# Rene Aranda

Rene Michelle Aranda, sometimes credited as Ren Aranda, (born December 6, 1990) is an American actress and singer, best known for Searching and Midnight in the Switchgrass. She has won Best Actress (Silverstate Film Festival, 2018), Best Supporting Actress (LA Edge Film Awards, 2018) and Outstanding Performance by an Actress (Kennedy Center ACT Festival) and finished as a semifinalist in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Center's Irene Ryan scholarship program.

## Early life and family

Aranda was born in Whittier, California, to Frank and Cheryl Aranda. She was raised in the nearby city of Chino Hills, where Aranda grew up with older brother Michael Aranda (YouTube creator and musician), older sister Sara Ann Aranda and younger brother Frank Nathan Aranda. Her mother was a self produced singer/songwriter through CD Baby and secretary to the college dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Cal State Fullerton until she died June 27, 2009, after a seven-year battle with breast cancer.

## Career
### 2009–2012: Vocational training

Aranda is an alumnus of the Los Angeles City College Theater Academy, a three-year, audition-only acting conservatory at which Morgan Freeman, Mark Hamill, Cindy Williams and Bette Davis studied. Just before graduating in 2012, she won the national award "Outstanding Performance by an Actress" in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for her role as Willy the Space Freak in a gender-bent adaptation of Sam Shepard's The Unseen Hand.
For her role as "Van's Sister" in LACC's stage production of Bert V. Royal's Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead in 2010, Aranda was nominated for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Irene Ryan scholarship, for which actors compete as a part of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. She made it to the semi-finals.

### 2013–2014: Early career

First invited to the set of network Cinelatino distributed film Smile Now Cry Later as a background actor by a fellow Theater Academy alum, Aranda was later asked to replace a crew member on a subsequent film before being locked in for two more features (Fighting Chance and Cherry Red Kiss) and by the fourth production (Until the Day I Die), she served the company Plus Entertainment as an in-house producer, appearing on screen in each title she helped produce.
Aranda was featured with touring architect Alán Ramiro Manning in the Woodbury University Neo-Tribes Runway Event on May 1 and 2 2013, donning a Jenny Erin Davis (Black Lightning) design of a Bram Stoker's Dracula inspired Elisabeta (Transylvania 1462), wearing Stila makeup.

### 2018: Music

In addition to her film and television career, Aranda debuted as a musical artist in 2018, releasing two pop singles a few months apart on Spotify, iTunes, iHeartRadio and other online streaming platforms.

