Behind the glitz and glamour of Disney stardom lies a darker reality. We're diving into the challenging childhoods of beloved Disney stars who faced incredible personal struggles, revealing the hidden pain behind their bright smiles and successful careers.
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00:00I felt like it was the right time to tell my story before it's
00:04past a point that it didn't matter.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07And today we're discussing 10 Disney stars who unfortunately did not have easy childhoods.
00:12I don't want to convince someone of my tragedies,
00:15because society makes our victims feel like villains.
00:20Lindsay Lohan
00:21Lindsay Lohan began her career at just three years old as a child model.
00:25In 1998, she gained widespread recognition when she starred in Disney's The Parent Trap.
00:30Straight. In. Diamonds.
00:34You're good, James. But you're just not good enough.
00:41In your honor, a royal plush.
00:44Despite her early success, her childhood was fraught with hardships,
00:48with her parents having a rather tumultuous relationship,
00:51her father struggled with legal issues and substance use disorder,
00:54and even served jail time when Lohan was only four.
00:57Can she cope? Yeah. But will it have long-reaching effects?
01:02Absolutely. It did with me, and it still does today.
01:05By the time Lohan entered her teenage years,
01:07the media and public were intensely scrutinizing her.
01:10As a result, her personal struggles were highly publicized,
01:14making her one of the most tabloid-covered stars of the 2000s.
01:18Have you ever walked up to people and realized they were just talking about you?
01:21Have you ever had it happen 60 times in a row? I have.
01:26Britney Spears. The princess of pop is one of the most iconic stars of all time,
01:30but her rise to fame came with its fair share of challenges.
01:33Oh, baby, baby, how was I supposed to know?
01:39Her Disney career first began in 1993 when she starred in the all-new Mickey Mouse Club
01:43alongside Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, and Ryan Gosling.
01:47She later transitioned into pop music, which she said was always an outlet for her,
01:52especially during her difficult childhood.
01:54She's a star, but she cries, cries, cries in her lonely heart.
02:01She has described her father as, quote,
02:02"...mean, apathetic, and cold," noting that his unpleasant behavior,
02:07including body-shaming, persisted well into her 30s.
02:10The full story is detailed in her memoir The Woman and Me,
02:14which was incidentally one of the largest book deals of all time.
02:18She brings up Alison and Dermot again and again,
02:21the need to speak up and how she learned the hard way about not speaking up,
02:27and that that was one of the things that precipitated all the problems that she had.
02:31Rowan Blanchard.
02:32That show ended, I think, when it was supposed to end.
02:35It feels like it's been a solid amount of time now, and I'm happy to be doing other things.
02:39Girl Meets World catapulted Rowan Blanchard into the spotlight at only 12 years old.
02:44This brought about an intense work schedule,
02:46acting commitments, and, of course, immense media attention.
02:49This has been going on a few weeks.
02:53How else I got you?
02:55I tried dealing with her, Maya. She's not a reasonable person.
02:59How do I handle this? I don't know how to handle this.
03:01When she was a young teen, she opened up about struggling with depression.
03:05Throughout her time on the Disney Channel, and especially afterward,
03:08Blanchard made it a point to be outspoken about human rights on social media.
03:12Later on, in a 2017 interview, Blanchard would go on to say that, quote,
03:16"...working for Disney was stressful,
03:18citing an environment known for silencing and carefully crafting the voices of its employees."
03:23We're taught our entire lives, like, go to adults.
03:25Like, when you're an adult, you'll know what to do.
03:27Ask an adult. Tell an adult.
03:29And then all of a sudden, I was like, oh!
03:30Alison Stoner.
03:31Alison Stoner acted in numerous Disney projects during the 2000s,
03:35such as Camp Rock and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
03:38They were one of the most recognizable faces of that Disney Channel era.
03:41Hi, I'm Caitlin.
03:43Camper today, top-selling music producer tomorrow.
03:45Check me out.
