By Neia Balao
2:00pm PST, Jan 17, 2023
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Disney Channel shows were everything when you were a tween! Join Wonderwall.com as we find out what some of favorite Disney Channel leading ladies are up to (and what they look like) now, beginning with this star, whose series "That's So Raven" celebrates its 20th anniversary on Jan. 17, 2023…
We love this Cheetah Girl! By the time she was a Disney Channel leading lady, Raven-Symoné had already charmed audiences as Olivia on "The Cosby Show." From 2003 to 2007, she played the titular teen psychic on Disney Channel's "That's So Raven," which earned two Emmy nominations.
Keep reading to see her and more former Disney Channel leading ladies now…
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In 2012, Raven-Symoné made her Broadway debut as Deloris van Cartier in "Sister Act." The former child star, who came out in 2016, soon proved she wasn't just a talented actress but a charismatic host as well — from 2015 to 2016, she was a panelist on ABC's "The View." She left the show to focus on 2017's "Raven's Home," the "That's So Raven" spinoff she also executive produces. In 2020, she relaunched her music career with the release of two EPs, "INFRASOUNDS" and "Stripped Down." That same year, she married Miranda Maday.
MORE: Stars who came out
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She's now one of Hollywood's most sought-after actresses, but once upon a time, Zendaya was a young Disney star. From 2010 to 2013, she starred as Rocky Blue on the Disney Channel's "Shake It Up," which resulted in a recording contract with Hollywood Records. In 2013, she released her self-titled debut studio album. From 2015 to 2018, she starred as K.C. Cooper on the Disney Channel original series "K.C. Undercover."
RELATED: Zendaya's boldest and best fashion moments
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Zendaya has established herself as a major force in Tinseltown. Since her days as a Disney leading lady, the Oakland, California, native has landed supporting roles in blockbuster films including "The Greatest Showman," "Spider-Man: Homecoming," "Spider-Man: Far from Home" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home." She's starred as teen drug addict Rue Bennett on HBO's "Euphoria" since 2019 and in 2020, she won a best actress Emmy for her portrayal, making her, at 24, the youngest woman to win the prize. (In 2022, she took home the same award, making her the youngest actress to win two Emmys and the first Black woman to twice win Emmys in that category.) In 2021, she starred in "Malcolm & Marie" alongside John David Washington and a remake of "Dune" with Timothée Chalamet. As far as her personal life? In recent years, Zendaya has been linked to celebrities including NFL player Odell Beckham Jr. and "Euphoria" co-star Jacob Elordi. Though dating rumors began swirling around Zendaya and her "Spider-Man" co-star Tom Holland back in 2016, it wasn't until 2021 that their romance was confirmed.
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Miley Cyrus portrayed the titular teen pop star on "Hannah Montana" from 2006 to 2011 and starred in the concert film "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" followed by "Hannah Montana: The Movie." During this time, she was in a relationship with fellow Disney teen Nick Jonas, whom she dated from 2006 to 2007. She was also romantically linked to Justin Gaston and Lucas Till. In addition to releasing several chart-topping singles during her days as a Disney darling including "See You Again," "7 Things," "The Climb" and "Party in the U.S.A.," Miley also starred in the 2010 Disney film "The Last Song," during which she met future ex-husband Liam Hemsworth.
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The days Miley Cyrus played seemingly regular Malibu teen Miley Stewart and her hitmaker alter ego, Hannah Montana, are long gone. Since shedding her Disney girl persona, Miley has gone on to release several albums including her polarizing Grammy-nominated fourth studio album, "Bangerz," which debuted in 2013 and marked a clear evolution of her public image. She followed it up with three more albums: "Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz," "Younger Now" and 2020's "Plastic Hearts." After nearly a decade of on-off romance with "The Last Song" co-star Liam Hemsworth, Miley married the Aussie in 2018 but they split less than eight months later. She then publicly dated Kaitlynn Carter and Cody Simpson and has been linked to Liily drummer Maxx Morando since late 2021.
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Vanessa Hudgens shot to fame as Gabriella Montez in 2006's "High School Musical." She went on to reprise her role two more times in "High School Musical 2" and "High School Musical 3: Senior Year." She also released her debut studio album, "V," in 2006. From 2005 to 2010, Vanessa was in a relationship with her "High School Musical" co-star Zac Efron.
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Vanessa Hudgens went on to appear in films including "Spring Breakers," "Gimme Shelter," "Dog Days," "Freaks of Nature," and "Second Act." She's also starred in the Netflix romantic comedies "The Princess Switch," "The Princess Switch: Switched Again" and "The Knight Before Christmas" and showed off her vocal chops in the TV specials "Grease: Live" in 2016 and "Rent: Live" in 2019. In 2015, she starred as the titular character in the Broadway musical "Gigi." She appeared in "Bad Boys for Life" in 2020 and the Academy Award-nominated musical drama "tick, tick… BOOM!" in 2021. From 2011 to 2020, she was in a relationship with actor Austin Butler. Since late 2020, she's been in a relationship with MLB player Cole Tucker.
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From 2001 to 2004, Hilary Duff starred as the titular teen on "Lizzie McGuire" and in a movie based on the Disney Channel series. During this time, Hilary also landed starring roles in several films including "Agent Cody Banks," "Cheaper by the Dozen" and "A Cinderella Story." The former teen idol didn't stop at acting — in 2003, she released her second studio album, "Metamorphosis," which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2001, she was romantically linked to fellow teen star Aaron Carter, whom she dated on and off for years before she began a serious two-year romance with Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden when she was a teen.
