Debby Ryan

Background

If you watched the Disney Channel in the late 2000s and early 2010s, then we’re sure you found Debby Ryan’s face one that was hard to miss. She was the true embodiment of a Disney star at the time, and while her Disney years are now over, she hasn’t lost that passion for acting that made her a star in the first place. Ryan was born Deborah Ann Ryan in Huntsville, Alabama. Her zodiac sign is Taurus and she is Irish. She is the daughter of Chris Ryan and Sandy Popp Ryan and has one brother named Chase. When she was very young, her family moved to Germany because of her father’s job as a civilian consultant to the military and she lived there until she was 10. There, she began her acting career quite young and started performing in professional theater productions at the age of seven. After that, her family relocated to Texas and Ryan started to appear in commercials in her teenage years. Finally, in 2006, she made her television debut on the “Barney and Friends” show, which led to her film debut a year later in “Barney: Let’s Go to the Firehouse.” She then had her first major role in the film “The Longshots” (2008).

However, her breakthrough wouldn’t come until later in that same year, when Ryan joined the cast of the Disney Channel original series “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” for the show’s spin-off, “The Suite Life On Deck,” which also aired on Disney Channel. In the year it premiered, it became the number-one top-scripted television series for teens, beating well-established shows such as “Hannah Montana” and “Wizards of Waverly Place.” In 2010, she starred in the young adult Disney Channel original movie “16 wishes,” which introduced her to new demographics. In 2011, she made her debut as a musician and released the promotional single ‘Made of Matches,’ which was the theme of Discovery Family’s R.L. Stine’s “The Haunting Hour.” In the same year, Ryan starred in “The Suite Life Movie,” after which the show ended its run. After that she dropped her debut solo single, ‘We Ended Right,’ released through a label she had founded with her brother. Also in 2011, Ryan began to star in a new Disney Channel series called “Jessie,” this time with her as the protagonist. Ryan helped create the show and her character, and she also directed one of its episodes, which made her the youngest woman to ever direct a Disney Channel production.

The following year, she starred in the Disney Channel original movie “Radio Rebel,” and released a cover of The Go-Go’s ‘We Got the Beat’ as the promotional single for the film. In 2012, she lent her voice to the character of Spike in the “Tinker Bell” animated movie franchise. In that same year, Ryan formed her indie band, The Never Ending. The following year, the band released their debut single ‘Mulholland Drive’ and their first E.P., “One.” In 2015, the band released their second single, ‘Secondhand,’ and “Jessie” ended its run. In 2016, Ryan started moving toward more adult roles and starred in season two of NBC’s “The Mysteries of Laura.” That same year, she also starred in the YouTube Red series “Sing It!,” created by The Fine Brothers. In 2017, she joined the VH1 drama series “Daytime Divas.” In 2018, she starred in the Netflix hit dark comedy series “Insatiable,” which was canceled after two seasons in 2020. After that, she starred alongside Alison Brie in the Netflix drama film “Horse Girl”, the comedy film “The Opening Act,” and the Netflix thriller film “Night Teeth” (2021). During this time, she also married Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun.