The heyday of Disney Channel produced a plethora of stars such as Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus. However, some Disney alumni opted for a more low-key existence.
While some have left acting to pursue nursing, others have taken on roles as zookeepers at Disney World. Here’s a round-up of Disney Channel stars who now have everyday jobs much like ours.
Jennifer Stone, best known for playing Harper Finkle (Selena Gomez’s best friend) on Wizards of Waverly Place, transitioned from acting to a career in nursing.
In 2020, she shared on Instagram that she had finished nursing school and later joined Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center as a registered nurse after gaining volunteering experience.
Her announcement came during the COVID-19 pandemic when she joined many healthcare professionals on the frontlines. “It had been a big milestone for me to get this particular job in the ER at Providence just because that was where I started my nursing journey as a volunteer,” Stone shared with Teen Vogue in 2020. “Plus, I’m so honored to be learning from and working with these nurses, and helping in any way that I can, especially during this time.”
Stone continues to juggle nursing with hosting a Wizards of Waverly Place rewatch podcast with her former co-star David DeLuise, titled Wizards of Waverly Pod.
Bridgit Mendler takes the title for having one of the most unusual career paths. From starring in Good Luck Charlie to earning a degree from MIT and founding a space startup, her journey is unique.
She featured in several Disney Channel productions like Lemonade Mouth, Wizards of Waverly Place, and mainly Good Luck Charlie, all while balancing a music and acting career alongside her education.
After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2020, Mendler announced four years later that she became the CEO of her startup, Northwood Space.
“At Northwood Space we have our sights on building a data highway between earth and space,” Mendler tweeted earlier this year. “We are designing shared ground infrastructure from first principles to expand access to space. We have a lot of work ahead of us but that’s the fun part. If you like building quickly and seeing your work deployed in locations around the globe with real impact, we want you at Northwood.”
Tiffany Thornton, who gained fame starring alongside Demi Lovato on Sonny With A Chance, shifted from acting after the show ended and worked as a morning radio show host in 2016 for a brief period.
Following the death of her first husband in 2015, Thornton remarried, moved to Arkansas, and worked as a recruiter at Champion Christian College.
She is now a mother to four children.
Kay Panabaker, known for her roles in Disney Channel hits like Read It and Weep and Phil of the Future, shifted her career to become a zookeeper at Disney World after retiring from acting.
In an interview with Naperville Magazine in 2016, Panabaker discussed her decision to leave acting, saying, “My discontentment started several years later on another TV show I was on. By contrast, it wasn’t a good experience. The cast didn’t seem to love it. The producers didn’t seem into it. The crew was constantly changing.
“The kicker for me was when a producer told me that they were going to be bringing on a love interest for me, and that I needed to lose weight because of that,” she added. “I was barely a hundred pounds. I didn’t think this was a good reason for a character to lose weight. It’s not like my character was going to catch a life-threatening disease or anything. I was 21 at the time the show ended. I spent a couple years after that in LA, still auditioning, but the passion wasn’t there.”
Adam Lamberg, widely recognized for playing Gordo on Lizzie McGuire alongside Hilary Duff, transitioned to working as a development officer at New York’s Irish Arts Centre after his acting stint.
He briefly returned to acting for a Lizzie McGuire reboot, filming some scenes before the project was canceled by Disney. According to his LinkedIn profile, he now works as a freelance special events coordinator and fundraiser.