Olivia Holt first showed up on screens as a Disney XD karate kid, then traded the dojo for Marvel’s darker superhero corner. Born in Germantown, Tennessee, on August 5, 1997 — per her IMDb (film database) profile — she has spent more than a decade in front of cameras while fans searched for answers about everything else: her real name, her dating history, even whether that black belt is real. This article separates the verified record from the rumor mill, one question at a time.
Born: August 5, 1997 · Occupation: Actress, singer-songwriter · Nationality: American · Years active: 2010–present · Notable works: Kickin’ It, Cloak & Dagger
Quick snapshot
- Born August 5, 1997, in Germantown, Tennessee (Naija News (news outlet))
- Taylor Lautner dating rumor — reported, never confirmed (CelebsLine (celebrity bio site))
- 2018: Cloak & Dagger debut (Famous Birthdays (fan-driven bio site))
- Most recent major credits include the teen drama Cruel Summer (HealthyCeleb (celebrity stats site))
- Broke through on Disney XD with the martial-arts comedy Kickin’ It, which ran from 2011 to 2015 (IMDb (film database))
- Her signature role is Kim Crawford, the character for which she is best known (Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregator))
- Cast as Tandy Bowen / Dagger in Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger, which began in 2018 (Famous Birthdays (fan-driven bio site))
- The singer-songwriter side of her career includes the 2012 single “Carrying On” and a 2014 EP, You’ve Got a Friend in Me, released during her Disney era (Wikipedia (open encyclopedia))
- Briefly dated co-star Luke Benward in 2012 (Us Weekly (celebrity news))
- Was in a relationship with Ray Kearin from 2015 to 2017 (Us Weekly (celebrity news))
- Romantically linked to Tony Ferrari in 2021 (HealthyCeleb (celebrity stats site))
- Some celebrity bio coverage has linked Holt to actor Taylor Lautner, but the connection is described as a rumor rather than a confirmed relationship (CelebsLine (celebrity bio site))
- Her birth name is Olivia Hastings Holt, with “Hastings” as her middle name (CelebsLine (celebrity bio site))
- Born August 5, 1997, in Germantown, Shelby County, Tennessee (Naija News (news outlet))
- Grew up in Nesbit, Mississippi, after being born in Tennessee (Zoomboola (biography database))
Six facts, one pattern: Holt’s public record is well documented, while the details fans argue about — relationships, net worth, everyday life — stay off the official pages.
| Full Name | Olivia Hastings Holt | CelebsLine (celebrity bio site) |
| Born | August 5, 1997 | IMDb (film database) |
| Occupation | Actress, singer-songwriter | Wikipedia (open encyclopedia) |
| Nationality | American | Wikipedia (open encyclopedia) |
| Years Active | 2010–present | Zoomboola (biography database) |
| Known For | Kickin’ It, Cloak & Dagger | Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregator) |
Career and public record
- Broke through on Disney XD with the martial-arts comedy Kickin’ It, which ran from 2011 to 2015 (IMDb (film database))
- Her signature role is Kim Crawford, the character for which she is best known (Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregator))
- Cast as Tandy Bowen / Dagger in Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger, which began in 2018 (Famous Birthdays (fan-driven bio site))
- The singer-songwriter side of her career includes the 2012 single “Carrying On” and a 2014 EP, You’ve Got a Friend in Me, released during her Disney era (Wikipedia (open encyclopedia))
The Marvel series gave Holt a darker tone and a superhero identity — a clear departure from the Disney XD years.
Holt did it by picking a Marvel role that flipped the karate-kid image into a superhero one — a transition very few of her peers have managed.
Who is Olivia Holt dating?
- Briefly dated co-star Luke Benward in 2012 (Us Weekly (celebrity news))
- Was in a relationship with Ray Kearin from 2015 to 2017 (Us Weekly (celebrity news))
- Romantically linked to Tony Ferrari in 2021 (HealthyCeleb (celebrity stats site))
The takeaway: the “Olivia Holt dating” search has a well-documented past and no verified present.
Everything else, including the Taylor Lautner rumor, sits on much thinner sourcing.
- Some celebrity bio coverage has linked Holt to actor Taylor Lautner, but the connection is described as a rumor rather than a confirmed relationship (CelebsLine (celebrity bio site))
- Her birth name is Olivia Hastings Holt, with “Hastings” as her middle name (CelebsLine (celebrity bio site))
- Born August 5, 1997, in Germantown, Shelby County, Tennessee (Naija News (news outlet))
- Grew up in Nesbit, Mississippi, after being born in Tennessee (Zoomboola (biography database))
She is Tennessee-born, Mississippi-raised, and Los Angeles-based by profession — a path that explains the persistent searches around her real name and hometown.
Is Olivia Holt actually a black belt?
The “black belt” question comes from Kickin’ It, where Holt played a martial-arts regular. The verified record says the training was real: Taekwondo and gymnastics both came before her Disney breakout.
Four milestones, one pattern: Disney launched her, Marvel repositioned her, and the rest of the public record runs through the same two chapters.
- August 5, 1997: Born in Germantown, Tennessee (Naija News (news outlet))
- 2010: Began acting, with guest roles on Disney Channel (Zoomboola (biography database))
- 2011–2015: Starred as Kim Crawford on Kickin’ It (HealthyCeleb (celebrity stats site))
- 2018–2019: Played Tandy Bowen / Dagger on Cloak & Dagger (Famous Birthdays (fan-driven bio site))
- Born in 1997 in Germantown, Tennessee
- American actress and singer-songwriter
What the record says about Olivia Holt
Rotten Tomatoes (review aggregator)
The verified picture of Olivia Holt is cleaner than the search results around it: a Tennessee-born actress and singer-songwriter who turned Disney visibility into a Marvel chapter, with a black belt and a Christian faith that are real. For Hollywood, the takeaway is equally direct: Holt already survived the leap from sitcom to superhero, and the next role she confirms will matter more than any rumor attached to her name.
Holt was born on August 5, 1997, which puts her in her late twenties as of this writing. She trained in gymnastics for eight years and holds a black belt in Taekwondo.
usmagazine.com, famousbirthdays.com, elle.com, en.wikipedia.org, zoomboola.com, ifann.net, naijanews.com, celebsline.com, healthyceleb.com, teenink.com, imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com
James Mitchell is Editor-in-Chief at Aussie Insightly, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.