, Georgia in 2003 and was signed by LaFace Records executive L.A. Reid with the help of Jazze Pha. She began production on her debut album. Ciara co-wrote a demo with songwriter Sean Garrett, who was co-writer of Usher's international hit "Yeah!". She made the hit song Get Up for the soundtrack of the movie Step Up, which was a big success.
Name is pronounced like "Sierra." She originally wanted to become a model, before starting her music career. Is of Creole, German and Irish heritage. Used to be a cheerleader in high school. Her father was a military man. She joined a girl group called Hearsay that performed in Atlanta, but it was short-lived. Her mother was in the air force. She is good friends with Bow Wow. One day she saw Destiny's Child perform on TV and decided that that was what she was going to do. She has also lived in Germany, New York, California, Arizona and Nevada. Lil' Jon produced her debut single, "Goodies". Her album Goodies was a sales success, thanks to her many collaborations with stars like Ludacris, Missy Elliott and R. Kelly. Graduated from Riverdale High School in Atlanta in 2003. She co-wrote her song "Goodies". Friends with Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott. Was accompanied by Bow Wow to the MTV Video Music Awards in 2005. Wrote her song "And I" when she was 15. Named #35 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list. Her "MTV 2005 Hit List" consisted of: 1) Missy Elliott Lose Control 2) Chris Brown Run it 3) Black Eyed Peas My Humps 4) Ciara One Two Step 5) Madonna Hung up 6) The Pussy Cat Dolls Don't Cha 7) Gwen Stefani Holla Back Girl 8) Mariah Carey We Belong Together 9) Ciara Oh 10) Ne-Yo So Sick. Ranked #72 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list. She is the only child of Carlton and Jackie Harris. She grew up on army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada, since her father Carlton was in the United States Army. During her teens, Ciara and her family settled in Atlanta. She is of Native American descent through her Creole heritage.