Cierra Ramirez

Early life

Ramirez was born on March 9, 1995, in Houston, Texas. Her father, Sonny Ramirez, was a music producer and her mother, Cris Ramirez, was a kindergarten teacher. Ramirez was raised in Sugar Land, Texas, and attended Westside High School for two years before moving to Los Angeles, California. She graduated high school through a home-school program to allow her to pursue her acting career.

Career

Music

Music led to Ramirez making her television debut—when she was 10 years old, she performed a song the "Apollo Kids Star of Tomorrow" segment of Showtime at the Apollo. Ramirez is signed to Empire and Tribeca Music Group. She has performed as the opening act for a number of musical acts, including Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago and Ruben Studdard.

On June 20, 2016, Ramirez released her first EP Discreet.

In 2018, Ramirez released the first single “Bad Boys” off of her debut album, Over Your Head, which was released February 28, 2020. Singles that followed “Bad Boys” were; “Liquid Courage (Love Me Better)", "Broke Us" Feat. Trevor Jackson in 2019 and “Over Your Head” in 2020.

Music videos for the singles "Faded", "Bad Boys", "Liquid Courage" and "Broke Us" were released. "Liquid Courage (Love Me Better)", "Broke Us", and “BBU” were directed by Maria Skobeleva.

Acting

In 2007, Ramirez played a recurring role on the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as Jasmine, a young camper with anger management issues. Ramirez played recurring character Kathy in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, introduced in the 100th episode as a pregnant freshman.

Ramirez had her film debut in the titular role for the 2012 feature film Girl in Progress, for which she won an ALMA Award for Favorite Movie Actress Supporting Role.

Starting in 2013, Ramirez played Mariana Foster in the ABC Family (renamed "Freeform" channel) series The Fosters. Her character is a straight-A student who, with her fraternal twin Jesus, has been adopted by a lesbian couple into a multi-ethnic blended family. The show premiered on June 3, 2013, and in January 2017, Freeform announced that it had been renewed for its fifth season. However, according to Entertainment Weekly, the series would be cancelled after a three-night limited series on June 6, 2018, to be followed with a spin off, Good Trouble premiering January 9, 2019, featuring Ramirez and Maia Mitchell. Ramirez was the only actor that has appeared in every episode throughout both series' run.

In 2017, Ramirez starred in the Lifetime film Drink, Slay, Love co-produced by Bella Thorne and based on the novel by Sarah Beth Durst. Her character is a vampire who becomes immune to sunlight after a freak accident.

Personal life

She is of Colombian and Mexican descent.

She dated YouTuber and comedian Jeff Wittek in 2015 for 3 years.

Since 2019, she has been in a relationship with musician OTHRSYDE, also known as Jonathan Zallez. They announced their engagement in September 2023. The couple were married at The Lafayette Hotel & Club in San Diego, California on September 13, 2025.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other appearances

Music videos

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Beauty. "Haters Are Cierra Ramirez's Motivators. But Don't Come For Her Latinidad".
2. (2023-01-11). "Cierra Ramirez - Actress".
3. Holley, Pete. (May 8, 2012). "Teen leaps from Sugar Land to Hollywood". Houston Chronicle.
4. (2013). "Cast Members: Cierra Ramirez". [[ABC Spark]].
5. Assaf Lynn, Roxane. (June 14, 2016). "Music Debut for TV Babe Cierra Ramirez". [[HuffPost.
6. Rodriguez P. (1 May 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: Cierra Ramirez Premieres Music Video for Party Anthem 'Faded'".
7. "Cierra Ramirez: Liquid Courage".
8. "Cierra Ramirez Broke us Ft. Trevor Jackson".
9. Goldberg, Lesley. (March 8, 2012). "'Secret Life of the American Teenager' Adds 'Suite Life' Actress as New Series Regular (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
10. Scott, A.O.. (May 10, 2012). "Daughter and Mother, Chasing Adulthood". [[The New York Times]].
11. (2013). "2012 NCLR Alma Awards: Recipients". [[National Council of La Raza]].
12. Peart, Tanvier. (April 15, 2013). "Jennifer Lopez's New Show 'The Fosters' Stirs Up Controversy Over Same-Sex Couple Raising Family". Latinos Post.
13. "Good Trouble Review: This Is How Spin-Offs Are Supposed to Be Done".
14. "‘Good Trouble’: Cierra Ramirez Reflects On Her Directorial Debut & The End Of Mariana’s 10-Year Journey".
15. N'Duka, Amanda. (August 24, 2016). "Bella Thorne To Produce YA Vampire Movie 'Drink, Slay, Love' For Lifetime Starring Cierra Ramirez".
16. Ramirez, Cierra. (June 28, 2014). "For everyone that's asking...my dad's Colombian and my mom's Mexican...so that makes me Mexilombian pic.twitter.com/xjxGI3UjEl".
17. . (September 29, 2020). ["Vlog Squad Member Jeff Wittek Dated Actress Cierra Ramirez for Three Years"](https://www.distractify.com/p/jeff-wittek-ex-girlfriend#:~:text=Jeff%20and%20Cierra%20started%20dating,relationship%20landmarks%20on%20social%20media.). *Distractify*.
18. (August 16, 2021). "happy 2 years to the boy i love most in the whoooooole world @othersyde".
19. (2023-09-11). "'Good Trouble' star Cierra Ramirez is engaged: 'Luckiest girl in the world'".
20. Robinette, Ashlyn. (September 17, 2025). "The Fosters' Cierra Ramirez and OTHRSYDE Are Married! Inside Their 'Dream Come True' Wedding (Exclusive)".
21. "Over Your Head". iTunes.
22. (December 7, 2017). "Marvel's Launching A New Franchise Of Wonderful, Diverse Superheroes". BuzzFeed News.
23. Gelman, Vlada. (2018-05-23). "Fosters Spinoff: And the Title Is...".
24. (2013). "Emerging Artists: Cierra Ramirez". wmusicgroup.com.
25. (January 21, 2022). "The Nominees for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards". [[GLAAD]].
26. Complex, Valerie. (January 18, 2023). "GLAAD Announces Nominees For The 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards".
27. (January 17, 2023). "The Nominees for the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards".