Disney Channel stars who rose to become A-list celebrities, including Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus.

Many young actors' extraordinary careers began with starring in Disney Channel shows or original movies.

Disney Channel alumni have achieved success in blockbuster movies, global concerts, and entrepreneurship.

Below are several A-list celebs and the Disney programs they worked on.

The early days of Selena Gomez's career were spent on Disney sets.

Gomez's initial acting role was not on Disney Channel; instead, she played one of the children in "Barney."

In 2007, Gomez played Alex Russo on the Disney Channel show "Wizards of Waverly Place," which revolves around a family with three children who have magical abilities.

In addition to regular episodes until 2012, "Wizards of Waverly Place" had crossover episodes with "The Suite Life on Deck" and "Hannah Montana," including "Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana." The Russo family was also featured in a TV movie starring the "Wizards of Waverly Place" cast.

Gomez also acted in other Disney shows and movies, such as "Hannah Montana," "Princess Protection Program," and "The Suite Life on Deck," while starring on "Wizards of Waverly Place."

Gomez also began releasing her own music.

Following the conclusion of "Wizards of Waverly Place," Gomez pursued acting roles in TV shows and films, including "Spring Breakers," "Hotel Transylvania," and "Only Murders in the Building." Additionally, she devoted significant attention to her music and entrepreneurial endeavors.

Over the years, Gomez has released numerous hit songs, such as "Lose You To Love Me" and "Wolves."

In addition to being the founder of Rare Beauty, which was launched in 2020, she is also the founder of the makeup brand Rare Beauty.

Gomez will still have a connection to her Disney Channel past through her role in the "Wizards of Waverly Place" reboot.

Early in his career, Ryan Gosling worked for Disney before gaining fame for his roles in "The Notebook" and "La La Land."

As a youngster, Gosling was a member of "The Mickey Mouse Club."

The Disney Channel show began in 1955 and ran for four seasons on ABC prior to its airing.

Gosling was a member of "The All-New Mickey Mouse Club," which aired on Disney Channel from 1989 to 1996.

Gosling was among several celebrities who starred on the Disney show, alongside Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera.

After starring in "High School Musical," Zac Efron's career skyrocketed.

In the 2006 film "High School Musical 2," Troy Bolton, played by Efron, discovered a love for theater in addition to his passion for basketball. This love continued in the 2008 sequel, "High School Musical 3: Senior Year."

Like Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale, numerous other stars experienced success following the release of popular films featuring memorable tunes.

Since his time in "High School Musical," Efron has appeared in films such as "17 Again," "Charlie St. Cloud," "The Lucky One," and "Baywatch."

In the 2017 film "The Greatest Showman," Efron showcased his singing and dancing abilities, joining forces with Hugh Jackman and Zendaya.

Before her Disney Channel days, Demi Lovato, like Gomez, first appeared on "Barney" at the age of 6.

Disney Channel's "Camp Rock" and "Camp Rock 2" are widely remembered for one Disney Channel role, which Lovato played as Mitchie Torres.

The songs in the movies are unforgettable, including "This Is Me," "We Rock," and "Gotta Find You."

Both movies take place at a summer camp and feature campers who are musically inclined. In both films, a well-known fictional band, Connect 3, also attends the camp. In reality, the band is called the Jonas Brothers.

Between the release of the two "Camp Rock" movies, Lovato also starred in "Princess Protection Program" with Gomez and was the lead in the series "Sonny with a Chance," from 2009 until 2011.

Since her Disney Channel days, Lovato has focused more on her music career, achieving success with songs like "Confident," "Heart Attack," and "I Love Me."

On numerous occasions, Lovato has discussed her experience acting at a young age.

She revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that when she entered the industry at a young age, she had to make a conscious decision about whether she was willing to sacrifice a normal childhood for her hopes and dreams.

"Disney made you an instant role model, whether you liked it or not, and the big popularity of the Disney Channel at the time added an unspoken pressure to perform perfectly, knowing that millions of people were waiting to replace you if you made a mistake."

Over the years, Zendaya has starred in numerous hit films, including several "Spider-Man" installments alongside her real-life partner, Tom Holland. Additionally, she appeared in "Malcolm & Marie," "The Greatest Showman," and "Dune."

Zendaya has starred in various Disney Channel shows and also had her own.

From 2010 to 2013, Zendaya and Bella Thorne co-starred as Rocky Blue and CeCe Jones on the Disney show "Shake It Up."

During this period, Zendaya made guest appearances on "Good Luck Charlie" and "Ant Farm," and starred in the TV movie "Frenemies," alongside Thorne.

In addition to starring in "K.C. Undercover," she also led the Disney show from 2015 to 2018.

Despite her long tenure on Disney Channel, Zendaya's first major film role was in "Spider-Man."

Zendaya was unknown to Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige when she auditioned for "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

Pascal admitted to Vogue that neither he nor Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, knew who she was.

Pascal said, "We were like, ‘Oh my God, she’s amazing. She has to be in the movie,’ when we saw her without makeup and dressed casually like a regular girl."

"We discovered she was a renowned individual and felt embarrassed."

Hannah Montana helped catapult Miley Cyrus to stardom when she was young, and she has since grown in popularity as an actress and performer.

From 2006 to 2011, Cyrus portrayed the lead character, Miley Stewart, in the Disney Channel TV series "Hannah Montana." She concealed her true identity as a renowned superstar, Hannah Montana, while appearing as an ordinary teenage girl.

As Montana, Cyrus released several of her early hit songs and performed as the headliner at sold-out shows.

She, after spending many years as Montana, began releasing music under her own name and continued to act, notably in the film "The Last Song" alongside Liam Hemsworth.

As an adult, Cyrus adopted a more edgy appearance and underwent a rebrand.

Despite appearing to distance herself from her Disney days for many years, she was named the youngest Disney Legend at the 2024 D3 expo.

The theme song for "Hannah Montana," "The Best of Both Worlds," was performed by Lainey Wilson during the ceremony.

In her speech, Cyrus mentioned auditioning for "Hannah Montana" at Disney's Burbank office, where it's said that they produce all Disney Kids.

"If I was created in a lab, there must have been a flaw in the system that caused me to malfunction between 2013 and '16."

The audience laughed, and she added, "Sorry, Mickey!"