03:49Cool!
03:50Behind all of their talent, however,
03:51Stoner faced significant hardships growing up in the limelight.
03:54They have been open about their mental health struggles,
03:57saying they first developed anxiety at elementary school age
04:00on account of the industry's demands.
04:02Well, the fame, the competition, the pressures,
04:04the scrutiny continued to intensify,
04:08and my body continued to house it all.
04:10In their teen and young adult years,
04:12they struggled with eating disorders,
04:14in part due to a working culture that encouraged toxic body standards.
04:17Today, Stoner is an important voice in the conversation
04:20about the realities of childhood stardom.
04:22In the case of Hollywood, it's time for the entertainment industry
04:27and everyone who is a part of the ecosystem
04:30to acknowledge our role in the pipeline
04:32and take on the responsibility of proactively improving the system.
04:36Dylan and Cole Sprouse
04:38Worked on a sitcom for a bit.
04:40Uh, still wasn't really fully conscious.
04:43We were still doing the baby acting thing.
04:45Uh, did a sitcom called Grace Under Fire,
04:47a couple other little TV spots here and there,
04:49identical twins switching places, blah, blah, blah.
04:51Adored for their roles as Zack and Cody Martin,
04:54the Sprouse twins were among Disney Channel's biggest stars.
04:57Entering the industry at just eight months old,
05:00they made their feature film debut at age seven,
05:02starring alongside Adam Sandler in Big Daddy.
05:05Unfortunately, a life in Hollywood wasn't exactly their choice.
05:09Oh no! The adultifier is powered up!
05:12And the first two kids I'm going to use it on are you!
05:15When their parents divorced,
05:16the twins were left in the care of their mother,
05:18who struggled with substance use disorder and mental health issues.
05:22She thrust Dylan and Cole into the acting world as a way to get by,
05:25letting them take on the burden of financial responsibility
05:28at too young an age.
05:30In my case, the court had to step in and rend my brother and I
05:33towards our father, who's an incredible guy.
05:37Um, but that selfishness is something that the legal system also observed,
05:43and, uh, said that she was unfit.
05:46Bella Thorne.
05:47You all right?
05:51No, Rocky. I'm not all right.
05:53Bella Thorne first made a name for herself
05:55playing Cece Jones on Shake It Up alongside Zendaya.
05:58However, her journey to stardom was shaped by significant hardships.
06:02Her father died in 2007,
06:04leaving her mother with a difficult task of raising four children alone.
06:08When my dad died, he didn't have life insurance,
06:11um, and my mom was taking care of us.
06:13And so now my mom's left with four kids,
06:16um, a house that was illegally signed in her name that ruined her credit.
06:20My dad did that.
06:21And then all his business partners took his money.
06:24The only reason Thorne even auditioned for Disney
06:26was because her family was on the verge of losing their home.
06:29After her Disney career,
06:31Thorne would reveal that she had been sexually abused throughout her youth.
06:34Her struggles are loosely documented in her poetry book,
06:37The Life of a Wannabe Mogul, Mental Disarray.
06:40She's in a lot of pain, this girl, in this book.
06:43Yes, I would say so.
06:44She talks about depression.
06:45Yeah, there's a lot of s*** in that book.
06:48It's out there.
06:50Raven Simone.
06:51Raven Simone first began acting when she was only three years old,
06:54with her first role being on The Cosby Show as Cliff's step-granddaughter.
06:58Eventually, in 2003, she became well-known for starring as
07:01psychic teen Raven in That's So Raven,
07:03a Disney sitcom that is still highly revered today.
07:06Thank you, thank you.
07:07This has always been a dream of mine.
07:09Actually, it's kind of like a mission.
07:10Oh, nail polish!
07:11Oh, wait, no, wait!
07:11No, I mean, nail polish!
07:13I did not do nail polish!
07:14The actress has since opened up about how stressful the industry was for her.
