# Raini Rodriguez

Raini-Alena Rodriguez (born July 1, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Trish in the Disney Channel original series Austin & Ally, Maya Blart in Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015), and Tess in Prom (2011). She won Best Young Television Actress at the 2013 Imagen Awards.

## Early and personal life

Rodriguez was born in Bryan, Texas. She is the older sister of actor Rico Rodriguez. She has two other brothers, Ray and Roy Jr. Her parents, Diane and Roy Rodriguez, own a business called Rodriguez Tire Service. She is of Mexican descent.
Raini was discovered at an IMTA showcase, by Susan Osser, a California talent agent. After viewing Raini's performance, Osser suggested to Raini's mother that Osser should become Raini's manager and come to California to give Raini a year for career opportunities. At the time, Raini was 11 years old. Her mother agreed. Raini and her brother Rico moved to Los Angeles with their mother, while their father stayed in Texas to run the tire shop. Their mother home-schooled them to support their careers.
On March 12, 2017, Rodriguez's father, Roy, died at age 52.
In March 2018, several memes involving Rodriguez went viral on multiple social media platforms where trolls would sarcastically label her as a "skinny legend" and compare her music discography, most notably her 2012 song "Living Your Dreams", to several uplifted and acclaimed acts in the industry, such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. Rodriguez was subsequently asked about her opinions on the memes on her Twitter account 3 months later; in which she condemned the memes and labeled it as online bullying, and then proceeded to say she chooses to brace positive attention instead. Despite Rodriguez's comments; the same people have continued to sarcastically praise her and continue to call her a "skinny legend". This has resulted in Rodriguez having to block multiple users on her social media platforms.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Parker | Kid on Playground #2 | |
| 2008 | Babysitters Beware | Marco's Sister #1 | |
| 2009 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Maya Blart | |
| 2009 | Slice of Water | Maggie Blumsfeld | |
| 2009 | Gordita | Teenage Tatiana | |
| 2011 | Prom | Tess Torres | |
| 2011 | Last Chance Lloyd | Tess Torres | Short film |
| 2012 | Girl in Progress | Tavita | |
| 2014 | When Marnie Was There | Nobuko Kadoya (English voice) | |
| 2015 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | Maya Blart | |
| 2015 | Bob's Broken Sleigh | Wupsy | Voice |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Huff | Denise | Episode: "Black Shadows" |
| 2007 | Handy Manny | Isabel Montoya (voice) | Episode:"Lost and Found" |
| 2007 | Family of the Year | Maria | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2007 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Betsy | Episode: "Sleepover Suite" |
| 2010 | I'm in the Band | Arlene Roca | 2 episodes |
| 2011–2016 | Austin & Ally | Trish De la Rosa | Main Role (87 episodes); director: "Rejection & Rocketships" |
| 2011 | True Jackson, VP | Nina | Episode: "True Mall" |
| 2011 | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Herself | (Season 20, episode 46) |
| 2015 | Growing Up and Down | Jackie | Unaired TV pilot |
| 2015 | I Didn't Do It | Trish De la Rosa | Episode: "Bite Club" |
| 2016 | Mutt & Stuff | Gabby Groomer | Episode: "Skate Doggin'" |
| 2017 | Vampirina | Creepy Caroline (voice) | Episode: "The Ghoul Girls" |
| 2018–2019 | The Lion Guard | Starehe (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Double Dare | Herself | Contestant; episode: "Team Rico vs. Team Raini" |
| 2019 | Knight Squad | The Witch Doctor | Episode: "The Knight Stuff" |
| 2019–2023 | Bunk'd | Barb | recurring role, 8 episodes |
| 2019 | Where's Waldo | Maria (voice) | Episode: "A New York Minute" |
| 2020 | The Substitute | Herself | Episode: "Rico & Raini Rodriguez" |
| 2020–2022 | Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous | Sammy Gutierrez (voice) | Main role |
| 2021 | A Tale Dark & Grimm | Gretel (voice) | Main role |
| 2021–2023 | Rugrats | Gabi (voice) | 5 episodes |
| 2024–present | Jurassic World: Chaos Theory | Sammy Gutierrez (voice) | Main role |

## Discography
### Singles
#### As lead artist

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Living Your Dreams" | 2012 | Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva La Fiesta! |

#### As featured artist

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Austin & Ally Glee Club Mash Up" (with Austin & Ally cast) | 2013 | Disney Channel Play It Loud |

### Promotional singles

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Vive Tus Sueños" ("Living Your Dreams") | 2012 | Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva La Fiesta! |
| "Double Take" | 2013 | Austin & Ally |
| "You Wish You Were Me" | 2013 | Non-album single |
| "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" | 2014 | Austin & Ally |

## Videography

| Year | Title | Director |
| 2012 | "Living Your Dreams" | Unknown |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
| 2010 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress | Paul Blart: Mall Cop | Nominated |
| 2013 | Imagen Awards | Best Young Actress/Television | Austin & Ally | Won |
| 2015 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Actress: Comedy | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | Nominated |
| 2015 | Imagen Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Television | Austin & Ally | Nominated |