Mar 30, 2026 11:04am PT

‘Hannah Montana’ 20th-Anniversary Special Proves Miley Cyrus Survived Disney Channel Stardom — and Prevailed

Daniel D'Addario

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Daniel D'Addario

Chief TV Critic

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Michael Buckner/Variety

Not many child stars escape the Magic Kingdom.

Jodie Foster, who appeared in “Freaky Friday” early in her long career, is a role model — and an exception. For every Disney kid who makes it big, from Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, and the rest of the “All-New Mickey Mouse Club” gang, there are many others who either eventually flame out with painful personal struggles or, locked into star personas attached to them in childhood, just fade away. Shia LaBeouf’s current struggles in the public eye, decades after the Disney Channel audience discovered him on “Even Stevens,” are only the latest example in a timeworn pattern — fame bestowed at an early age is hard to maintain and perhaps harder to survive.

'Hannah Montana' 20th-Anniversary Special Proves Miley Cyrus Survived Disney Channel Stardom — and Prevailed