All About China Anne McClain's Sisters, Lauryn and Sierra McClain

China Ann McClain and her sisters, Lauryn and Sierra McClain, are three peas in a pod.

The Descendants: Rise of the Red star and her siblings were raised in a creative household in Decatur, Ga., by their parents, music producer Michael McClain and songwriter/television writer Shontell McClain. They welcomed their first daughter, Sierra, on March 16, 1994. Roughly three years later Lauryn McClain arrived on Jan. 9, 1997, followed by China on Aug. 25, 1998.

The “What’s My Name” singer formed a girl group with Sierra and Lauryn in 2005 after she starred in her first film, The Gospel. Their trio went through a series of rebrands before they settled on the name Thriii in 2020.

In 2021, they joined forces and re-released China’s hit Halloween track “Calling All the Monsters.” China told Buzzfeed she “knew from jump that if ‘Calling All the Monsters’ was going to be remade at all, it had to be with her siblings,” adding that it “made so much sense” to repurpose the track with their help. However, Sierra and Lauryn were admittedly nervous about tainting the remix.

“We think everyone except China was nervous,” they said. “This is a big song for her around this time of year, and we didn’t want to agree to it unless we were able to do it justice.”

From their careers in the entertainment industry to their strong bond as siblings, here’s everything to know about China Anne McClain’s sisters, Lauryn and Sierra McClain.

China and her siblings were born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, with their parents. Sierra told Entertainment Weekly in April 2023 that her family's ties to the music industry influenced their childhood. “We grew up in music and in the studio with our parents, because they met doing music,” she said.

Once China began booking more acting roles, the McClains made the move from Georgia to Los Angeles for her career. Taking on the role of Chyna Parks skyrocketed the youngest sister to success, though she told Patch in 2011 she wasn’t expecting how “brutal” Hollywood could be compared to her hometown in the South.

“In Georgia, everybody knew everybody. It was a fun place to be. Everybody was so sweet,” said China. “But in Los Angeles, it's more brutal. It's the place where everything happens.”

Thankfully, Michael and Shontell “taught” China to “have tough skin and to let stuff roll off her back” which helped her survive in the industry. 

Sierra, Lauryn and China grew up with a passion for entertainment. They created their own songs and choreographed dances together in their adolescence, which inspired their father to encourage them to pursue careers in the field. Michael helped China land her first audition with Rob Hardy for his 2005 film The Gospel and she landed the role of Alexis. The same year, she, Sierra and Lauryn created their girl group, which was originally named 3mcclaingirls.

The three sisters starred in Tyler Perry’s 2007 film Daddy’s Little Girls and went on to be signed with Hollywood Records in 2011 rebranded as the McClain Sisters. They opened for former pop music group Big Time Rush during one stop of their Better with U Tour of the same year before shifting their name to McClain in 2014.

The sisters went on a hiatus until releasing their 2020 single “My Sanity” and subsequently rebranding once more to Thriii. They released the remixed version of China’s smash hit “Calling All the Monsters” as “Calling All the Monsters (2021 Version) (feat. Messenger)” in 2021.

The McClain sisters aren’t the only people in their family with strong musical roots. Their father, Michael McClain, is a music producer for Gabeseworld Music known for producing Beyoncé’s sister Solanges Knowles’ debut album, Solo Star. Shontell McClain is a songwriter and television writer, having written episodes of Meet the -

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Browns and House of Payne.

With the help of their parents, Sierra, Lauryn and China began their girl group. They released their first track “Silly Games” in 2005, which was produced by Michael’s production company and co-produced and written by their mother.

Luckily, China had her parents' guidance as her career began to take off with her starring role in Disney Channel’s A.N.T. Farm in 2011. They’ve been able to stay “grounded” because of Michael and Shontell, the three sisters admitted in a joint interview with Clever Housewife in 2012.

“From the very beginning, they always taught us to always stay humble, and you know, always remember what you were taught and always have faith in what you believe in,” they said.

Like the Black Lightning star, Sierra and Lauryn have acted in many projects. They each sang a part of the children’s choir in 2005 with China’s first film, The Gospel, and received their first on-screen credits in Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls in 2007. Lauryn went on to be featured in an episode of A.N.T. Farm alongside her youngest sister, Holly Sorenson’s Step Up: High Water and the Descendants spin-off series Hidden Secrets.

Sierra is known for her work as Nessa Parker in the Emmy-nominated series Empire and her role as Grace Snyder in 9-1-1: Lone Star. Lauryn and China reunited with their sister on-screen in the latter show where they re-recorded Charlie Chaplin's “Smile.” Sierra told Entertainment Weekly it was an “emotional experience” that is a “staple moment in her life and career.”

“The girls and I, we went to the studio and recorded — that's kind of our home, our haven,” said Sierra. “It was just special. This is not something my sisters and I have gotten to do in a long time with each other.”

China’s relationship with her family goes past personal lineage. The former A.N.T. Farm star teased her family was starting a business in a February 2021 Teen Vogue profile. She admitted the passing of her dear friend Cameron Boyce to “step back” from being “tied up in working, working, working, and getting ahead.” Instead of starring in projects, China revealed she wanted to pour her energy into telling “stories” she finds important by creating a production company with her family.

“I have a lot of stories that I want to tell that I think are going to help a lot of these kids that are constantly tweeting me and leaving comments on my Tik Toks and Instagram posts about where they're at in life and how they've hit an all-time low,” she said.

“I have projects that could actually help them and help those things,” China added. “It was just time to go and time to focus on my babies that I'm developing with my production company and my family.”

While they work together professionally, it’s evident China is close with Sierra and Lauryn on and off-screen. To commemorate her love for her sisters, China shared a heartfelt Instagram post of the three sisters recreating a photo from their adolescence.

“there’s nothing quite like having sisters. ♡,” she wrote. Lauryn reiterated her sister’s thoughts under her photo, writing, “built in, God given diaries, protectors, supporters, bestest best best friends, nightlights.. built in joy and peace…what on GOD’s beautiful green earth would i do or who would i be without my sisters.”

The youngest sister celebrated National Sister’s Day in 2023 with a witty Instagram post highlighting their sisterly bond by “attacking Lauryn while simultaneously annoying Sisi.”

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