Disney Channel stars: where are they now?

by Laura Zakrewski

Recently, Miley Cyrus has been back in the limelight for her choices of clothing, hairstyles, and song lyrics.  While the public has kept close tabs on Miley’s actions over the years, many of her Disney peers have slipped through the media cracks and gone into obscurity.  The burning question here is, where have these childhood stars disappeared to? 

            If you are anything like me, then you know that The Suite Life of Zack & Cody truly was a sweet Disney show.  The stars, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, were adorable and fun to watch.  However, since the end of the spinoff sitcom, Suite Life on Deck, we haven’t heard much from the Sprouse twins. 

            It’s hard to fathom, but Dylan and Cole Sprouse are now twenty-one years old.  After their extremely successful television run, the boys decided to enroll in college.  In 2010, both Dylan and Cole were accepted into New York University.  Nonetheless, the boys wanted a more “free” approach to schooling and decided to attend the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. 

            We could assume that Dylan and Cole would be studying subjects related to film or acting, but that’s surprisingly not the case.  Cole Sprouse is making his curriculum focus around humanities and archaeology. His brother, Dylan, is working on video game design.  Both Sprouse brothers have websites related to their new hobbies and seem to be all grown up.  Luckily, they’ve both become responsible young men over the years.  On the contrary, it will be impossible to forget them as two young boys messing with Mr. Moesby in a hotel in Boston.          

            Do the names Lizzie, Miranda, Gordo, and Matt ring a bell?  The Disney Channel television show Lizzie McGuire aired from 2001-2004 and certainly grasped the attention of its young viewers.  The lead cast member, Hilary Duff, played a clumsy teen who wanted to fit in at school.  Since then, Duff hasn’t made a huge splash in the media.

After her childhood acting career, Duff made herself available to more grown up roles, away from the Disney scene.  Her most memorable films included Cinderella Story, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Raise Your Voice.  Recently, she has even guest starred on television shows such as Ghost Whisperer, Gossip Girl, and Two and a Half Men.  

Duff also ventured into the music industry after Lizzie McGuire ended.  Duff’s debut studio album, Metamorphosis, did well despite its mixed comments from critics.  Her song “So Yesterday” is a rather unforgettable tune that I still hum to myself in the shower.  Any aspect of entertainment that Duff experiments with is a success. 

As of August 2011, Duff has been married to her husband, professional hockey player Mike Comrie.  Together they have a son named Luca and seem to be very happy.  Despite having a family now, Duff plans to continue with singing and acting in the near future.  She’s arguably one of Disney’s greatest success stories, and it’s likely that she’ll go on and do more great things. 

Can you gaze into the future?  The Disney Channel television series, That’s So Raven, is my personal favorite out of this bunch of sitcoms.  It kept you waiting around wanting to view another episode.  I loved Raven’s quirky personality and psychic abilities when watching it on television.  However, Raven Symone, the main actress on the show, hasn’t been in the public eye lately. 

Symone acted on The Cosby Show and then on That’s So Raven, so her childhood was spent mostly on a set.  Her most successful Disney production, The Cheetah Girls, also came out around this time.  The movie was very successful and spawned two sequels, although Symone didn’t appear in the third movie.  This star spent her childhood working on these projects, but after her television show ended in 2007, she faded into obscurity.   

In recent years, Symone made an attempt to get back in the saddle and star in a new television show.  Sadly, her new show, State of Georgia, aired only twelve episodes before being cancelled by ABC family. 

Although that was a failure, Symone has other plans up her sleeve for the future.  She plans to release an album, although there is no set date or title.  Either way, it seems that Symone has remained out of the spotlight for once in her busy life, and she seems content with it.  

There are so many people who got their start on a Disney Channel television series.  After their childhood success, however, they tend to stray away from their stardom.  The Sprouse twins, Duff, and Symone are perfect examples of ex-Disney stars that have been out of the limelight in recent years.  Hopefully, they come out of the gutters and show their faces once again.  Not all Disney television stars have gone on to be extremely successful, but they certainly have not been forgotten by the audience that watched them.