Bridgit Mendler

Bridgit Claire Mendler (born December 18, 1992 ) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, executive, and businesswoman.

In 2004, Mendler got her first voice acting role in the animated Indian film The Legend of Buddha, in which she portrayed young Buddha.

When she was 13 years old, she got her first acting role as a guest star on the soap opera General Hospital.

She portrayed the dream child of character Lulu Spencer, in which the two have an argument on Mendler's character's birthday.

The scene, lasting just under a minute, is later revealed to be a dream.

That same year, Mendler was the voice of the character Thorn in the video game Bone: The Great Cow Race, which was based on the Bone comic series.

She first became known as a child actress, with her early credits including the films Alice Upside Down (2007), The Clique (2008) and Labor Pains (2009).

In 2007, Mendler made her film debut in the film adaption of the Alice series, titled Alice Upside Down.

Mendler starred alongside Disney Channel actress Alyson Stoner and Lucas Grabeel.

Mendler portrayed the antagonistic role of Pamela, who is the rival of Stoner's character, Alice.

For the film's soundtrack, Mendler provided backing vocals on the song "Free Spirit", performed by Stoner.

Also in 2007 Mendler auditioned for Sonny with a Chance for the role of Sonny Munroe, but Demi Lovato was chosen.

In 2008, it was announced that Mendler would play the role of Kristen Gregory in the film adaption of the popular teen novel series The Clique by Lisi Harrison.

Mendler had the role of Kristen, a girl who attends OCD on a scholarship, and works hard to keep her good grades.

She had begun working on a film with actress and singer Lindsay Lohan titled Labor Pains, which kept being pushed back due to various conflicts and problems.

She signed with Disney Channel in 2009 and played Juliet van Heusen on Wizards of Waverly Place (2009–2012), Olivia White in the Disney Channel film Lemonade Mouth (2011), and Teddy Duncan on the Disney series Good Luck Charlie (2010–2014).

Though initially slated for a theatrical release, the film did not receive one in the US and was instead released as a TV film on ABC Family in 2009.

The film did, however, receive a theatrical release in countries such as Russia, Romania, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, and Mexico.

The film drew 2.1 million viewers, a better-than-average prime-time audience for ABC Family, and per the network, was the week's top cable film among coveted female demographic groups.

She had a supporting role in the film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

In 2009, Mendler became a recurring character in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place.

Mendler portrayed the role of Juliet Van Heusen, a vampire who later forms a romance with David Henrie's character Justin Russo.

This lasted until the series finale.

Mendler would go on to appear in eleven episodes total for the series, spanning from 2009 to 2012 when the series ended.

Mendler began her music career in the 2010s, making her singing debut contributing to the soundtrack of Lemonade Mouth in 2011.

From 2010 to 2012, she served as ambassador to nonprofit First Book, which encourages reading, and Give with Target, to raise funds to reform schools in the United States.

In the late 2010s, Mendler began focusing on her education.

She signed with Hollywood Records in 2011 and released debut studio album Hello My Name Is... (2012), which peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hit single "Ready or Not".

She then embarked on two concert tours: Bridgit Mendler: Live in Concert (2013) and Summer Tour (2013–2014).

She went on to portray Candace in the NBC sitcom Undateable (2015–2016), Ashley Willerman in the ABC/CMT musical television series Nashville (2017), and Emmy Quinn in the Netflix comedy series Merry Happy Whatever (2019).

She independently released the extended play (EP) Nemesis (2016) under the Black Box record label, and embarked on the Nemesis Tour.

From 2017 to 2023, she was a student and researcher with the MIT Media Lab.

Mendler is also registered as a PhD candidate with MIT's Center for Constructive Communications and Social Machines group.

In 2024, Mendler became the CEO and co-founder of the satellite data startup Northwood Space.

Mendler was born in Washington, D.C. She is the daughter of Sandra (née Ford) Mendler and Charles Mendler, and has a younger brother named Nicholas.

She moved with her family to Mill Valley, California, at the age of eight.

It was there where she first expressed interest in acting and began working in plays.

When she was eight years old, Mendler began taking part in local roles in both dramatic and musical theatre, and became the youngest performer in the San Francisco Fringe Festival.

When she was 11 years old, she hired an agent to help her get acting jobs.

Mendler is the niece of psychologist Christine Blasey Ford.