Marano began acting professionally at the age of seven. According to an interview with her sister, her mother did not want either of her children to have careers in show business, and took the girls to an agent that she believed was most likely to turn kids down, only to find that Vanessa was accepted. Her sister Laura, who was on the scene with her, also impressed the agency. Since then, she has worked for productions at the Stage Door Theater. Marano's first major roles on television have been as Jack Malone's older daughter in
Without a Trace (she and real life sister Laura play sisters), Valerie's stepdaughter in
The Comeback and as April Nardini in
Gilmore Girls. She also played Layne Abeley in
The Clique based on the books by
Lisi Harrison and Samantha Combs in
Dear Lemon Lima. Marano starred in an episode of
Ghost Whisperer alongside
Jennifer Love Hewitt. Marano played Eden on
The Young and the Restless and Hope on
Scoundrels. From 2011 to 2017, she starred as
Bay Kennish on the
ABC Family TV show
Switched at Birth. In 2013, she starred in
Restless Virgins, which was inspired by a true story. In 2019, she starred alongside her sister Laura in
Saving Zoë. ==Filmography==