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You first met them when they were kids ... now, they have kids of their own!
Disney Channel stars of the early aughts ruled the network as tweens and teens but since their shows wrapped, they’ve done a lot of growing up.
In fact, many of the network’s most recognizable stars have now tied the knot and taken on parenting duties. While some of them are still in the spotlight, others have chosen to live a more simple life off camera with their families. No matter what they’ve chosen, it’s clear that they’re doing a great job in this new phase of their lives!
Find out which Disney stars are now parents…
1. Bridgit Mendler
Good Luck Charlie alum Bridgit Mendler recently revealed that she and her husband Griffin Cleverly adopted a little boy in 2022. She explained that they had begun fostering him the year prior and then made things official around Christmas time.
“I’m a mama to a sweet 4yo boy,” Bridgit wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Started fostering in 2021 adopted near Christmas of 2022. I’m so lucky—being a parent is the biggest gift and most defining experience there is.”
2. Kevin Jonas
Kevin Jonas was the first of his famous brothers to welcome children. After tying the knot with his wife Danielle, they welcomed their daughter Alena in 2014 and then two years later, they expanded their family with their daughter Valentina. While Kevin loves being a dad, he says it can be difficult to balance family time now that the band is back on the road.
“It’s hard,” Kevin shared on the Chicks in the Office podcast. “I fly home as much as I can. Say we have a day off, [I] get up at 5 and fly home, turn it around the next morning, and I’ll be home for 18 hours. There isn’t much of a balance … but at least you’re there.”
3. Joe Jonas
Kevin’s younger brother Joe Jonas also has two children. Shortly after getting married to his ex-wife Sophie Turner, the couple welcomed two little girls: Willa and Delphine. Although Joe keeps the lives of his daughters incredibly private, he says being a dad has made him a better person because he’s become more present for his loved ones.
“It’s changed me a lot, I think it’s maybe for the better. And ultimately as a bandmate, you’re a little bit more emotional with these songs that you’re writing and the things you’re going through, the stories you’re telling and you want to share and the relations that you have around you,” Joe told Access Hollywood.
4. Nick Jonas
In early 2022, Nick Jonas and his wife Priyanka Chopra welcomed their daughter Malti via surrogate. Malti spent the first few months of her life in the NICU but after 100 days, she was finally able to come home. While reflecting on how fatherhood changed him, Nick shared that it had given him a new perspective on life.
“The weight of everything is much more intense. I think it’s now about trying to be as present as possible and as thoughtful as you can be for your family, but also for other people’s journeys. I’m so grateful for [Malti] and the wonderful perspective of being a parent,” Nick shared with Variety.
5. Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff became a mom for the first time when she and ex-husband Mike Comrie welcomed their son Luca. Although she and Comrie eventually split, Hilary has gone on to welcome three daughters, Banks, Mae and newborn Townes with her second husband Matthew Koma. While she says motherhood can be “f--king hard,” it’s an “endlessly rewarding” job.
“I just love watching my kids form into their own individual unique selves,” she told Shape. “I love my loud household with mayhem and the craziness and all the love and all the dirt. I love [parenting] with my husband. I love feeling like hugs and cuddles can make everything better. I love the pressure of being like, ‘How the f--k are we going to make it through this day?’ And making it through the day and being like, ‘I don’t know how everyone is tucked in and fed and happy after all the things we’ve had to do today.’”
6. Brenda Song
Suite Life of Zack & Cody star Brenda Song and her fiancée Macaulay Culkin share two children. While they keep their personal lives very private, Brenda says becoming parents has forced the couple to figure out how to keep their lives in balance.
“The balance is always tough but, you know, you just gotta make it work. One thing that I’ve always said is for me to be able to be the best mom, I have to be the best me, and part of that is work, and going out, and continuing to enjoy life,” Brenda told E! News, adding, “We really don't get out of the house. We eat, we eat and we hang out. We spend a lot of time together, when we have time off we like to go out and eat.”
7. Shia LaBeouf
Former Even Stevens star Shia LaBeouf became a dad for the first time in early 2022. Shia and his wife Mia Goth welcomed a daughter named Isabel, which he says made him feel like he got “some kind of weird reset button” for how he lives his life. He explained that he now wants to become a better person and make amends with the “long list of people” he’s hurt in the past.
“There's a lot I need to work on,” he said on the Real Ones with Jon Bernthal podcast. “Having a daughter and knowing that your daughter is one day gonna search your name in a search engine and see that you are a deplorable, disgusting piece of s--t, that s--t hits. I have now until she's literate to create a relationship with her where she knows me more than this idea of who I am in the public.”
8. Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Tisdale rose to fame on Suite Life of Zack & Cody and High School Musical and she’s now added the title of mom to her resume. Ashley and her husband Christopher French share a daughter named Jupiter. She says being a mom has changed her life “in so many ways.”
“It’s pretty amazing. I’m not just thinking of myself but now with everything I do I’m thinking of this beautiful little creature I brought into the world,” Ashley told AOL. “I feel like I have more of a purpose now.”
In March, she revealed she's expecting her second child.
9. David Henrie
Wizards of Waverly Place star David Henrie and his wife Maria Cahill are parents to three children: Pia, James, and Gemma. While they’re proud parents now, their journey to welcoming children wasn’t easy. Maria unfortunately had three miscarriages before the couple was able to welcome their first child.
