Whatever Happened To Stephanie From LazyTown?
Child actor Julianna Rose Mauriello first rose to fame in the early 2000s, and she is most known for playing the role of Stephanie in "LazyTown," which aired on Nickelodeon. Her character lived in a yellow house with her uncle, who was the mayor of the town. Stephanie's personality was very positive, and she was always known for her short pink bob and girly outfits of the same color.
According to IMDb, she was never originally cast for the role. The young girl who was initially offered the job declined their offer, which allowed Mauriello to take the part. The hit show was a huge success and enjoyed four seasons. As reported by TVOvermind, she would spend a lot of time filming the episodes in Iceland.
Mauriello starred in 51 episodes of "LazyTown" during 2004 through 2007. In 2013, the popular show made a return. However, Mauriello didn't come back and was replaced by Chloe Lang, who played Stephanie for Seasons 3 and 4, per IMDb. With millions of fans around the world who fell in love with Stephanie, many may wonder what Mauriello got up to after the show.
Julianna Rose Mauriello got her master's in a totally different field than acting
After the success of "LazyTown," Julianna Rose Mauriello continued to act for a little longer, but didn't take on any new roles that were as popular as Stephanie. According to IMDb, she last starred in the TV mini-series "The Doc Files" in 2013. Over the years, there has been a lot of speculation about what happened to Mauriello after "LazyTown." As previously reported by TVOvermind, there were rumors that the former child star had been arrested for sex work, while other stories stated she had died from a drug overdose. Fortunately, these were strictly rumors and completely untrue.
It appears that being a famous actor is not Mauriello's priority at the moment, as it's been nearly a whole decade since her last acting job. Instead, she went back to school and attended Columbia University to learn something different, per TVOvermind. Even though she has never officially announced she has ditched the entertainment industry, it seems her interests are elsewhere as she studied to get a master's degree in occupational therapy.
Mauriello keeps a very low profile nowadays and doesn't appear to be active on any social media platforms with a public account. However, TVOvermind noted that three years ago, she had a Facebook page that was updated regularly.
Julianna Rose Mauriello flies under the radar nowadays
While so many celebrities have been using social media as a platform to reach out to their fan base, Julianna Rose Mauriello is not one of them. She does have an official Instagram account, but she doesn't dance on TikTok — though her "LazyTown" successor, Chloe Lang, does. Lang became an internet sensation by wearing Stephanie's famous pick costume while singing hits such as "Big Bang (Time to Dance)," according to the Evening Standard.
And while Mauriello is no longer in the spotlight, she certainly does have fond memories of her "LazyTown" days. During an interview on the "Tony Danza Show" back in 2006, Mauriello recalled how she first got the job. She shared, "My agent told me about the audition but not many kids went out for the audition because there weren't a lot of people who wanted to move to Iceland, but I thought, 'why not?'"
And while living in Iceland differs from living in Hollywood, Mauriello admitted that she didn't mind the experience at all. Here's why.
Julianna Rose Mauriello's career took her to Iceland instead of Hollywood
Julianna Rose Mauriello spent a lot of her teenage years living in Iceland, simply because that's where "LazyTown" was filmed. She told the "Tony Danza Show" that the experience was definitely a positive one for her.
When asked what it was like living in Iceland at the time, Mauriello put it this way, "I lived in Reykjavik, which is the main city ... It's really incredible, actually. I'm a New Yorker and I live here, that's my home, but in Iceland what's really cool about it is that it's a great country and the landscape and everything is really beautiful. It's got glacial lagoons and big volcanoes and stuff, and it's really different." What's more, Mauriello also added that she was tutored on set while she was filming the hit Icelandic series.
In other words, it sounds like Mauriello's "LazyTown" years sounded like the kind of stuff that dreams are made of. How do you say, "Woof Woof Woof" in Icelandic?