The Biggest Disney Channel Stars, Then and Now Best Life
With Zac Efron hosting travel shows, Zendaya picking up Emmys, and Miley Cyrus producing jams to get us through quarantine, it seems like there's no better time to have been a Disney Channel star. So many hugely successful entertainers got their start on the network in the '90s, '00s, and '10s, collecting devoted fans and then moving on to bigger and even better things. To remind you just how far some of these celebrities have gone, we're looking at the biggest Disney Channel stars, then and now. And for more Hollywood nostalgia, here are 24 Celeb Red Carpet Photos From 1990 You Have to See to Believe.
Shia LaBeouf hammed it up as class clown Louis on the series Even Stevens, which ran from 2000 to 2003, including a full-length Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM).
For the definitive ranking of the flicks you grew up with, check out Ranking Every '90s Teen Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.
In 2019, Honey Boy—a movie LaBeouf wrote about his nontraditional childhood, eccentric father (who he played), and substance use disorder—premiered, getting mostly positive reviews. In 2020, he's appeared in films The Tax Collector and Pieces of a Woman.
Miley Cyrus, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, catapulted to fame playing the lead role on the Disney musical sitcom Hannah Montana from 2006 to 2011.
For the star you were obsessed with in your high school years, This Was the Most Popular Teen Idol the Year You Graduated.
Cyrus's career in music may have been launched by her Disney show, but she's reinvented herself as an artist several times since. Her latest single, "Midnight Sky," has an accompanying video she self-directed while in quarantine.
Selena Gomez had earlier acting gigs, but she became a huge star thanks to the Disney sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place, on which she played Alex Russo, from 2007 to 2012.
For stars who go way, way back, check out 35 Celebrities You Didn't Realize Grew Up Together.
In 2020, Gomez released a new album, Rare, a makeup line called Rare Beauty, and started her own quarantine cooking show on HBO Max, titled Selena + Chef.
Zendaya, then known as Zendaya Coleman, starred on the Disney Channel series Shake It Up! from 2010 to 2013.
To see how the critics feel about your favorite Disney flick, check out Ranking Every Disney Animated Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.
At the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards, Zendaya became the second Black woman (and the youngest performer ever) to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for her role on the HBO series Euphoria.
Having been a Cosby Show favorite, Raven-Symoné knew her way around child stardom long before starring as a teen psychic on That's So Raven (2003-2007) or being a part of the DCOM girl group franchise The Cheetah Girls.
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Raven-Symoné returned to her role as Raven Baxter for the revival Disney sitcom Raven's Home in 2017, after a stint on The View. She has a recurring role on black-ish as Dre's sister and has recently released new music.
Starring as the eponymous character on the junior high comedy Lizzie McGuire (and the 2003 feature film version, The Lizzie McGuire Movie) launched Hilary Duff's wide-ranging career.
It remains to be seen just what will happen with the planned Lizzie McGuire reboot, in which Duff was scheduled to star before she and the showrunner objected to Disney+ holding the series to a PG rating. But it seems like things are still a go for the spinoff of Younger, which will revolve around Duff's character.
Twin actors Cole and Dylan Sprouse were a Disney package deal, starring on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, The Suite Life on Deck, and in The Suite Life Movie, between 2005 and 2011.
Cole now stars on the teen thriller Riverdale as wannabe writer Jughead Jones, while Dylan has co-founded a meadery in Brooklyn, New York.
Playing a guy equally interested in sports and musical theater in the original High School Musical (2006) made Zac Efron a teen heartthrob. He'd go on to star in two more HSMs for Disney.
In 2019, Efron starred as serial killer Ted Bundy in the Netflix film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, and in 2020, the streaming service debuted his travelogue reality show, Down to Earth With Zac Efron.
The other half of the East High power couple of Troy and Gabriella, Vanessa Hudgens also rose to fame thanks to HSM.
Hudgens appeared in Bad Boys for Life, one of the few movies to get a 2020 theatrical release pre-pandemic, and will put Netflix audiences in the holiday spirit yet again with the Christmas rom-com The Princess Switch: Switched Again.
David Henrie played Alex's dorky older brother, Justin Russo, on Wizards of Waverly Place and also starred in the DCOM Dadnapped.
Soon to be a dad of two, Henrie reunited with Gomez for This Is the Year, a movie he wrote and directed.
Kyla Pratt is well-known to older millennial Disney fans as the voice of Penny Proud on The Proud Family, a role she held from 2001 to 2005.
These days, Pratt can be seen on the reality series Black Ink Crew: Compton. She also recently appeared on an episode of HBO's Insecure; is a part of the cast of the upcoming comedy series Call Me Kat, starring Mayim Bialik, and has signed on for a Disney+ revival of The Proud Family.
Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas had already released music before becoming a part of the golden '00s era of the Disney Channel, but starring in the Camp Rock series took them to another level. They also had their own show, Jonas, but it only lasted from 2009 to 2010.
Six years after a messy breakup, the Jonas Brothers got back together as a band in 2019 and released the chart-topping single "Sucker," followed by the album Happiness Begins. In a documentary about their ups and downs, the brothers confessed that signing on for a Disney sitcom wasn't the greatest career step, in retrospect.