“While it was insanely difficult recovering from miscarriage after miscarriage, we knew if we were ever going to be able to hold a baby of our own in our arms that we must not let the tragedy affect our marriage, but rather grow closer together!” David wrote on Instagram. “The reason Pia’s middle name is Francesca is because I personally asked pope Francis to pray for Maria and I to have a baby. He took our hands, held them together, said a special blessing, then looked up and told me not to worry that a baby would be coming - that was pretty much exactly nine months ago.”
10. Tia Mowry
Tia Mowry, who starred in the Disney Channel movie Twitches, is now a mom of two children. She shares Cree and Cairo with her ex-husband Cory Hardrict. When it comes to parenting, Tia says her favorite thing is watching her children blossom.
“I love watching my children grow up. Even when I was pregnant, I loved experiencing the entire process. It's really a miracle,” she once told People. “They start out as a little tiny circle, then you hear their heartbeat, and now they've grown into beautiful little human beings. It’s so fascinating to see how they evolve, and even more fascinating to be a part of that process.”
11. Tamera Mowry
Tia’s twin sister Tamera Mowry is also a mom. Tamera and her husband Adam Housley share a son named Aden and a daughter named Ariah. As for the most important thing she’s learned from being a parent, Tamera says she now has so much more patience.
“Motherhood taught me patience, not only patience with my children but with myself. There are times when your children may be going through a milestone, and you start worrying, but eventually, they get through it. Everyone has their own journey, their own time,” Tamera told Ebony.
12. Christy Carlson Romano
Christy Carlson Romano is known for her many different roles on Disney Channel, including a starring role on Even Stevens and the DCOM Cadet Kelly. Since her Disney days, Christy and her husband Brendan Rooney have welcomed two daughters, Sophia and Isabella. As a mom of two, Christy says her daughters definitely impact the kind of work she does in the entertainment industry.
“Since becoming a mom, I’ve decided to become more vocal about the things that affect my community -- not only am I a mom, but I am a former child actor. I am uniquely qualified to become an advocate for other child actors,” she told Grazia USA. “There needs to be more advocates and mentorship. I want to do that in the future.”
13. KayCee Stroh
High School Musical actress KayCee Stroh became a mom for the first time when she and her husband Ben Higginson welcomed their daughter Zetta back in 2013. Then, two years later, they expanded their family once again with their daughter Lettie.
Reflecting on motherhood, KayCee says her two daughters are her family’s “entire world!”
14. Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Panabaker, who starred in DCOMs like Stuck in the Suburbs and Read It and Weep, became a mom for the first time in 2020. The actress and her husband Hayes Robbins then welcomed their second child in 2022. The couple have been incredibly private about their children but Danielle has shared that becoming a mom was a life-changing experience.
“I don’t know that there’s a facet of my life that hasn’t been changed. You know, it’s cliche to say that your priorities change but the things that are important are different all of a sudden and the things that were important before I was a mom are still important to me but there’s just like other factors,” Danielle said on the BlahBlahBlah with Katee Sackhoff podcast.
15. Kirsten Storms
Kirsten Storms got her start starring in the DCOM Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. After tying the knot with her ex-husband Brandon Barash, they welcomed a daughter named Harper in 2014. The couple have since split but Kirsten says they make great co-parents because they always put their daughter first.
“The fact that we all put Harper and her needs first is what makes it work because I respect Brandon because he loves our child so much. I can let go of the negativity that we [had]. It’s such a small thing in life. If you think about life as, like, a whole big thing that we all go through, it’s such a small portion that we were negative towards each other and we can make the rest of it better and happy and give our daughter the life that she deserves,” Kirsten said on the State Of Mind with Maurice Benard podcast.
16. Kyla Pratt
Kyla Pratt and her longtime partner, Danny Kirkpatrick, are the parents of two daughters, Lyric and Liyah. They also share a son named Danny Jr. from one of Danny’s previous relationships. While she admits it’s “hard” to juggle being a mom with her career, she says her children make it all worth it.
“I also have to remind myself that I’ve always wanted everything. I’ve always said that as a woman, that I can have everything. I can be a mom, I can work…I gotta be happy too. I gotta continue what I want to do to make sure that I can be the best for my babies. If mommy don’t follow her dreams then what my babies gone think,” she said on MadameNoire’s Moms on the Move series.
17. Tiffany Thornton
Tiffany Thornton, who was once a star on Sonny with a Chance, is the proud mom of four children. She welcomed her sons Kenneth and Bentley with her late husband Chris Carney and became a mom again after tying the knot with Josiah Capaci. The couple have since welcomed their daughters Juliet and Kimber.
“Motherhood: stressful but rewarding, hard but always worth it. Sleepy but blessed 😇,” Tiffany wrote on Instagram in 2022.
18. Sabrina Bryan
Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan and her husband Jordan Lundberg are proud parents to two children: a little girl named Monroe and a boy named Ledger. Sabrina says that bringing home her baby boy to meet Monroe was like a dream.
“Living in a blissful daze, watching my daughter instantly fall madly in love with her baby brother, my husband beam with pride over his son, and my hearts nonstop flutters while embracing this beautiful blessing has me floating on a cloud. All of my boy mom dreams have come true and I hope my feet never touch the ground!” Sabrina wrote on Instagram.
