Photo: Kahran Bethencourt/CreativeSoul
It’s not such a hard-knock life for Celina Smith right now. The 12-year-old actor has been cast as Annie in NBC’s upcoming Annie Live!, starring in the musical alongside Taraji P. Henson, Tituss Burgess, Harry Connick Jr., and Nicole Scherzinger. Smith’s credits include Young Nala in the national tour of The Lion King and Rebecca in the Nickelodeon series Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan. “It’s an honor to follow in the footsteps of the talented young ladies who have played Annie before me and I can’t wait to start this journey,†she said in a statement. The casting comes after a national search for the musical’s lead role, per NBC. Annie Live! will air on December 2, at 8 p.m. ET.