## Youth programs and education

Aranda is a regular volunteer reader and occasional coordinator for Reading to Kids, and ran on the foundation's charity relay team in the Los Angeles Marathon in 2016.
She also participates as a volunteer actor in Young Storytellers "Big Show" productions.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | For a Reason | Eva | Short |
| 2012 | Wake-up Call | Iris | Short |
| 2012 | Sin_Eater | Rebeka | Short |
| 2013 | Smile Now Cry Later | - | |
| 2013 | Fellatio Is Fo Suckas | Rene the Sweet | Short |
| 2013 | The Pain Killers | Elise | |
| 2013 | It's Dark Here | Funeral Mourner | |
| 2013 | The Mountain | - | Short |
| 2014 | The Unexpected Guest | Amy Flint | Short |
| 2014 | Cutting Corners 2 | - | Short |
| 2014 | Fatty | Student | Short |
| 2014 | The Tragedy of Petey Pompeii | Kate | Short |
| 2014 | Contest | Melanie | Short |
| 2014 | Expelled | Police Officer | |
| 2014 | Frankenchick | Mad Scientist | Short |
| 2014 | Sins of a Call Girl | Diner Patron | |
| 2014 | Fighting Chance | Sabrina | |
| 2014 | Cherry Red Kiss | Eva Alvarez | |
| 2015 | A Family Affair | Paula | Short |
| 2015 | Suckas Fo Fellatio | Rene The Sweet | Short |
| 2015 | Violet | Femke Klebb | Short |
| 2015 | Faraar | SWAT | |
| 2015 | Relentless | Rachel | Short |
| 2015 | A Lesson in Love | - | Short |
| 2015 | D.O.P: The Director of Photography | Mad Scientist | Short |
| 2015 | Performance Art | Lana | Short |
| 2016 | Until the Day I Die: Part 1 | Officer Bracamontes | |
| 2016 | The Fertile Fiend from Outer Space | Rachel | Short |
| 2016 | Until the Day I Die: Part 2 | Cholita | |
| 2016 | Stories for the Fire | Kitty | Short |
| 2016 | I Know Where Lizzie Is | EMT | TV movie |
| 2016 | A Killer Walks Amongst Us | - | |
| 2016 | 2 Lava 2 Lantula! | S.W.A.T. | |
| 2016 | Black Flag | S.W.A.T. | Short |
| 2016 | Shadows of the Dead | Police Officer | |
| 2016 | Like the First Time | Elle | Short |
| 2016 | Inspired to Kill | Inmate | TV movie |
| 2016 | Christmas with the Andersons | Police Officer | TV movie |
| 2016 | The Green Fairy | Mrs. Ferrer | |
| 2016 | Selfish | Party Guest | Short |
| 2017 | Try Hard | Veronica | Short |
| 2017 | Open Mic | - | Short |
| 2017 | Destruction: Los Angeles | Police Officer | |
| 2017 | A View from the Mountain | Lucy | Short |
| 2017 | UniversitE | DEA Agent | Short |
| 2018 | Eruption: LA | Army Soldlier | |
| 2018 | Frankie | Skater Girl | Short |
| 2018 | Searching | Emergency Medical Technician | |
| 2018 | Papa | Robin | |
| 2018 | When You Lose Someone | - | Short |
| 2018 | Woman on the Edge | Police Officer | |
| 2019 | The Final Journey of Hartwick Stance | Hartwick's Wife | Short |
| 2019 | Debbie & Doug Drop Acid in the Desert | Bunny | Short |
| 2019 | The Fanatic | Tourist | |
| 2019 | Intolerance: No More | 9-11 Operator (voice) | |
| 2019 | Boris and the Bomb | Sonia | |
| 2019 | 12 Pups of Christmas | Alex's Mom | |
| 2020 | Sinister Savior | Izzie's House Medic | |
| 2020 | Cops Like Us | LAPD Officer Ronnie Aranda | Short |
| 2020 | The Undead of the Z West | Undead Farm Girl | Short |
| 2020 | Mommy is a Murderer | EMT | |
| 2020 | One of These Days | Police Officer #6 | Short |
| 2020 | Dusters | The Retriever | Short |
| 2020 | Open Mic | Couple in Audience | Short |
| 2020 | Happy Horror Days | Party Guest | |
| 2020 | Peek | Det. Liza Sepps | Short |
| 2021 | 86 Melrose Ave | Co-Worker in Background | |
| 2021 | Blursday | Nurse Rene | |
| 2021 | Midnight in the Switchgrass | Prostitute | |
| 2022 | Emily or Oscar | Lawyer Laura | |
| 2022 | Lizard Brain | Sandy | Short |
| 2022 | In Love with My Partner's Wife | Police Officer | TV movie |
| 2022 | Tavern Tony Returns | Margarita Girl | Short |
| 2022 | Four Hour Layover in Juarez | Valeria | Short |
| 2022 | My Nightmare Office Affair | Business Woman | TV movie |
| 2022 | The Stepmother 2 | Hostess | |
| 2023 | Imani | Paramedic | |
| 2023 | The Assistant | Couple at Restaurant | |
| 2023 | City of Dreams | Girl in Pedicab | |
| 2023 | No Way Out | Paramedic | |
| 2023 | The Stepmother 3 | Paramedic | |
| 2023 | Proof Sheet | Female Police Officer/Brothel Worker | |
| 2023 | F.L.Y. | Postal Worker (mid credit scene) | TV movie |
| 2023 | Night Mistress | Shelly Steele | |
| 2023 | In Deep | S.W.A.T | Short |
| 2023 | Still Here | Fan Girl | |
| 2023 | Mystery Incorporated and the Threshold of Chaos | Thorn (voice) | |
| 2023 | Falaq | S.W.A.T. | |
| 2023 | Our Broken Family | Amy | |
| 2024 | Upon Waking | Paramedic | |
| 2024 | The Disinvited | Sarah | |
| 2024 | Somnium | Victim #3 | |
| 2024 | Holy Cash | Sinner | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | HitRecord on TV | Herself | Episode: "RE: Fantasy" |
| 2014-2018 | WhatImDoingRightNow | Herself | Michael Aranda's vlog, 9 episodes |
| 2015 | Tabloid | Bracamontes/ S.W.A.T | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Murder Among Friends | Officer Mejia | Episode: "Unholy Friends" |
| 2016 | Take My Wife | Hotel Patron | Episode: "Holiday Special" |
| 2016 | Dangerous Games | | |
| 2016-2017 | Blood Relatives | Police Officer | 2 episodes |
| 2016-2017 | Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television | Paramedic | Scene Deleted |
| 2017 | Germany's Next Top Model | Herself | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Betrayed | Police Officer/ S.W.A.T. | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Extreme Measures | CSI | Episode: "Oh Mother, Where Art Thou?" |
| 2019 | Intrigue | Jury | |
| 2019 | CollegeHumor Originals: Kingpin Katie | Officer | Episode 8 |
| 2019 | CryptTV: Fight Night | Spectator | |
| 2021 | Nova Vita | Nurse Julie | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | Double Cross | Patient | AllBlk Original Series |

### Music videos

| Year | Song | Artist | Role |
| 2014 | All About You | Ray Castle | Interviewer |
| 2016 | JoHn Muir | ScHoolboy Q | Police Officer |
| 2016 | One Time Comin' | YG | Police Officer |
| 2016 | Let You Go | Bobo Norco feat. The Promise | Police Officer |
| 2017 | High Spirits | Pierre | Lead |
| 2017 | Math | Quin | EMT |
| 2018 | Need You Anymore | Patrick Nuo | Dancer |
| 2018 | Evidence | Bashrock | Girlfriend |
| 2019 | Stay Broke | Tokyo Yens | Inmate |
| 2019 | No Sudden Moves | Julia Nunes | Hand Dancer |
| 2020 | We Can Make Up | Guy Tang | LGBTQ+ Couple |
| 2021 |
| 2021 | Rap Demigod | Dax | Police Officer |
| 2021 | Suffocating | Dax | Rapper Entourage |
| 2022 | I Dance | YG feat. "Duki" & "Cuco" | Guest |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
| 2010 | Irene Ryan (KCACTF) | Acting | Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead | Semifinalist |
| 2012 | Outstanding Performance by an Actress (KCACTF) | Acting | The Unseen Hand | Won |
| 2018 | LA Edge Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | A View From the Mountain (short) | Won |
| 2018 | Silverstate Film Festival | Best Actress | A View From the Mountain (short) | Won |
| 2019 | Rising Star | Industry Award | | Won |