Ester Dean

Ester Dean

Born: April 15, 1982
in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA
Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, but raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ester Dean was the youngest of five children raised by her single mother Hester, in a low-income household. At a young age Dean learned how to channel her pain into her music, writing and channeling her emotions into songs. Creative writing served as Dean’s self-therapy, helping her cope with a hard life of poverty and bullying (inside and outside her home). Dean took to writing and singing as an escape from her small Oklahoma town with no glimpses of a positive future.

At the age of 15, Dean and her sister Deandria moved to Omaha, Nebraska; leaving her older siblings in Tulsa. The separation made Dean dig deeper for a connection, finding solace in music and the local music scene. Singing in every studio, writing for local rappers and producers, Dean unknowingly grass-rooted herself. Learning the ins and outs of her talent and creativity, at 20 years old Dean made a bold move and left Omaha with only $500 in her pocket. She drove 18 hours, alone, to Atlanta, Georgia with dreams of breaking into the music industry. She sang for anyone who would listen. While at a Gap Band concert, music producer Tricky Stewart overheard Dean singing in the crowd along with the band. He immediately asked her to set up a meeting. While going through her catalog of songs, Tricky was impressed by not only her voice but also her songwriting ability. He signed her to a small publishing deal that allowed Dean to grow and connect with other known writers and producers. This opportunity provided Dean with the tools, tricks, and skills to writing potential Top 40 songs.

Although her time with Tricky was a significant point in her career, Dean eventually parted ways and relocated to Los Angeles, California.

Upon relocating to Los Angeles, Dean began to build a name in the songwriting world. She was eventually introduced to Polow da Don, and later signed to Zone 4 Records/Interscope Records.

In 2009 Dean released her first single, "Drop It Low", which peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first US Top 40 single. Dean's big break came when she collaborated with super producers Stargate, creating her first number one single, Rihanna’s "Rude Boy". She went on to write "What's My Name", "Where Have You Been" and several other Rihanna hits, as well as Katy Perry's "Firework" and Nicki Minaj’s "Super Bass".

She would go on to be named ‘The Song Machine’ in John Seabrook's The New Yorker article.

Outside of music, Dean has been able to establish herself as a voice-over talent. She landed roles in Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) and Rio (2011).

After making a great impression in the voice-over world, Dean was asked to audition for a small part in an upcoming movie about a girl A cappella group. She jumped at the chance to audition and landed the role of Cynthia Rose in the hit movie Pitch Perfect (2012), which also lead to her co-starring in Pitch Perfect 2 (2015).

Movies for Ester Dean...

Title: The Wheel
Character: Self - Expert
Released: December 19, 2022
Type: TV
Three contestants battle it out to keep their spot at the center of the wheel as six celebrity guests lend their expertise in a variety of hilarious and outrageous categories for the chance to win over $100,000.
bee
Trolls Holiday in Harmony
Title: Trolls Holiday in Harmony
Character: Legsly (voice)
Released: November 26, 2021
Type: Movie
Queen Poppy plans the first annual Trolls Kingdom Secret Holiday Gift Swap, but things don't go quite as expected.
bee
Title: Clash of the Cover Bands
Released: October 13, 2021
Type: TV
Two bands of similar musical genre (e.g. Pop Divas, Boy Bands, Heavy Metal, etc) go head-to-head over the course of two rounds to see which band has the most entertaining cover performance, with a chance to win a cash prize and bragging rights.
bee
Trolls World Tour
Title: Trolls World Tour
Character: Legsly (voice)
Released: March 11, 2020
Type: Movie
Queen Poppy and Branch make a surprising discovery — there are other Troll worlds beyond their own, and their distinct differences create big clashes between these various tribes. When a mysterious threat puts all of the Trolls across the land in danger, Poppy, Branch, and their band of friends must embark on an epic quest to create harmony among the feuding Trolls to unite them against certain doom.
bee
Title: Songland
Character: Self - Panelist
Released: May 28, 2019
Type: TV
Songwriters compete for a chance to have their work selected by a major recording artist.
bee
Pitch Perfect 3
Title: Pitch Perfect 3
Character: Cynthia-Rose Adams
Released: December 20, 2017
Type: Movie
After the highs of winning the world championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.
bee
Title: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Character: Connie's Client
Released: October 12, 2015
Type: TV
Rebecca Bunch is a successful, driven, and possibly crazy young woman who impulsively gives up everything - her partnership at a prestigious law firm and her upscale apartment in Manhattan - in a desperate attempt to find love and happiness in that exotic hotbed of romance and adventure: suburban West Covina, California.
bee
Pitch Perfect 2
Title: Pitch Perfect 2
Character: Cynthia Rose
Released: May 7, 2015
Type: Movie
The Bellas are back, and they are better than ever. After being humiliated in front of none other than the President of the United States of America, the Bellas are taken out of the Aca-Circuit. In order to clear their name, and regain their status, the Bellas take on a seemingly impossible task: winning an international competition no American team has ever won. In order to accomplish this monumental task, they need to strengthen the bonds of friendship and sisterhood and blow away the competition with their amazing aca-magic! With all new friends and old rivals tagging along for the trip, the Bellas can hopefully accomplish their dreams.
bee
Pitch Perfect
Title: Pitch Perfect
Character: Cynthia Rose
Released: September 28, 2012
Type: Movie
College student Beca knows she does not want to be part of a clique, but that's exactly where she finds herself after arriving at her new school. Thrust in among mean gals, nice gals and just plain weird gals, Beca finds that the only thing they have in common is how well they sing together. She takes the women of the group out of their comfort zone of traditional arrangements and into a world of amazing harmonic combinations in a fight to the top of college music competitions.
bee
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Title: Ice Age: Continental Drift
Character: Female Siren (voice)
Released: June 27, 2012
Type: Movie
Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.
bee
Rio
Title: Rio
Character: Boy in Gondola (voice)
Released: April 3, 2011
Type: Movie
Captured by smugglers when he was just a hatchling, a macaw named Blu never learned to fly and lives a happily domesticated life in Minnesota with his human friend, Linda. Blu is thought to be the last of his kind, but when word comes that Jewel, a lone female, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Blu and Linda go to meet her. Animal smugglers kidnap Blu and Jewel, but the pair soon escape and begin a perilous adventure back to freedom -- and Linda.
bee
Title: RuPaul's Drag Race
Character: Self - Judge
Released: February 2, 2009
Type: TV
Join RuPaul, the world's most famous drag queen, as the host, mentor and judge for the ultimate in drag queen competitions. The top drag queens in the U.S. will vie for drag stardom as RuPaul, in full glamazon drag, will reign supreme in all judging and eliminations while helping guide the contestants as they prepare for each challenge.