Kids who gets cast in Disney Channel productions have a challenging road ahead. Being famous isn’t always easy, and it’s especially challenging for young people. But they do have each other to turn to. That’s exactly what Liv and Maddie star Dove Cameron did after landing her gig with the Disney show when she was only 16-years-old.
The young actress told Buzzfeed in an interview at the New York iHeartRadio Jingle Ball event this week that she got great advice and support from Disney favorite Selena Gomez.
“When I first started out on Disney Channel, the head of the network at the time, Gary Marsh, was also the person who had discovered Selena [Gomez],” she began. “I owe him everything, what he did for me and my career.”
Gomez starred in the massive Disney hit Wizards of Waverly Place, which ended close to the start of Cameron’s career with the children’s TV channel.
Cameron continued, “He loved Selena and he was like, ‘I really want you to do me a favor, would you go and meet with Selena? She can talk to you about what this is about to be because you’re life’s going to change.’”
The young actress was happy to oblige and had a wonderful experience.
“She was really kind,” Cameron said of Gomez. “She had me over to her house. I had never even done anything, I wasn’t doing interviews or anything. We sat at her kitchen table for hours, I think she offered to make me toast….She gave me some advice on what not to do, and definitely things to do. For a couple months following that I would text her in a panic being like, ‘I don’t know what to do, I’ve never done this before!’ And she’s like, ‘Be yourself, everybody wants you to be yourself. You’re gonna kill it.’ That was really important to me.”
Girls supporting girls who star in Disney programs.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.