Sabrina Carpenter starred on the Boy Meets World revival series, Girl Meets World, from 2014 to 2017. Her Disney domination also included leading DCOMs and voicing animated characters, including Princess Vivian on Sofia the First.
Carpenter released her fourth full-length album as a pop artist in 2019. In 2020, she made her Broadway debut in the musical Mean Girls, and starred in a handful of movies, including the Netflix dance flick Work It.
Skai Jackson played the character of Zuri Ross for eight years on Disney, on the sitcom Jessie and later Bunk'd.
Jackson is competing for the mirrorball trophy on the current season of Dancing With the Stars and has a ton of recent voice work under her belt.
Brenda Song was a DCOM queen, starring in several of the most fondly remembered, including Get a Clue (2002). She also played London Tipton on both of The Suite Life series.
Song is still in the Disney family, voicing a character on the animated series Amphibia. Other recent credits include the Hulu series Dollface and the 2019 Netflix thriller Secret Obsession.
Credited as Ricky Ullman, Raviv Ullman was the Phil of the Disney Channel sci-fi comedy Phil of the Future from 2004 to 2006.
Ullman mostly acts on stage these days, those he's also dropped in on shows like Broad City; his most recent theatrical role was a 2018 Off-Broadway play.
Bella Thorne co-starred with Zendaya on Shake It Up!, which led to her releasing pop music as well.
Thorne's 2020 projects include the movies Infamous, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, and Girl. She also joined the subscription service OnlyFans, which offers users the opportunity to pay for adult content from providers. (It may or may not be for a movie.)
Brother of famous twins Tia and Tamera Mowry, Tahj Mowry was a child TV star in his own right. His sitcom Smart Guy wasn't a Disney Channel Original, but it did find a wider viewership there. He also voiced a character on Disney's animated spy show Kim Possible.
Tahj Mowry's most recent show business ventures have been appearing on the talk show The Real and releasing an EP of his music, both in 2015. But he still steps out for the occasional carpet, as he did for the premiere of Breakthrough in 2019.
Jordan Fisher became a Disney kid thanks to the Teen Beach Movie franchise, as well as the series Liv and Maddie, which ended in 2017.
Pre-coronavirus shutdown, Fisher was starring on Broadway in the musical Dear Evan Hansen. He also starred in two 2020 Netflix movies: To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You and Work It, opposite Sabrina Carpenter.
In 2008, Demi Lovato starred in the first Camp Rock, along with the Jonas Brothers. That led to Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam as well as a starring role on the sitcom Sonny With a Chance.
In 2020, Lovato started acting again with a recurring role on the final season of Will & Grace as well as the Netflix movie Eurovision Song Contest. She's released a few new solo songs and collaborations, some focusing on her substance use disorder and other personal struggles.
Adrienne Bailon starred in all three Cheetah Girls films and sang on those albums. She also guested on the Disney Channel series That's So Raven and The Sweet Life of Zack & Cody.
Since 2013, Bailon has been a co-host on the daytime talk show The Real. She was the Flamingo on The Masked Singer in Season 2 and is a panelist on the new reality competition series, I Can See Your Voice.
Corbin Bleu came to fame playing Chad, Troy's best friend and teammate in the High School Musical series. He also starred in the DCOM Jump In! between HSM movies and toured as both a Disney cast member and a solo artist.
Bleu (pictured above with wife Sasha Clements) has dabbled in all kinds of entertainment since his HSM years, including Broadway musicals and Dancing With the Stars. His most recent credits are 2020 episodes of Supergirl and Acting for a Cause. In the near future (barring pandemic delays), he's set to star in a stage musical adaptation of Catch Me If You Can and provide a voice for Cars: The Series.
Debby Ryan's first major Disney Channel role was that of Bailey in The Suite Life on Deck, which she followed up by leading her own Disney sitcom, Jessie. She also led the DCOM 16 Wishes and played Bailey again in The Suite Life Movie.
Ryan starred in two seasons of the recent Netflix series Insatiable, which was canceled earlier this year. Her 2020 movie roles were in Horse Girl and The Opening Act.
Keke Palmer was already a child star before starting her Disney Channel career. Post-the 2006 movie Akeelah and the Bee, the young actor played the eponymous role in the sitcom True Jackson, VP. She also costarred with Bleu in the DCOM Jump In!
Palmer is one of the busiest actors and hosts of her generation. In 2019, she costarred in Hustlers (and inadvertently gave us the meme of the year). You've also seen her anchoring on the daytime show Strahan, Sara and Keke and hosting the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards and the Singled Out revival.
You also know her as one half of the sister music duo Aly & AJ, but to many Disney Channel fans, Aly Michalka will always be Phil of the Future's Keely Teslow.
Michalka's most recent TV credits are 2018 episodes of Hell's Kitchen and Celebrity Family Feud. She and sister A.J. Michalka are still making music together, and she participated in a Phil Zoom reunion for charity over the summer.
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