China Anne McClain (born August 25, 1998 in Decatur, Georgia) is an American actor and singer. Her father and mother are singer-producers. She has two older sisters who are also actors and singers.
China's career began in 2005 when she was 7 years old, in the movie The Gospel. Although she became nationally known since 2007, when she joined the cast of the series Tyler Perry's House of Payne as Jazmine Payne, she is now internationally known for her role as Chyna Parks, the star of the Disney Channel Original A.N.T. Farm. She also stared in How To Build A Better Boy with Lab Rats star Kelli Berglund.
Disney released the soundtrack of A.N.T. Farm on October 11, 2011. McClain sings six songs and two solos with her sisters on the soundtrack, which debuted in the Billboard Hot 200 at #29, with 14,000 copies sold in its first week. The release containing the hit song "Calling All The Monsters" that reached the 86th spot on the Billboard Hot 100. There were plans to release an album with China's sisters in 2012, published by Hollywood Records under the moniker The McClain Sisters, but so far, nothing has come of it.
Currently, her recent roles are Freddie (until her sister Lauryn took over in the 2nd season) in Descendants: Wicked World and as Uma in Descendants 2.
In 2018, she began appearing on The CW's Black Lightning (2018) (based on the DC Comics character of the same name) as Jennifer Pierce, the youngest daughter of Black Lightning who eventually becomes the teen superhero known as Lightning. In 2021, she announced she's taking a step back away from acting, and more towards music and producing content in the wake of the death of her close friend, Cameron Boyce.
Selected filmography:
- House of Payne (2006 — 2012) as Jazmine
- Jonas (2010) as Kiara Tyshana
- Grown Ups (2010) as Charlotte McKenzie
- Grown Ups 2 (2013)
- A.N.T. Farm (2011 — 2014) as Chyna Parks
- Doc McStuffins as Tisha McStuffins (2012)
- Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016) as Serena
- Descendants 2 and 3 (2017, 2019) as Uma
- Black Lightning (2018) (2018) as Jennifer Pierce / Lightning
Tropes that apply to Ms. McClain include:
- Celeb Crush:
- She expressed that she loved Jake Short. Hmm…
- She's also a huge One Direction fangirl
◊. - She's also said that she loves Chris Hemsworth.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: "Exceptional" for A.N.T. Farm.
- Fangirl: Of Michael Jackson, Beyoncé and One Direction.
- Genki Girl: Especially her guest role on Wizards of Waverly Place, even saying "Please, Please Pleeeeease!!!"
- Idol Singer
- Sassy Black Girl: Her roles on House of Payne and Daddy's Little Girls and as Freddie in the 1st season of Descendants: Wicked World, to an extent.
