Ciara (Ciara Princess Harris, born October 25, 1985 in Austin, Texas) is an American R&B performer.

Ciara grew up in army bases in Germany, New York, California, Arizona, and Nevada, since her father was in the United States Army. She said after seeing a Destiny's Child's performance on television it inspired her to pursue a career in music. In her early teens she formed the goal to become a professional singer. She joined a girl group, worked on her songwriting, left the group, got a publishing deal, and found a "music soul mate" when she met producer Jazze Pha.