Laura Marano (born November 29, 1995) is an American actress and singer who stars in the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally as Ally Dawson. Marano was one of the five original classmates in Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?. She starred in Without a Trace for three seasons and also Back to You, in both instances playing the daughter of the main characters. Her older sister Vanessa Marano is also an actress. Marano stars in the indie film, A Sort of Homecoming. Marano also stars in the 2015 Disney Channel Original Movie Bad Hair Day along with Good Luck Charlie actress Leigh-Allyn Baker.

Marano was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of college professor Damiano Marano and former actress Ellen Marano. Her father is of Italian descent. Her mother, Ellen, is the owner of Agoura Children's Theatre. Marano revealed that she doesn't go to school on the set of Austin & Ally. Instead, she attended a regular high school: "I go to an actual high school and my friends and everybody there have been so supportive It's nice when I'm not working to go to that school and be surrounded by really supportive friends." She is also the younger sister of Vanessa Marano, who stars on ABC Family's Switched at Birth.