Look who’s all grown up! After seemingly being show-biz babies for their entire careers, four of the Disney Channel’s most famous alums —all of whom graduated to becoming major players in the pop world—are finally hitting the big 3-0 this year.
Selena Gomez turned 30 last month, while Demi Lovato — who released her new album “Holy Fvck” on Friday — hit the mark on Saturday. And in the upcoming months, both Nick Jonas and Miley Cyrus will join the 30s club too.
At this milestone moment, we look back on how they evolved from the Disney Channel to hitting their fourth decade.
Selena Gomez
Birthdate: July 22, 1992
Disney Channel breakout: She starred as Alex Russo on “The Wizards of Waverly Place” from 2007 to 2012.
Pop power moves: After scoring such Top 10 hits as 2013’s “Come & Get It,” 2015’s “Good for You” and 2016’s “Hands to Myself,” Gomez went all the way to No. 1 with “Lose You to Love Me” in 2019.
Significant others: Gomez dated her fellow Disney Channel star Nick Jonas — even appearing in the the Jonas Brothers’ “Burnin’ Up” video in 2008 — and then had an on-again, off-again relationship with Justin Bieber. She moved on to DJ-producer Zedd before booing up with The Weeknd in 2017. Recently, she has been rumored to be dating Italian movie producer Andrea Lervolino.
Grown-up moment: Gomez has bravely coped with health struggles — both physical and mental. After being diagnosed with lupus in the early ’10s, Gomez received a kidney transplant in 2017. In 2016, she checked into rehab to deal with her anxiety and depression, and then revealed that she had bipolar disorder in 2020.
Life at 30: She’s starring on “Only Murders in the Building,” while still hosting the HBO Max cooking show “Selena + Chef.” She is also working on her fourth solo studio album, the follow-up to 2020’s “Rare.”
Demi Lovato
Birthdate: Aug. 20, 1992
Disney Channel breakout: She played Mitchie Torres in 2008’s “Camp Rock” film and its sequel, “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam,” while also starring as the title character in the series “Sonny with a Chance” from 2009 to 2011.
Pop power moves: After first hitting the Top 10 with “This Is Me,” her 2008 duet with “Camp Rock” co-star Joe Jonas, Lovato returned there with 2011’s “Skyscraper,” 2013’s “Heart Attack” and 2017’s “Sorry Not Sorry.” And she’s earned two Grammy nominations: for her 2015 album “Confident” and for “Fall in Line,” her 2018 duet with Christina Aguilera.
Significant others: Following a brief romance with Joe Jonas, Lovato had an on-again, off-again relationship with actor Wilmer Valderrama from 2010 to 2016. After a broken engagement to actor Max Ehrich in 2020, she’s now dating musician Jutes, with the couple going Insta-official on her birthday Saturday.
Grown-up moment: Lovato, who had an opioid overdose in 2018, has been open about her struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, as well as bulimia, self-harm and bipolar disorder. The now-sober star also came out as non-binary in 2021, adopting they/them pronouns, but she recently returned to using she/her.
Life at 30: Having found happiness in her love life — “I’ve never laughed like this in my life, I’ve never smiled so much,” she wrote on Instagram — Lovato also recently launched her “Holy Fvck” tour that will hit the Beacon Theatre on Oct. 18.
Nick Jonas
Birthdate: Sept. 16, 1992
Disney Channel breakout: He co-starred with his brothers Nick and Joe in both “Camp Rock” and “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam,” as well as the series “Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream” and “Jonas.”
Pop power moves: As the youngest member of the Jonas Brothers, he notched such hits as 2007’s “S.O.S.,” 2008’s “Burnin’ Up” and 2009’s “Tonight.” Then he found solo success with his sexy Top 10 single “Jealous” in 2014 before reuniting with the JoBros to land his first No. 1 hit with “Sucker” in 2019.
Significant others: After dating both Cyrus and Gomez, Jonas coupled up with Australian singer Delta Goodrem and then model Olivia Culpo. But he’s been officially off the market since marrying Priyanka Chopra in 2018.
Grown-up moment: After wearing a purity ring while on the Disney Channel, he became a sex symbol, re-creating Mark Wahlberg’s iconic Calvin Klein underwear ads in 2014. And the adulting of Jonas was complete when he became a dad: He and Chopra welcomed their first child, daughter Malti, in January.
Life at 30: While juggling daddy duty, he moved over from being a judge on “The Voice” to being one on “Dancing with Myself” this summer. And Jonas is set to star as Frankie Valli in the upcoming TV movie adaptation of “Jersey Boys.”
Miley Cyrus
Birthdate: Nov. 23, 1992
Disney Channel breakout: She starred as the title character on the series “Hannah Montana” from 2006 to 2011 and even took the role to the big screen in 2009’s hit film “Hannah Montana: The Movie.”
Pop power moves: After having soundtrack success with “Hannah Montana” — hello, “The Climb” — Cyrus separated herself from the series and her character with Top 5 hits such as 2009’s “Party in the U.S.A.,” 2013’s “We Can’t Stop” and her first No. 1 single, “Wrecking Ball.”
Significant others: Cyrus dated Nick Jonas and model Justin Gaston before beginning an on-again, off-again relationship with her “Last Song” co-star Liam Hemsworth that eventually resulted in the pair getting married in 2018. After the spouses split up in 2019, Cyrus dated Australian singer Cody Simpson until 2020. And now the pop diva is romancing Maxx Morando, drummer in the band Lilly.
Grown-up moment: After Cyrus laid the ghost of Hannah Montana to rest by appearing in the nude in the “Wrecking Ball” video, she famously twerked upon Robin Thicke during their controversial performance at the 2013 VMAS. Then the singer came out as pansexual in 2015.
Life at 30: She launched her Attention Tour and released her “Attention: Miley Live” album earlier this year. Next up: Cyrus will return to host “Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” on NBC to ring in 2023. Meanwhile, she continues to be a passionate advocate for LGBTQ and homeless youth with her Happy Hippie Foundation.
