Ciara Nicole Gardner was born in Dallas Texas to Kelvin and Marcheta. She has an older brother, Kelvin (20). Currently, she is in tenth grade at Liberty High School. She will graduate from high school in spring of 2014.

At the age of five, Ciara's parents put her into a gymnastics class at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy and have been there ever since. At the beginning of Ciara's gymnastics career, she trained under coach Virginia Foderick.

As a level five gymnast in 2005, Ciara finished fourth in the all-around at the Rising Stars Invitational. She qualified for the Level 5 State Championships in the gold division, where she finished 11th in the all-around and sixth on uneven bars. At the WOGA Classic, she placed fourth in the all-around as well as first on uneven bars with a 9.9.

After the WOGA Classic, Ciara moved up to level six for the 2006 season. She won the all-around at the Rising Stars Invitational and Judges Cup. At the Level 6 District Championships, she finished second in the all-around and first on uneven bars and floor exercise. Ciara finished second in the all-around and first on balance beam at the Level 6 North State Championships. At the Level 6 State Championships in the gold division, she won vault and uneven bars in addition to finishing second in the all-around. Ciara competed one level seven meet in 2007, winning the vault title at the WOGA Classic.

In 2008, Ciara competed as a level 8 gymnast. She finished third in the all-around at the Metroplex Challenge. She won vault, uneven bars and the all-around at the WOGA Classic. At the Dragon Invitational, she swept the gold medals. Ciara then won the all-around title as well as first on vault, balance beam and floor exercise at the Rose City Classic. At the Level 8 State Championships, she finished second in the all-around. Ciara concluded her season at the Level 8 Regionals, where she finished fourth in the all-around and first on uneven bars and floor exercise.

Ciara began her 2009 season at the WOGA Classic as a level 9 gymnast. There, she finished second in the all-around and first on balance beam. At the Metroplex Challenge, she won vault, uneven bars, balance beam and the all-around. She placed second in the all-around at the Great West Gym Fest. There, she qualified to vault and floor exercise event finals, where she placed second on both events. At the Level 9 Regional Championships, she placed second in the all-around as well as first on uneven bars and balance beam. At the Level 9 Western Nationals, Ciara won the all-around title! She also finished second on uneven bars and third on balance beam and floor exercise.

She moved up to level ten in 2010. Her season started slowly as she recovered from a wrist injury. She competed only on uneven bars at the WOGA Classic. At the Houston National Invitational, she won the uneven bars title and placed fifth in the all-around. At the Level 10 State Championships, she placed third on uneven bars and first on balance beam.

In 2011, Ciara started her season at the IGI Chicago Style where she placed seventh in the all-around and third on balance beam. At the WOGA Classic, she won silver medals on uneven bars, floor exercise and in the all-around as well as a gold medal on vault. She won the vault, uneven bars and all-around titles at the Houston National Invitational. At the Level 10 State Championships, she earned gold medals on uneven bars and in the all-around. Ciara placed sixth in the all-around, fourth on uneven bars and third on floor exercise at the Level 10 Regionals. There, she qualified to the Junior Olympic Nationals where she placed impressive eighth in the all-around and seventh on floor exercise out of 56 gymnasts.

Ciara started her season at the Fiesta Bowl Invitational, finishing first on vault, balance beam and in the all-around. She had a great meet at the WOGA Classic where she placed first on vault and in the all-around with a 38.350. At the Level 10 Regionals, she finished fourth in the all-around, second on vault and third on uneven bars. She qualified to the JO Nationals in Hampton, VA, finishing 30th in the all-around as well as 11th on vault and floor exercise.

Ciara trains 22 hours per a week at WOGA under coaches Natalia Boyarskaya and Laurent Landi. She is preparing for upcoming 2013 season where she hopes to have a successful season as a level 10 gymnast. Ciara's long-term goal is to receive a full ride scholarship to a Division I school.