Carly Brook Schroeder was born on October 18, 1990 in Valparaiso, Indiana, USA. She is an American film and television actress.

Perhaps best known as Serena Baldwin, the adorable quick-witted daughter of Scotty Baldwin and Lucy Coe on two daytime dramas: "General Hospital" and "Port Charles", gifted young actress Carly Schroeder has displayed talent and versatility across a spectrum of entertainment media.

In addition to completing over 480 episodes in six years as Serena Baldwin, Schroeder guest-starred on 12 episodes of The Disney Channel's number one show "Lizzie McGuire" as Melina Bianco, a devilish, free spirited, prankster and best friend to Matt McGuire, a role she reprised to the delight of film audiences everywhere in The Lizzie McGuire Movie.

Other feature film portrayals include her recent star turn as the title character in Gracie, opposite Dermot Malroney and Elizabeth Shue. Directed by Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), and produced by Elizabeth Shue and Andrew Shue. Gracie is based on Elizabeth's real life story of overcoming the loss of her brother and her struggle as a teenager in the 70's to give young women the right to play competitive soccer. In order to prepare for the role, Schroeder trained for several months with former captain of the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team.

In 2005, she was featured in the Warner Bros. action thriller Firewall, playing the daughter of Harrison Ford and Virginia Madsen. The same year she filmed Eye of the Dolphin in the Bahamas. This independent film has received critical acclaim, including a "Best Child Actor" award for Carly at the International Family Film Festival! The day Eye of the Dolphin wrapped the adventurous Schroeder expanded her repertoire, by flying to South Africa, to work with lions in the thriller Prey. This is a story about an American family that gets stranded while on a wild animal safari in the middle of South Africa.

In 2004, Carly starred in the Independent Spirit Award-winning film Mean Creek. This was her first feature outing.

In addition to her film and daytime television roles, Schroeder co-starred as Cindy Brady in the TV movie Growing Up Brady and has guest-starred as Molly on "Dawson's Creek", and most recently turned in a heart-wrenching performance in "Cold Case" as an abused child that has been accused of murder many years after the crime took place.

Schroeder has done modeling for such internationally known companies as Abercrombie & Fitch and Jessica McClintock and has also appeared in dozens of television commercials, including her favorite for GOT MILK? In her free time, she enjoys horseback riding, grappling , fencing, scuba diving, soccer, and surfing.

Filmography

• Gracie (2007)
• Prey (2007)
• Eye of the Dolphin (2006)
• Firewall (2006)
• We All Fall Down (2005)
• "Cold Case" (1 episode, 2004)
• Mean Creek (2004)
• "Lizzie McGuire" (12 episodes, 2001-2003)
• The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)
• "George Lopez" (1 episode, 2002)
• "Web Girl" (2001)
• "Dawson's Creek" (2 episodes, 2000)
• Growing Up Brady (2000)
• Toy Story 2 (1999)
• Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
• "Port Charles" (1 episode, 1997-2003)