Biography
Actor and country-pop vocalist Jana Kramer first gained widespread attention through her role as Alex on the final three seasons of One Tree Hill. Several of her earliest country recordings aired during episodes of the series, propelling her self-titled 2012 debut album into the upper half of the Billboard 200. Its 2015 successor, Thirty One, climbed still higher, entering the Top Ten. She closed the decade with a stint on Dancing with the Stars, multiple made-for-television films, and a string of standalone singles, among them the introspective 2021 release “Voices.”
Raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Jana Rae Kramer absorbed country music throughout her childhood and later chased a recording career, yet her first professional steps were in front of the camera. She made her screen debut as a teenager in the 2002 independent horror feature Dead/Undead. Subsequent guest appearances on All My Children and CSI: NY led to a recurring role as Noelle Davenport on Friday Night Lights during its 2007–2008 season. Additional parts followed as Portia Ranson on 90210 (2008–2009) and Brooke Manning on Entourage (2009) before she joined One Tree Hill in 2009 as Alex Dupré, remaining through the first half of the show’s concluding season in 2012.
While still appearing on the series, Kramer secured a deal with Elektra Records and introduced the contemporary country ballad “I Won’t Give Up” on a 2011 episode. The song later surfaced on her full-length debut, Jana Kramer, issued in mid-2012; the album reached the Top Five of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Shifting primary focus to music without abandoning acting, she took roles in Heart of the Country (2013) and Country Crush (2016), projects tailored to her growing audience. Her second album, Thirty One, arrived in October 2015 via Warner Music Nashville. Bolstered by the Top Five country single “I Got the Boy” and a duet with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, it peaked at number three on the country albums chart and number ten on the Billboard 200. Kramer’s two-month run on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars, which began in September 2016, concluded with a fourth-place finish. That same year she scored an adult-contemporary success with “Feels Like Christmas,” featuring Straight No Chaser.
After her second Top Ten album, she issued independent tracks such as 2017’s “I’ve Done Love,” which reached the country Top 40. Later singles included “Good Enough” in 2019 and “Voices” in 2021. During this period she also headlined several Lifetime network films, among them The Holiday Fix Up (2021).
Raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Jana Rae Kramer absorbed country music throughout her childhood and later chased a recording career, yet her first professional steps were in front of the camera. She made her screen debut as a teenager in the 2002 independent horror feature Dead/Undead. Subsequent guest appearances on All My Children and CSI: NY led to a recurring role as Noelle Davenport on Friday Night Lights during its 2007–2008 season. Additional parts followed as Portia Ranson on 90210 (2008–2009) and Brooke Manning on Entourage (2009) before she joined One Tree Hill in 2009 as Alex Dupré, remaining through the first half of the show’s concluding season in 2012.
While still appearing on the series, Kramer secured a deal with Elektra Records and introduced the contemporary country ballad “I Won’t Give Up” on a 2011 episode. The song later surfaced on her full-length debut, Jana Kramer, issued in mid-2012; the album reached the Top Five of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Shifting primary focus to music without abandoning acting, she took roles in Heart of the Country (2013) and Country Crush (2016), projects tailored to her growing audience. Her second album, Thirty One, arrived in October 2015 via Warner Music Nashville. Bolstered by the Top Five country single “I Got the Boy” and a duet with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, it peaked at number three on the country albums chart and number ten on the Billboard 200. Kramer’s two-month run on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars, which began in September 2016, concluded with a fourth-place finish. That same year she scored an adult-contemporary success with “Feels Like Christmas,” featuring Straight No Chaser.
After her second Top Ten album, she issued independent tracks such as 2017’s “I’ve Done Love,” which reached the country Top 40. Later singles included “Good Enough” in 2019 and “Voices” in 2021. During this period she also headlined several Lifetime network films, among them The Holiday Fix Up (2021).
Albums
Singles
Nothing Without You
2026
What If Kindness Was The Currency
2023
I Got the Boy
2015
Love
2014
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
2012
Whiskey
2011
Live
