9 Pop Icons You Forgot Were Child Stars

From Justin Timberlake’s Mickey Mouse Club days to Olivia Rodrigo’s Disney Channel beginnings, these music icons have come a long way from their early acting gigs — proving that sometimes, the most powerful voices start out reading someone else’s lines.

Before the platinum albums, sold-out world tours, and Met Gala appearances, some of today’s biggest pop sensations were busy memorizing Disney Channel scripts and awkwardly navigating puberty on camera. Yeah, these mega-famous musicians didn’t just appear out of thin air — they clawed their way up from child stardom, surviving the notoriously treacherous path from cute kid to serious adult artist. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and rediscover the humble beginnings of nine pop icons whose early careers might’ve slipped your mind.

Sabrina Carpenter

Before Sabrina Carpenter broke streaming records and caused controversy with lyrics about “blonde” girls, she played Maya Hart, the rebellious best friend on Disney Channel’s Boy Meets World spinoff, Girl Meets World. Starting at just 14 years old, Carpenter balanced acting with her budding music career, releasing her first EP in 2014. Fast forward a decade, and she’s now serving looks at high-fashion events, dropping chart-topping hits like “Espresso” and proving her staying power well beyond her Disney days. Talk about a glow-up.

 Justin Timberlake

Way before bringing sexy back or crooning about mirrors, Justin Timberlake was just a curly-haired kid on “The All-New Mickey Mouse Club.” Alongside future superstars (spoiler alert: two more appear on this list), young JT sang and danced his heart out from 1993 to 1994. Then came NSYNC, those infamous matching denim outfits with Britney, and eventually solo superstardom. The transition happened so smoothly that many fans completely forget about those Mouseketeer days. From cheesy variety show skits to winning ten Grammy Awards—not too shabby for a kid from Tennessee.

Britney Spears

Speaking of Mouseketeers, Britney Spears shared the same Disney launching pad as Timberlake before becoming the undisputed Princess of Pop. Those early videos show a fresh-faced 11-year-old Britney belting out songs alongside her fellow cast members, already displaying the star quality that would later hypnotize the world. Then came “…Baby One More Time” in 1998, and the rest is music history. Between the iconic music videos, Las Vegas residency, and her hard-fought personal battles, Britney’s early Disney days often get overshadowed by her later achievements and struggles. But that innocent girl in Mickey Mouse ears? She was always destined for bigger stages.

Christina Aguilera

Completing the Mickey Mouse Club trifecta, Christina Aguilera rounded out the trio of future megastars from the 90s Disney variety show. Even as a kid, her voice was unmistakably mature and powerful beyond her years. After her Mouseketeer stint, she scored a breakthrough recording, “Reflection” for Disney’s Mulan and then exploded onto the scene with “Genie in a Bottle.” Her fearless reinventions — from bubblegum pop to the leather chaps of “Dirrty” to vintage glam — have kept her relevant for decades. The vocal prowess was always there, even when she was just a pint-sized performer in Disney’s talent stable.

Zendaya

Long before her Emmy-winning performance in Euphoria or swinging through New York with Spider-Man, Zendaya was dancing her way through the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up. At age 14, she started playing Rocky Blue alongside Bella Thorne and gave us an early glimpse of the charisma that would eventually make her a household name. Unlike some Disney stars who distance themselves from their roots, Zendaya gracefully evolved her career while acknowledging the platform that launched her. Between her fashion icon status, critical acclaim as an actress, and music releases, it’s sometimes easy to forget she got her start as a Disney kid.

Selena Gomez

Before building her beauty empire with Rare Beauty or producing hard-hitting shows like 13 Reasons Why, Selena Gomez was casting spells as Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place. Her Disney Channel days stretched from 2007 to 2012, where she perfected the art of sarcasm and magical mishaps. Simultaneously, she fronted the band Selena Gomez & the Scene before launching her solo music career. Now one of the most followed people on Instagram (when she chooses to be on the platform), a mental health advocate, and a successful entrepreneur, Gomez has transcended her child star origins so thoroughly that newer fans might not even realize she once wielded a wand on afternoon television.

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato burst onto the scene alongside the Jonas Brothers in Disney’s Camp Rock before landing their own show, Sonny With a Chance. Those early days showcased Lovato’s powerful vocals, but few could have predicted the raw, vulnerable artist they would become. Their journey hasn’t been easy — publicly dealing with addiction and mental health issues while continuing to evolve musically from pop to rock and beyond. The contrast between the cheerful Disney character and the fierce advocate Lovato has become makes their transformation one of the most profound on this list.  

Ariana Grande

Remember that red-haired girl with the distinctive laugh on Nickelodeon’s Victorious and Sam & Cat? Yep, that was Ariana Grande – long before she was hitting those whistle notes and thanking her exes. For four years, Grande honed her comedic timing on these shows while quietly working on music that would eventually revolutionize pop. Her transition from sitcom sidekick to global superstar with her signature ponytail and high boots happened so fast that many forget she was once just part of an ensemble cast on a teen comedy. The vocal range was always there — it just needed the right stage.

Olivia Rodrigo

The newest graduate from the Disney-to-pop-superstar pipeline, Olivia Rodrigo, was starring in the awkwardly titled High School Musical: The Musical: The Series when her debut single, “Drivers License,” broke streaming records in 2021. Before that, she’d already put in years on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark, which she began working on when she was just 13. The success of her musical albums “SOUR” and “GUTS” happened so quickly that her Disney origins almost immediately became a footnote. With friends like Chappel Roan by her side, Rodrigo is now selling out arenas and racking up Grammy Awards.