At 11, Maddie Ziegler boarded a plane to Los Angeles, slipped on a blonde wig, twisted her face sideways and told friends, “Just this little video that’s gonna come out. No one will see it.” The clip? Chandelier. Everyone saw it. It changed her life overnight. Completely.
Fast-forward 11 years. Ziegler is 21 and has thirteen million Instagram followers. And she’s lived several careers already. Reality TV kid on Dance Moms from age eight. Sia’s onstage alter ego. Author at 12. Actor working with Steven Spielberg, Aubrey Plaza, and Jenna Ortega before most people figure out laundry.
“I feel so old in so many ways,” she says. “I just have an old soul.” That happens when your childhood runs on competition schedules and adult expectations. She started dancing at two, competed at four, won national titles by seven. On Dance Moms, she stayed at the top of the pyramid. Offstage, the stress stuck. She’s said much of that time is blocked out.
Perfectionism followed her. It still does. “It’s a work in progress,” she admits. Her trainer clocks it when workouts get brutal. “My ‘little toxic side’ comes out… I start smiling and laughing.”
Acting changed things. Working with Megan Park on The Fallout cracked something open. Leading Fitting In pushed her further, playing a teen diagnosed with MRKH syndrome. They were heavy days but worth it. “I watched it and thought, Wow! I did things I didn’t know I was capable of.”
Since then, she’s been super busy with her acting career.
She’s not that little girl anymore. She’s still dancing. Still acting. Still beautiful.
In December it was announced that Maddie would join the cast of Netflix’s Holidaz. Deadline reports she’ll star opposite Lowe, Graham Phillips, and Elias Kacavas in the romantic comedy directed by Tiffany Paulsen, based on Christina Lauren’s novel.
The story drops Maddie into a festive nightmare: a twenty-something stuck reliving the same Christmas at her family’s cabin after a romantic blunder. Fix the mistake. Repeat the holiday. Grow up a little. After The Fallout and West Side Story, Maddie’s clearly building range.
RELATED: Lisa Bonet Looks Beautiful 41 Years After The Cosby Show Made Her a Star
