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2000s Disney Channel Stars in 2019

11 of the Most Successful Disney Channel Stars to Come Out of the 2000s

When it comes to nostalgia, you can't beat the mid-2000s days of Disney Channel sitcoms and original movies. Those were pretty much the defining pop-culture moments for millennials, and many of those same Disney stars have gone on to be megastars in the entertainment industry as a whole. While plenty of your Disney Channel faves have had mid-tier careers or left the business altogether, there are a few who have definitely made their marks and continue to. Wondering where your favourites are today? Not to worry! We've rounded up some of the biggest stars from Disney Channel's golden age — check them out in the gallery ahead and find out where you can see them now!

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Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire

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Hilary Duff Now

Duff's acting career certainly hasn't slowed down! After starring in a few smaller projects, she finally found another high-profile role as book editor Kelsey Peters on TVLand's hit comedy Younger. The show is about to head into its sixth season this Summer. Duff recently announced her engagement to Matthew Koma, with whom she had a daughter last October (she also has a son from her first marriage to Mike Comrie).

Image Source: Getty / Mike Coppola

Cole Sprouse as Cody Martin

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Cole Sprouse Now

For much of his early career, Sprouse's name was inextricably entwined with his twin brother, Dylan, with whom he co-starred on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and its spin-off The Suite Life On Deck. Since then, Dylan has moved into off-screen life, while Cole's acting career has only continued to climb. He recently starred in the romantic drama Five Feet Apart and, of course, has another career-defining role as Jughead Jones on Riverdale.

Image Source: Getty / Kevin Winter

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Shia LaBeouf as Louis Stevens

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Shia LaBeouf Now

Unlike many of his fellow young Disney stars, LaBeouf has always been more into experimental and unusual work. He's starred in his fair share of blockbusters, notably the Transformers series and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, but also has embraced quirky work on film, stage, and performance art.

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Raven-Symone as Raven Baxter

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Raven-Symone Now

After moving on from teen roles, Raven expanded her horizons to include a recording career and a Broadway debut. She had recurring roles on Empire and black-ish, then became a host on ABC's daytime talk show The View from 2015 to 2016. Most recently, though, she's returned to the role of Raven Baxter: a sequel series, Raven's Home, joined the slew of reboots and revivals in 2017; Raven produces the series, which has been renewed for a second and third season.

Image Source: Getty / David Livingston

Christy Carlson Romano as Ren Stevens

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Christy Carlson Romano Now

Romano wasn't just a one-off Disney star. She had not one, but three iconic projects in the mid-2000s Disney Channel days: starring in the series Even Stevens and the movie Cadet Kelly, plus voicing everyone's favourite superheroine Kim Possible. Romano has spent the past several years on less high-profile projects, both on film and on Broadway. However, in 2019, she made fan dreams come true with a cameo in the Kim Possible live-action movie as pop star Poppy Blu. She and husband Brendan Rooney welcomed their first daughter in February 2019.

Image Source: Getty / Paul Archuleta

Miley Cyrus as Miley Stewart

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Miley Cyrus Now

In case you didn't notice, Cyrus has gone from girl-next-door Disney sitcom star to full-fledged A-lister. She hasn't acted as much in recent years, focusing instead on a massive music career that has included three albums certified platinum. A seventh studio album reportedly is in the works currently. In personal news, she married longtime beau Liam Hemsworth in late 2018.

Image Source: Getty / Angela Weiss

Selena Gomez as Alex Russo

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Selena Gomez Now

Although she's continued acting from time to time, Gomez's primary career post-Disney has been in the music industry. By 2015, she'd sold over 7 million albums and 22 million singles worldwide, according to Billboard. She's also only the sixth woman to have three singles on the Top 40 from the same set. Until October 2018, Gomez was the most-followed person on Instagram.

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Demi Lovato as Mitchie Torres

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Demi Lovato Now

Demi starred in both the Camp Rock movie franchise and the Disney Channel sitcom Sonny with a Chance before moving more into music. All six of her albums have gone gold (two have gone platinum) and she's one of the most bankable stars in music. Lovato has also been applauded for her activism with the LGBT community and her openness about her personal struggles with mental health and addiction.

Image Source: Getty / Joseph Okpako

Emily Osment (left) as Lilly Truscott

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Emily Osment Now

Osment starred in plenty of teen series and movies, but it was her first major adult role that got her a whole new set of fans. For five seasons, she starred as chef Gabi Diamond on the ABC Family/Freeform comedy Young and Hungry. Since its 2018 cancellation, she's been working on new music, set for a 2019 release.

Image Source: Getty / Andrew Toth

Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez

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Vanessa Hudgens Now

She was the sweet geek girl in High School Musical, but she's a full-on leading lady now. Hudgens starred in several movies straight off of the HSM franchise, but more recently has gone back to her musical roots. In 2015, she made her Broadway debut in Gigi, then had a pair of critically-praised turns in live TV musicals: Rizzo in 2016's Grease Live on Fox and Maureen in the network's 2019 broadcast of Rent. She's next set to co-star in the 2020 Bad Boys sequel Bad Boys for Life.

Image Source: Getty / Allen Berezovsky

Zac Efron as Troy Bolton

Image Source: Everett Collection

Zac Efron Now

After back-to-back musical successes with High School Musical and Hairspray, Efron broke away from the musical comedy mode and into pure comedy. He's become a Hollywood staple in comedies like Neighbours and Baywatch, then did his first musical in over a decade with 2018's The Greatest Showman. His most recent project, though, has him taking on his first real villainous role, playing notorious serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile.

Image Source: Getty / Dimitrios Kambouris

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