Renee Rapp with her parents Charlie Rapp and Denise Rapp at the 2018 National High School Musical Theatre Awards After-Party in New York City on June 25, 2018.Photo:Henry McGee/MediaPunch/Alamy
Henry McGee/MediaPunch/Alamy
Reneé Rapphas had a whirlwind career since her big break as Regina George in the Broadway production ofMean Girlsin 2019 — but she wouldn’t have made it through both the good and the bad without her parents, Charles Rapp and Denise Olexa.
The “Pretty Girls” singer was born on Jan. 10, 2000, in Huntersville, North Carolina, after Denise’s job had the couple relocate there, per theLos Angeles Times. Her parents raised her to constantly push herself to be the best she could be, instilling a strong work ethic in her.
Though her parents could be hard on her, Renée said she has them to thank for supporting her when she started struggling with disordered eating as she was starring inMean Girls.
From their careers to their children, here’s everything to know about Reneé Rapp’s parents, Charles Rapp and Denise Olexa.
Denise and Charles raised Reneé in North Carolina
Charlie Rapp and Denise Rapp speak onstage during NBC’s “Today” at Rockefeller Plaza on July 28, 2023 in New York City.Debra L Rothenberg/WireImage
Debra L Rothenberg/WireImage
Denise and Charles met when they were both students at West Virginia University, per theLos Angeles Times. Together, they moved to North Carolina when Denise got a job as a certified public accountant in 1995 while Charles continued to work in medical device sales.
They have two children together
Renee Rapp with her parents Charlie Rapp and Denise Rapp and brother Charles Rapp at the 2018 National High School Musical Theatre Awards After-Party in New York City on June 25, 2018.Henry McGee/MediaPunch/Alamy
Reneé parents welcomed their second child, Charles, on Aug. 5, 2003. Reneé’s younger brother is also a performer, often posting clips of himself singing on his Instagram.
In November 2023, hejoined Reneé on stageduring a New York stop on her Snow Hard Feelings tour.
Reneé tricked her mom into letting her get Facebook when she was in middle school
When Reneé was in middle school, she told Denise that she wanted to get Facebook so she could “stay connected with [her] grandma,” she toldTIMEin August 2023. Instead, she posted a status update that she had her first kiss with her middle school boyfriend.
“My mom saw it and was livid,” Reneé said. “She was like, ‘Are you kissing in my home?’ And I was like, ‘Yes, I’m a free woman. You can’t tell me what to do with my body!’ ”
They encouraged Reneé’s career from a young age
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
Both Denise and Charles have a strong work ethic that they passed down to Reneé when she was growing up.
“I’m very competitive, and I think Denise is competitive,” Charles told theLos Angeles Timesin September 2023. “Growing up, we would tell Reneé if [her voice] didn’t sound good. I used to tell her, ‘OK, that was fantastic, Reneé, but what could you have done differently? How could you have done it better?’ ”
“My dad is very critical, if I’m flat, I’ll hear afterward and he’ll be like ‘Here are my notes,’ ” she said, to which her dad added, “Oh yeah.”
Reneé has admitted that she wasn’t always the biggest fan of her parent’s feedback as a child. “Are you f—— kidding me? How do you not see what you are doing?” she recalled to theLos Angeles Timesabout how she reacted as a kid.
Now, Charles admits that he feels guilty about perhaps pushing her too hard and wishes he and Denise “could have done better.”
Denise added that Reneé may have already been so hard on herself that she was internalizing what they were telling her too much.
“She’s so hard on herself just inherently that she takes what you and I might take as a debrief that you do after any business meeting or whatever and turns it into: ‘OK, I’ve got to do so much better,’ ” she said.
Reneé came out to her parents when she was still in high school
When Reneé tried to explain her sexuality to her parents when she was a teenager, they didn’t take her fully seriously, later telling theLos Angeles Timesthey didn’t understand the extent to which she was grappling with being bisexual.
Reneé recalled one time when she was 15 she asked her dad if a male friend could sleep over and he said no. When she said she’d had girls she had crushes on sleep over before, he laughed it off.
“And he was like, ‘OK, I’m sure you do,’ and just laughed,” she recalled. “It hurt so bad. I think he was just, like, ‘You’re not gay, bisexual people aren’t real.’ ”
Charles said that he remembered the moment differently, adding that he accepts Reneé for exactly who she is.
“It was, like, OK, you like a girl? Do whatever, that’s fine,” he said. “As long as you’re happy. I just want you safe, happy and healthy. If you love a bug, that’s fine. Adopt the bug, put the bug with you, and we’ll take care of you and the bug.”
They flew out to her every weekend when she was struggling with an eating disorder
Renee Rapp.Nina Westervelt/Variety/Penske Media/Getty
Nina Westervelt/Variety/Penske Media/Getty
In 2019, while she was starring in the Broadway production ofMean Girls, Reneé developed an eating disorder after hearing critiques about her weight online. She began to severely restrict her eating to the point where she would get dizzy during rehearsals, and she started to become concerned for her health.
Ultimately, she called her parents crying and begging for help, telling them she felt like she couldn’t bear to go back into the theater and put on her costume again. It was then that her parents recognized something was seriously wrong.
“They saw me struggling and were like, ‘Oh, she’s not doing this to be dramatic. We’ve been telling her this is a choice, to pull your f— straps up and go to your f— job,’ and they saw that I couldn’t,” she told theL.A. Times.
After her call, her parents began flying to New York every weekend and set her up with a doctor and a therapist.
Though Reneé toldThe Guardianthather parents are “more worried than they ever have been, because they know more now,” she’s still happy to have their support. “They worry like hell, but they’re chilling, I guess,” she added.
Denise and Charles have also been able to find some peace through Reneé’s dedicated fanbase. When they came out on theTODAYshow stage, Charles said the outpour of support for his daughter was “humbling.”
“It’s very humbling to see everybody,” he said. “I worry about her all the time but it’s great to see her.”
“She’s got amazing fans,” Denise added.
On her debut EP,Everything to Everyone,Reneé released a song called “Don’t Tell My Mom” which she described to PEOPLE as a “love letter” to her mom.
The song discusses the guilt Reneé feels when telling her mom her problems, often feeling like she’s burdening her, even prompting Denise’s friends to ask how Reneé is really doing.
“A lot of my mom’s friends were hitting my mom up being like, ‘Is Reneé okay?’ ” she said. “She was like, ‘She’s good, she’s good.’ "
Reneé said she was hesitant about releasing the song — and Denise was too.
“She was a touch nervous because, to be honest, not only is that putting my childhood self on blast, but it’s also kind of putting my mom on blast, in a sense,” the “In the Kitchen” singer said. “She’s a real one for letting me do it.”
Charles used to leave encouraging sticky notes for Reneé
Renee Rapp performs at Fox Theater on October 02, 2023 in Oakland, California.Dana Jacobs/Getty
Dana Jacobs/Getty
When she was on theTODAYshow, Reneé shared that “everything” her dad tells her is the best advice, but there were specifically five main principles that he always wanted her to keep in mind growing up.
“He always used to say to me growing up that there were five things that I always had to remember,” she recalled. “And he would always write the five things on sticky notes and give it to me or put it in my room or put it in my car. I would always get so annoyed with them when I was a kid and now I get so excited whenever he comes to my house and leaves sticky notes.”
She said the five things were intelligence, character, respect, humility and one more she couldn’t remember.
source: people.com
