Claudia Bennett is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. She discovered her singing voice and her love of musical theatre at a very young age, and both have been a constant theme throughout her life. She has her sights set on building a career as a singer, actress, and performing artist.
Claudia's first exposure to the spotlight came at age 4, singing "Tomorrow" from Annie in a local talent show, when she received the only standing ovation of the evening, from an audience of over 300. At age 6, she made her musical theatre debut, playing Amaryllis in a local production of The Music Man. Having been bitten hard by the theatre bug, she went on to appear in productions of Oliver!, Willy Wonka, Miracle on 34th Street, Honk Jr., Annie Jr., Oklahoma!, Annie, Flat Stanley Jr., The Little Mermaid Jr., Peter Pan Jr., The Lion King Jr., Catch Me If You Can, Barefoot Children in the City of Ward, Urinetown, and The Theory of Relativity. She has studied dance since age 3, which led her to a love for the sport of gymnastics. When she was 8 years old, she began competing as a Level 5 gymnast, training with renowned South Korean coach Minyoung Kwon. Gymnastics was her main focus for many years, committing up to 22 hours a week to her training. She competed as a gymnast all over the Southeast, and had advanced to a Level 9 by age 12. However, as much as she loved her sport, she came to realize that her heart, and her future, were in music. So, at age 13, she "retired" from gymnastics, with intent to focus all her energy into singing and theatre.
Claudia has earned many accolades as a singer and actress. She was awarded "Best Supporting Actress in a Musical" for her portrayal of Amaryllis in The Music Man, and "Best Supporting Actress in a Play" for her portrayal of Susan Walker in Miracle on 34th Street. She has appeared in several local film projects, including a lead role in a film student's production of the original film Ripple Effect. She is booked to perform the National Anthem several times a year at Vanderbilt University sporting events (baseball, basketball, and soccer). She is frequently hired to perform vocals on the recordings of the official licensing tracks for new musicals, and to date she has appeared on The Lion King Kids, Madagascar Jr., A Chorus Line (high school edition), Junie B. Jones Jr., 42nd Street Jr., West Side Story, Jr., Sister Act Jr., Footloose Jr., Chicago Jr., and Frozen Jr. She has performed three times onstage with local tribute band The WannaBeatles. After performing the role of Peter Pan in a new production of Peter Pan Jr. at the New Works Showcase during the 2016 Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta, Georgia (before an audience of over 6,000 attendees), she was cast in a series of choreography videos for youth versions of Broadway musicals, produced by iTheatrics in New York City. In summer 2016, she spent a week rehearsing and filming licensing videos for three new shows (Pirates Past Noon, Willy Wonka Jr., and Junie B. Jones Jr.). In early 2017, iTheatrics cast her in another series of choreography videos, and that summer she returned to NYC to film Children of Eden Jr. and 42nd Street Jr. In summer 2018, she returned to NYC to work with iTheatrics once again, this time on the official licensing choreography videos for Footloose, Jr. and Sister Act, Jr. In summer 2019, she will be back in NYC to work with iTheatrics once again, this time to film the challenging choreography for Newsies, Jr.
Claudia counts a wide range of artists among her musical influences, and is inspired by current pop (Ariana Grande and Anderson.Paak are her favorite artists), classic rock, mid-century jazz, musical theatre, and hip hop. She has a four-octave plus three note vocal range. As of mid-2019, she has had over 775,000 views of her YouTube videos of cover songs, and more than 6,200 subscribers to her YouTube channel. One of these videos, her version of Queen's Love of My Life, which she recorded with her sister Savannah on piano, has 200,000 views, and will be included as part of a TV documentary about Queen that is currently in production in France. The most recent development in the pursuit of her career has been writing and recording her first few original songs, which she looks forward to sharing on her website very soon!