Former Disney Stars We Almost Forgot About
If you weren't watching Disney Channel original movies and TV shows as a kid, no offense, but you did childhood wrong. Between Brink!, Smart House, Even Stevens, Lizzie McGuire, and Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, the network was pretty much everything to a '90s kid. While some of our favorite Disney stars went on to do big things—we're looking at you Shia LaBeouf and Hilary Duff—others just faded into the woodwork. Take a walk down nostalgia lane with us as we remember some of our favorite actors and actresses who seemed to disappear on us.
Erik von Detten
With that shaggy blond hair and those smoldering good looks, Erik von Detten was the real deal in the late '90s and early 2000s. He was a Disney Channel regular, appearing in a multitude of its shows and movies, including Brink! (1998), Odd Man Out (1999-2000), So Weird (1999-2001), and the ever-popular The Princess Diaries franchise.
Unfortunately, von Detten left our lives as quickly as he came in. He has steered clear of Hollywood since 2004, except for reprising his role as Sid in Toy Story 3 in 2010. Thanks to that gig, von Detten made a rare appearance at the film's premiere—only to prove that he's still a total babe. While the movie premiere was his last appearance promoting a personal project, von Detten was spotted out in 2016, when he attended the premiere of Adventures in Babysitting with his two adorable children—who clearly have inherited some of their dad's great genes.
Christy Carlson Romano
Christy Carlson Romano is now the type of "perfect" that her characters in Even Stevens (2000-2003), Kim Possible (2002-07), and Cadet Kelly (2002) always wanted to be. The actress is a happily married woman, a teen novelist, a Columbia University graduate, and a Broadway alum, having starred as Belle in the stage production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. She's also racked up quite the resume in voice acting, including as the voice of the Disney board game "Scene It: Deluxe Edition." In recent years, Romano appeared in the television movies Deadly Daycare (2014) and Christmas with the Andersons (2016) as appeared in Wes Craven's thriller The Girl in the Photographs (2015). Romano became a mother in December 2016, when she and her husband—producer Brendan Rooney—welcomed their first child, a daughter named Isabella Victoria.
Adam Lamberg
If you were a fan of Lizzie McGuire (2001-04), then Gordo (played by the adorable Adam Lamberg) was probably one of your favorite characters. As much as we would have loved to see more of Lamberg on the big or small screen, it just wasn't in the cards. Except for a couple of appearances in small-budget films in the late 2000s, Adam opted to walk away from Hollywood. The Disney star graduated in 2008 from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in geography. According to his LinkedIn profile, Lamberg completed a master's degree in public administration from Baruch College and works as a developmental associate at the Irish Arts Center in New York City.
Ashlie Brillault
Ashlie Brillault's casting as mean-girl Kate Sanders in Lizzie McGuire seemed like a perfect fit, but the feeling wasn't mutual, because after playing Kate for the last time in The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), Brillault gave up acting. According to her LinkedIn profile, she briefly worked as a volunteer attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Jails Project, before going on to become a criminal defense attorney for a private law firm.
At the time of this writing, Brillault was living with her daughter and husband out of the limelight. "At the moment I'm focusing on being a mom to this amazing little human being and in the next few months I plan on looking for a job as a lawyer in the civil rights or criminal defense field," she told MTV News in 2015. "My ultimate goal is to work on issues related to criminal justice reform." It's a far cry from Hollywood, but with so much going for her these days, we're pretty sure Brillault is living "fabulously ever after."
Alana Austin
Alana Austin was every young tomboy's idol when Motocrossed premiered in 2001. She was sporty, pretty, and got the hot guy in the end. While many girls considered signing up for motocross after the movie aired, Austin was signing out of the acting world. Her last role was in 2006 where she played a small part in the TV series Close to Home. At the time of this writing, Austin appears to be focusing on a writing career. She's quite active on both Instagram and Twitter, sharing pictures of her travels with friends and calling herself a "Full time Muggle, part-time unicorn," which sounds like an awesome job description, in our opinion!
Nick Spano
Nick Spano, better known as Donnie Stevens from Even Stevens, was and still is a total babe. After The Even Stevens Movie in 2003, Spano popped up in some small television roles, particularly in crime dramas such as Cold Case and NCIS. According to his Facebook, he studied English literature at UCLA and taught acting classes for the John Robert Powers acting agency. These days, he's busy with his L.A. community organization, Re/Creation Cafe—a creative space to "recreate oneself through play."
Steven Anthony Lawrence
If you saw Steven Anthony Lawrence today, you'd be forgiven for not recognizing him as Beans, the Even Stevens character he played on the Disney Channel. What I'm doing now is actually teaching mainly," he told The Huffington Post in February 2015. "I get a really big kick out of it." He's also led seminars at various California colleges, including USC, Berkeley, and Pepperdine.
In late 2015, Even Stevens fans who happened to be visiting the Sunvalley Shopping Center in Concord, Calif. got quite a surprise when they spotted Lawrence working as a Santa's helper at the popular mall. That unexpected gig might be related to Steven's upcoming project. He is slated to star in a 2018 holiday movie about two bumbling elves titled Holly, Jingles and Clyde 3D.
Katie Volding
In her early years, Katie Volding made a name for herself on Disney as an annoying little sister with a gigantic heart. In addition to starring in Brink! (1998) and Smart House (1999), Volding also appeared in the Au Pair series of films—the last of which hit theaters in 2009. However, it seems her desire to continue acting faded as she aged because her role in Au Pair 3 was her last acting credit, according to her IMDb page.
