Ciara Princess Harris (born October 25, 1985), professionally known as Ciara, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, fashion model, music video director, actress and soon to be fashion designer. Ciara made her debut in the summer of 2004 with the Billboard number-one single "Goodies". The album Goodies was released in the United States on September 28, 2004, and in the UK on January 24, 2005. It produced three top two singles on the Billboard Hot 100, selling over three million in the U.S., and over five million worldwide, and earned various awards and nominations. Ciara's second album, Ciara: The Evolution, was released in December 2006. It has spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit "Get Up", and the R&B/Hip-Hop Charts top ten hits "Promise", "Like a Boy", and "Can't Leave 'em Alone". To date, the album, which went platinum only five weeks after its release, has sold over two million copies worldwide.

Ciara was born in Austin, Texas. She is the only child of Carlton and Jackie Harris. She grew up on Army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada, since her father was in the United States Army. During her teens, Ciara and her family settled in Atlanta. Ciara said that watching Destiny's Child perform on a television program while staying home from school inspired her to pursue a career in music. Then, Ciara joined a girl group called Hearsay and worked on her songwriting.The group recorded demos, but began to have differences. Eventually, she left the group, got a publishing deal, and found a "musical soulmate" when she met producer Jazze Pha. Ciara graduated from Riverdale High School in Riverdale, Georgia in 2003 and was signed by LaFace Records executive L.A. Reid with the help of Jazze Pha. She began production on her debut album. Ciara co-wrote a demo with songwriter Sean Garrett, who was co-writer of Usher's international hit "Yeah!". Ciara's highly anticipated third studio album, Fantasy Ride, is set to be released in November 2008.