Marisa Davila

Davila was born 1997, and raised in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, (near Nashville).^[1] Her parents were both involved in the music industry:^[1] her mother Julie Davila as a drummer, percussion teacher, clinician of marching percussion, and PAS board director;^[2] and her father Lalo Davila, who is first generation Mexican American,^[3] as an author, professor of music, and percussion director at Middle Tennessee State University.^[4]

Davila has experienced music rehearsals and band practice since the age of six, along with her older sister, Danielle.^[5] She has participated in theatre and acting and dance classes, and has had regular voice-over parts.^[5] Aged from 10 onwards, she has participated in many theatrical productions, and has performed with the Nashville Symphony.^[1] In 2014, at the age of 17, Davila sought to expand her acting career, by moving to Los Angeles, California, with her mother,^[5] while at the same time, after much private tuition,^[6] earned herself an online diploma.^[1] Davila completed a course in the Lyndon Technique,^[7] she is a member of SAG-AFTRA,^[6] and currently (2023) resides in Valley Village, California.^[6]

As a child, Davila was singing the voice of Jasmine on the Disney Junior stage adaptation of Aladdin.^[1] In 2015, Davila made her screen debut as Jane in the Jing Shao directed short film Text History of Jane about the dangers of texting while driving.^[8] The short film went on to win the National ADDY Award of the American Advertising Federation in 2016.^[9]

In 2016, Marisa Davila appeared in a single episode of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,^[1][10] and in an episode of Liv and Maddie as a member of the Porcu-Piper school choir.^[1] In 2017, she appeared in Speechless, working alongside Minnie Driver.^[10] and the same year in Atypical where she plays mean girl Maddison Gold.^[5]

In 2016, Davila featured on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: Season 1 (Original Soundtrack) Commentary Album.^[11] In 2019, she released her first single Too Busy.^[11]

In 2019, she secured a guest role in the sit-com Carol's Second Act, and appeared in 2 episodes of Schooled,^[10] In 2020, she Mercedes Callahan in the Netflix series I Am Not Okay with This, and had a small part in the rom-com movie Holidate.^[10]

In 2022, she had a lead voice role for season one of the Netflix action-comedy animated series Super Giant Robot Brothers.^[12][13]

In 2023, Marisa Davila plays the main role of Jane Facciano, the leader of the group of four girls in the upcoming Paramount+ American musical romantic comedy television series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies which is a prequel to the 1978 film Grease.^[14] During the series, Davila gets to sing, along with her cast members, many new songs written by American songwriter Justin Tranter, each having a 50's style harmony with a modern twist.^[15]