Proud New Orleanian, Ciera Payton, can trace her love of acting back to early childhood. Raised by a drug-addicted father and ill grandmother (Nanaw), the magic and make believe of film and theater was a welcome distraction from young Ciera's troubled world filled with drugs and abandonment. But, when an aunt gave her a copy of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou's words gave Ciera the strength and conviction that would carry her through the troubled times.
At age 13 Ciera lost her Nanaw to cancer and her father to prison and was moved from her home in Uptown to the suburb of New Orleans East to live with her mother. This seminal moment opened up a world of possibilities before her. In middle school, she joined the Lusher Drama Troupe. Then, as a freshman, she auditioned for NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts) and was accepted to study - at the sophomore level! At NOCCA Ciera found the family and stability that she had always desired. This structure allowed her talent to flourish, constantly impressing her instructors until her graduation as a junior.
Freshly committed to a career in acting, Ciera once again found herself picking up stakes. This time, landing in the High School Drama program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She remained there, where she enrolled in UNCSA's BFA program.
As for so many others, August 28, 2005 marked a major turning point in Ciera's life. During her summer vacation from UNCSA, Ciera found herself in the midst of evacuating her city. Her family divided and her home in New Orleans East under water, Ciera found refuge in Baton Rouge with friends and neighbors in an LSU campus apartment. After ten days without cellphone communication, Ciera made contact with her mother and two brothers as she was on the road driving back to college. Just a few weeks later, Ciera's grandma (Sarah Payton) passed away, another casualty in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It was then that her family made the decision to relocate and reunite in North Carolina.
During the months following Katrina, Ciera's life seemed to pass in a daze. Her schoolwork suffered and her passion for acting waned. Then, in 2006, Ciera was called home by the sounds of marching bands and thoughts of Mardi Gras revelry. Being back in New Orleans seemed to lift Ciera's spirits. Then, serendipitously, an agent called wanting her to audition for a feature film! In an instant it seemed her life had come full circle. Ciera landed the role that eventually took her to Romania to appear with Steven Seagal in Flight of Fury.
After filming, she returned to UNCSA to complete her sophomore year of college, finally making her way back to New Orleans to continue her work as Associate Director of What Girls Know.
WGK is a theater program, based in New Orleans, which is geared toward inner city teenage girls. Through theater and acting techniques the girls are able to find their voice and inner strength. Ciera has worked with What Girls Know since she was a junior in high school. She relates to these girls because they come from the same backgrounds as Ciera did growing up.
Following her graduation from UNCSA in May 2009, Ciera packed up all of her belongings and headed north to the Big Apple! Residing in the vibrant neighborhood of Harlem USA, Ciera continues to pursue her dreams of becoming an influential actor and inspiring artist. So stayed tuned, because there's more to come!