Sydney Renee

Sydney Renee is an actor, singer, writer, and filmmaker, and an enrolled member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. She grew up in Poulsbo, WA and is now based in Portland, Oregon. She graduated from Central Washington University in 2022 with degrees in English Writing and Liberal Studies with a focus in Communications.

 

Since then, she has been acting in various film and theatre projects in western WA, most recently playing Mary Warren in Kitsap Forest Theater’s production of The Crucible. She can be seen in Mermaid Motel Media’s short films Wasteland and The Handsome Man. She has always been a storyteller and strives to continue telling meaningful stories in different mediums, focusing on the Native experience.​

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Sydney was selected for the Washington Inter Tribal Youth Film Project for 2025, where she worked with mentor and President of Sky Bear Media, Jeff Barehand, to write and direct her first short film. The film, "Raven Steals the Sun", is a contemporary adaptation of the Salish legend of the same name. The production was shot in August 2025 and is now being submitted to festivals.

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Sydney was also selected for 2025 Emergence Films' Emerging Filmmakers Program, which was designed to offer support and mentorship for emerging female filmmakers. With her team, she wrote and co-produced the film "For Sky, With Love", a story that highlights Queer and Indigenous love, healing, and a promising ending. 

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Sydney currently works for Confluence, a Native-led and Native-serving nonprofit organization that connects people to the history, living cultures, and ongoing presence of Native communities along the Columbia River system. Through art, education, and community engagement, Confluence creates spaces where Native voices, stories, and creative practices are centered and sustained.