11 Things You Didn't Know About Reneé Rapp
You may know Reneé Rapp as Regina George, but there's more to the young actress and singer beyond the roles she's played.
Reneé Rapp has made waves in Hollywood as Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway, where she portrayed the Queen of Plastics on the stage, earning her a leading role as Leighton in Mindy Kaling's Max series, The Sex Lives of College Girls. This year, Rapp reprised her role as Regina George in the movie musical remake of Mean Girls (2024). Aside from her acting career, Rapp has become a beloved queer icon and internet sensation, well-known for her sarcastic, dry sense of humor and her outspokenness about everything, including her mistreatment in the entertainment industry, her struggle with mental health and growing into her identity as a bisexual woman. After making connections in the industry and building a reputation as a talented young performer, Rapp has utilized her musical talent and charismatic presence off the Broadway stage, moving onto the stages of concert venues across the world following the release of her 2022 EP titled Everything to Everyone, and her 2023 full-length debut album Snow Angel.
Below, learn more about who Reneé Rapp is, including her musical inspirations, early childhood and adolescence, and most importantly, star sign—she's a Capricorn sun, obviously.
She attributes her singing to Beyonce's influence.
Before she found success as a singer and actress, Rapp would upload covers of Beyoncé's songs like "Halo" and "Irreplaceable." Who could've known she would be performing some of her covers at her own shows? It's a dream come true for Rapp. In an exclusive with The Hollywood Reporter, Rapp also candidly shared that during her humble beginnings, she "would sit down and listen to her [Beyoncé's] different tonalities and phonics and phrasing styles and be like, 'Please, Jesus, let me be able to do this." "She is everything—and the reason that I know how to sing," Rapp noted.
She's the face of Mejuri's "Hoops All Ways" campaign.
For Mejuri's "Hoops All Ways" campaign, Reneé Rapp affirms that mixing metals is in style. And given that she had been "wearing Mejuri for a couple of years," Rapp was totally excited about this project. "They just got incorporated into my everyday kind of style, so they’ve been with me emotionally for quite some time,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
Beyoncé once sent her a bouquet of flowers.
A few days after performing a cover of "Daddy Lessons" during her Paris show in February, Beyoncé sent Reneé Rapp a bouquet of flowers in appreciation. She immediately posted a carousel on Instagram showcasing her reaction to being noticed by none other than Queen Bey herself. "being seen by your hero is the most indescribable feeling. beyoncé you are my inspiration.. you are everything to me. I’m speechless," Rapp wrote.
She's wanted to be a pop star since childhood.
As an early January baby, Rapp is a Capricorn.
Born January 10, Rapp is an early January baby and a Capricorn sun through and through, a trait she embraces with ease. In a Today interview before her performance, Rapp shared that she is a Capricorn sun, Pisces moon, and Gemini rising, saying that her placements are "incredibly accurate. I feel like I'm a Capricorn in pretty much every single way, and I'm a Pisces moon obviously, if you've heard any of my songs you would probably know that, per the ballads."
After the wrap of Mean Girls (2024), she's stepping away from the silver screen.
In her four years in the entertainment industry, including her time on Broadway as Regina George and her two seasons spent as Leighton on Max's The Sex Lives of College Girls, Rapp endured intense physical and mental strain, including struggles with anxiety, health, and an eating disorder, all of which the actress and singer has been vocal about. “I go back and forth, because I get so anxious on sets and I feel s— about myself, so I feel like I shouldn’t put myself back in that environment,” she said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, implying her intention to stick to her career as a singer for the foreseeable future.
Her biggest songwriting inspiration is Frank Ocean.
Rapp is a Frank Ocean fan through and through, revealing on many occasions that her dream Coachella lineup is Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, Jazmine Sullivan, and Frank Ocean. "He's the craziest songwriter ever," said Rapp with admiration in an MTV interview, "it actually makes no sense." To prove her appreciation and reverence for his music, she got a 60:08 tattoo on her forearm, which is the length in minutes of Blonde, one of Frank Ocean's most popular albums.
She has an eclectic personal style.
On Today, Rapp described her style as "the kitchen sink," recognizing her tendency to mix up the look of her outfits on a day-to-day basis. On both the red carpet and stage, Rapp has worn everything from fitted, elegant black gowns to baggy dad jean shorts, using her unique fashion sense to showcase who she is as a person. Rapp expressed the importance of personal style in an interview with InStyle, saying, "Clothes have always either been a protective mechanism or something that makes me feel like myself because obviously they're a way of expression and the way that you’re physically perceived.”
She's an older sister.
Rapp's younger brother, Charles, 20, is also a musician and performer and often posts clips online of his work. At a November 2023 show in New York City during Rapp's Snow Hard Feelings Tour, Rapp was joined on stage by her younger brother, and the two sang together.
She was a varsity athlete in high school.
Rapp was a member of her high school's varsity golf team and has been playing the sport since early childhood. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Rapp explained that she primarily only played because of her parents' desire for her to play a sport, and while she had fun, ultimately, the demand for plenty of patience and quiet on the green and the difficulty of juggling sports and theater wasn't for her.
She's dating Towa Bird.
Since the Mean Girls premiere in January this year, curiosity about Reneé Rapp's dating life has been piqued. While Rapp has maintained a relatively private stance on her relationship status, speculations arose when she and Towa Bird, who opened for her latest tour, were frequently seen together. But just a few days ago, the two put all speculations to rest when they went red carpet-official, at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, no less. Later that night, they were seen enjoying a few cocktails and chatting with other attendees.