Chez Starbuck
When The Thirteenth Year premiered in 1999, Chez Starbuck was the hunkiest merboy we'd ever seen. In 2011, he made a cameo as himself in The L Word, lost 50 pounds, and appeared on Live Big with Ali Vincent to tone up his bod. Since then, Starbuck has gotten into bodybuilding, at least by the looks of his Instagram account. He's also a talented artist, creating unique and pop-art inspired pieces for commission, and he started a business creating custom kitchen and pantry organization solutions for homeowners. At the time of this writing, Chez and his wife live in Austin, Texas and are currently expecting a baby as well as the release of The Long and the Short, Chez's first movie role in more than a decade.
Cara DeLizia
Cara DeLizia played the memorable, and very inquisitive, Fi on So Weird from 1999 to 2000. After her character was written off in the show's second season, DeLizia went on to appear in Boston Public and guest star on NYPD Blue and The West Wing. She retired from acting in 2012, and according to her Facebook page, now serves as the executive director of the Pou Timoun Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping Haitian children at the Foyer de Sion orphanage in Croix des Bouquets, Haiti.
Ricky Ullman
As the title character in Phil of the Future (2004-06) Raviv "Ricky" Ullman captured kids' imaginations as a futuristic teen accidentally transplanted into 21st century America. While Raviv hasn't completely abandoned acting, his roles in recent years have been smaller, and Ullman has largely transitioned to a career on and off Broadway in stage roles. In 2015, he appeared in the dark comedy play Bad Jews. Ullman also plays in the band Reputante, which put out an EP called Oceanside in 2013.
Will Friedle
You know him as Eric Matthews, the popular (and occasionally moronic) older brother on Boy Meets World (1993-2000) and the spin-off Disney series Girl Meets World (2014-). Friedle was also a regular voice actor on the Disney animated series Kim Possible as the character Ron Stoppable. What's Friedle up to today, and more importantly—does he still have that amazing hair?
At the time of this writing, Girl Meets World is still airing new episodes, so if you have a hankering for some Friedle in your life, you should definitely check it out. Beyond that, he has focused much of his recent career on voice acting, bringing to life popular characters from comic books and video games, including Deadpool, Nightwing, Splinter, Bumblebee, and Seifer. Friedle keeps much of his personal life private, but in 2016, he did share a photo with a beautiful woman—at their wedding! While we don't know the identity of the lovely lady, we wish her and Friedle all the best.
Brandon Baker
In the Disney Channel movie Johnny Tsunami (1999) and its sequel Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board (2007), Brandon Baker snowboarded his way into our hearts as the teenage grandson of a surfing legend. But what has Baker been doing since he outgrew those roles?
He keeps a fairly low profile, but Baker has continued to act, and while he doesn't post on social media frequently, a look at his Instagram indicated that he loves to travel, having shared photos from Norway, Estonia, and the Hoh Rainforest.
Tiffany Thornton
As the self-obsessed Tawni Hart, who eventually becomes Sonny's best friend on Sonny with a Chance (2009-11) and So Random! (2011-12), Tiffany Thornton quickly rose to prominence among the Disney Channel's group of young stars. She's appeared in a few roles and voice acting jobs in the years since, blogs for Disney Baby, and was a morning radio host for the Hot Springs, Ark. radio station KLAZ. In late 2015, Thornton's husband was tragically killed in a car accident, leaving Thornton to raise their two children alone. She's been focused on raising her family and serving as a worship leader, traveling around the country to conferences about youth ministry.
Orlando Brown
As Eddie Thomas on That's So Raven (2003-07) Orlando Brown frequently played the "big brother" figure to Raven-Symoné's character, making sure to point out when she ignored his advice: "Told ya! Told ya twice!" Since the show's conclusion, Brown has kept busy both making music and acting, recently appearing in the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton (2015).
Outside of his career, Brown has faced some personal struggles in recent years. He was arrested on battery and other charges in February 2016, and in a November 2016 interview, fans wondered if the former child star may be mentally impaired after he used graphic sound effects to describe his alleged past relationship with Raven-Symoné. Perhaps not surprisingly, Raven-Symoné announced that "Eddie" has been recast for the Disney Channel spin-off That's So Raven 2.
Jason Earles
Jason Earles has always had a baby face, making him a great choice to play younger characters. Earles was 29 years old when Hannah Montana (2006-11) began, making him 13 years older than the character he played on the series—Miley Stewart's 16-year-old brother, Jackson. When Hannah Montana went off the air, Earles kept himself busy with various voice acting roles and by playing the lead martial arts instructor on the Disney XD show Kickin' It (2011-2015).
Jennifer Stone
Jennifer Stone charmed her way into our hearts as Harper, the non-magical best friend of Alex (Selena Gomez) on Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12). For four seasons, Harper served as the voice of reason to Alex's crazy schemes, and we loved her for it. After Wizards went off the air, Stone effectively retired from acting for several years. Recently, she has appeared in a couple of TV episodes, and at the time of this writing, her IMDb lists her among the cast of the upcoming comedy The Perfect Night. You can also catch Stone on Instagram, where she shares photos of her awesome artwork—some of which is for sale on her Etsy shop!
Kirsten Storms
In one of the best early Disney Channel original movies, Kirsten Storms plays the unforgettable Zenon Kar, who saves a space station (her home) from destruction at the hands of a dastardly bad guy. Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999) was so popular it spawned two sequels and landed Storms additional acting work—both as a regular character on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives and voice acting on the Disney animated series Kim Possible. At the time of this writing, she's playing the role of Maxie Jones on the soap opera General Hospital.