07:18Body image was something the young star struggled with,
07:20as she endured frequent body shaming and criticism,
07:23including doubts about her ability to perform as a dancer on tour.
07:26You just don't have the look.
07:33Well, this is the only look I have.
07:34What am I supposed to do?
07:36She has also been outspoken about how tough coming out was,
07:39since she worried how it would be portrayed by the media.
07:42Despite the challenges, she's considered a trailblazer and a role model.
07:46Was this the natural progression to actually be,
07:49let us see you as opposed to these other characters?
07:54I believe so, sir.
07:55Miley Cyrus
07:56Miley Cyrus rose to fame as the star of Disney's Hannah Montana,
07:59where she played a teenager juggling life as a regular girl by day
08:03and a pop superstar by night.
08:12As the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus,
08:14she grew up in the spotlight,
08:15meaning her childhood was anything but ordinary.
08:18When she was just 12,
08:19her schedule was so tightly packed with press and filming,
08:22she'd barely get a moment to herself.
08:24Okay, someone told me I'm Hannah Montana.
08:26I am now Hannah Montana, and anything that I create for her, I am in.
08:30It's like, it's beyond method, because I was growing up as her,
08:35she was me, like there was no divide between us.
08:38The role did what was said to be, quote,
08:40extreme damage to her psyche,
08:42while being dolled up every day ultimately left her experiencing body dysmorphia.
08:46Looking back, Cyrus has said she doesn't remember most of her childhood stardom
08:50as a result of all the pressure she endured.
08:52I really spent this anniversary thinking about what I wanted,
08:57and it's kind of vague, but somehow says everything.
09:01It was about, I want to find peace.
09:04Selena Gomez
09:05Before securing the role of Alex on Wizards of Waverly Place at the age of 15,
09:10Selena Gomez got her start on Barney and Friends in 2002.
09:16Growing up on camera caused her personal life to come under intense scrutiny from the public,
09:25which took a major toll on her mental health.
09:28In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gomez talked about her bipolar disorder diagnosis,
09:32as well as an episode of psychosis she experienced in 2018.
09:36When I first got out, I didn't know how I'd cope with my diagnosis.
09:41What if it happened again?
09:43What if the next time I didn't come back?
09:47I needed to keep learning about it.
09:49I needed to take it day by day.
09:51She also delved into how she felt a lack of control over herself
09:55and her mental state in her early 20s.
09:57Her candidness has at least inspired fans to face their own vulnerabilities,
10:01and let go of any shame that might be surrounding them.
10:03Anything that I do, I want it to be some sort of light in the world.
10:08So I'm excited that people will get to see,
10:11you know, how much it paid off, to be honest with my story.
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10:31Demi Lovato
10:32Demi Lovato had an immensely tragic upbringing,
10:35as she grappled with horrible mistreatment by peers.
10:38It was a really dark time for me.
10:40It threw me into a spiral and it traumatized me,
10:43and I still deal with that today.
10:45This led to substance use disorder in her early teens,
10:48something that would follow her for much of her adolescence.
10:51The star also dealt with disordered eating and other mental health challenges.
10:55My dad was an addict and an alcoholic,
10:59and I guess I always searched for what he found in drugs and alcohol,
11:05because it fulfilled him and he chose that over a family.
11:08Lovato's difficult relationship with their abusive father
11:10was the source of a lot of pain.
11:12After his passing in 2013,
11:14the star founded the Lovato Treatment Scholarship Program to honor his memory.
11:18Her journey is one of resilience and hope,
11:20and their story has become a symbol of strength for fans around the world.
11:24I had a therapist tell me that the opposite of addiction is connection,
11:27and I firmly believe that that's true,
11:30because meaningful connections protect you from isolation.
11:35Which Disney star did you look up to the most growing up?
11:38Let us know in the comments.
11:39Yes, I know what you all are thinking.
11:41Is this a Raven original?
11:46I'd be speechless too.