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Even though her time as Lizzie McGuire came to an end, Hilary Duff's career as both an actress and singer continued to flourish. In addition to appearing in several lesser known films like "According to Greta," "Beauty & the Briefcase" and "She Wants Me," Hilary released the album "Breathe In. Breathe Out" in 2015. From 2015 to 2021, she starred on TV Land's "Younger" and since 2022, she's played the lead on Hulu's "How I Met Your Mother" spinoff, "How I Met Your Father." As for her personal life? Hilary was married to former NHL player Mike Comrie from 2010 to 2016; they have a son, Luca. In 2019, she married music producer-songwriter Matthew Koma shortly after the birth of their first daughter, Banks Bair. Their second daughter, Mae, arrived in 2021.
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Brenda Song became a Disney Channel leading lady in 2002 when she appeared in the film "Get a Clue" alongside Lindsay Lohan. She went on to star in the films "Stuck in the Suburbs" and "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior." From 2005 to 2008, Brenda portrayed her most notable role on the Disney Channel — London Tipton on "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." She then reprised her role as the stuck-up teen on the spinoff series "The Suite Life on Deck" from 2008 to 2011.
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Brenda Song went on to appear on television shows like "Scandal," "New Girl" and "Station 19" and in films including "The Social Network" and "Secret Obsession." In 2019, Brenda found success as Madison Maxwell on the Hulu dramedy series "Dollface," which wrapped in 2022, and returned to her Disney roots to voice a character on the animated series "Amphibia." In 2011, she was engaged to singer-songwriter Trace Cyrus, the older brother of musician stars Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, though they called it off in 2013 and dated on and off for the next four years. Since 2017, she's been in a relationship with fellow former child star Macaulay Culkin. They welcomed their first child, son Dakota, in 2021. In early 2022, their engagement made headlines.
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From 2005 to 2008, Ashley Tisdale starred alongside fellow Disney Channel teen Brenda Song on "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." The role that launched her into even greater stardom, though? Conniving yet incredibly talented high schooler Sharpay Evans in the "High School Musical" film series. Ashley went on to sign a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records and released her debut studio album, "Headstrong," in 2007. In 2011, she starred in the "HSM" spinoff film "Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure."
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In the words of Sharpay Evans, she's fabulous! From 2007 to 2015, Ashley Tisdale voiced Candace Flynn on the Disney animated series "Phineas and Ferb." Following "Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure," she landed a starring role alongside fellow Disney leading lady Aly Michalka on The CW's "Hellcats." She's since appeared on the short-lived series "Merry Happy Whatever" and "Carol's Second Act." In 2019, she revived her music career with the release of her third studio album, "Symptoms." In 2014, she married musician Christopher French. They welcomed their first child, daughter Jupiter, in 2021.
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Has it really been that long since Christy Carlson Romano relinquished her title as a Disney Channel leading lady? From 2000 to 2003, she played Ren Stevens opposite Shia LaBeouf on "Even Stevens." Christy became the first person to work on three Disney projects simultaneously — in addition to "Even Stevens," she also starred alongside Hilary Duff in the 2003 film "Cadet Kelly" and voiced the titular crime-fighting teen on "Kim Possible." Christy earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for her work on the animated series.
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After appearing on "Even Stevens," Christy Carlson Romano became the youngest actress to play Belle in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway, then went to Barnard College at Columbia University for a time before leaving to return to acting — but her early 20s were tough as she struggled with her mental health. (Years later in a 2019 essay for Teen Vogue titled "My Private Breakdown," she wrote about her issues, sharing in part, "Many of you know me as the girl from that TV show or movie you once saw on the Disney Channel. Maybe you saw me on Broadway or in a Lifetime Movie. I am an actress and if you were going to define my 'brand' you might say I was 'perfect' or 'pulled together.' I'm here to throw a wrench at that image.") At 26, she went back to college and earned a film studies degree. It's there she met Brendan Rooney, whom she married in 2013; they now have two daughters. She's since worked to carve out a new career: Though she still does some acting — from 2018 to 2020, she voiced Trina on "Big Hero 6: The Series" — she's found success on social media with her YouTube channel, on which she hosted the cooking series "Christy's Kitchen Throwback" and has shared stories about her Disney days and more. In 2022, she launched her Apple podcast, "Vulnerable with Christy Carlson Romano."
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A show of hands for anyone who belted out the lyrics to "Potential Breakup Song" as a teen, please! Aly Michalka found Disney Channel fame after co-starring as Keely Teslow on "Phil of the Future" from 2004 to 2006. As well as appearing in Disney Channel films like "Now You See It…" and "Cow Belles," Aly was also one-half of the pop musical duo Aly & AJ with sister AJ Michalka.
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Aly Michalka appeared in a slew of films including "Easy A," "The Roommate," "Grown Ups 2" and "The Lears" in addition to starring on The CW dramedy series "Hellcats" from 2010 to 2011, followed by "iZombie" from 2015 to 2019. In 2015, Aly married film producer Stephen Ringer, whom she began dating in 2013. She and sister AJ continue to make music — they released their fourth studio album, "A Touch of the Beat Gets You Up on Your Feet Gets You Out and Then Into the Sun," in 2021.
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Debby Ryan made her Disney Channel debut in 2008 when she starred as Bailey Pickett on "The Suite Life on Deck," a role she held until 2011. This wasn't her only Disney project at the time — in 2010, she also appeared in the original film "16 Wishes." Debby went on to land her own series on the network, "Jessie," on which she starred from 2011 to 2015.
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From 2018 to 2019, Debby Ryan starred as Patty Bladell on the Netflix dark comedy "Insatiable." She's since appeared in films including "Every Day," "Life of the Party," "Horse Girl" and "The Opening Act." In 2021, Debby appeared in the thriller "Night Teeth" alongside "Euphoria" actress Sydney Sweeney and since 2022, she's had a recurring role on the Peacock dark-mystery series "The Resort." In 2019, she married longtime love Josh Dun, the drummer for Twenty One Pilots.
