Bridgit Claire Mendler, born on December 18, 1992, is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. She first became known as a child actress and continued acting into adulthood, which overlapped with a musical career in the 2010s.
A Sagittarius born in Washington, DC, Mendler received a Teen Choice Award nomination for Breakout TV Female Star for her work on Good Luck Charlie in 2010. Her popularity surged even higher when she starred as Olivia in the Disney TV movie Lemonade Mouth in 2011. In 2012, Mendler released her platinum debut studio album, which featured the hit single “Ready or Not,” which peaked at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Sagittarius Influence
Bridgit Mendler was born December 18th, 1992-making her a Sagittarius. Sagittarians are often described as “bold, expansive, restless, frank, positive, and freedom-loving” individuals. Loyal to their core, but with a desire to continually explore and experience new people, ideas and places. They often prefer being on the go rather than sitting still, an adaptability that helps Sagittarians absorb whatever life throws their way.
Mendler is a fine example of the positive, outgoing nature of the Sagittarian personality. Growing up in Mill Valley, California, the future singer was already demonstrating her commitment to creativity and her strong connection to music early on, attending performing arts camp and leading her middle school theater production.
After graduating from high school, Mendler pursued her love of acting, landing part in the Disney Channel’s Good Luck Charlie TV series.
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Her growing success in television and film and natural stage presence pushed Mendler to incorporate music into her career. Her 2011 track “Ready or Not” hit number 9 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart, and Mendler released her debut album Hello My Name Is… in 2012. Her breakdown of genres from pop to country emphasizes her honest and adventurous spirit, spreading her sounds across different audiences.
Mendler went on the create her own record label Ironworks Music, collaborating with Conor Oberst and producing records alongside him in 2013-2014. An indisputable restlessness evident in her music, Bridgit has progressed to other forms of creativity outside of music, taking her onto platforms such as writing books and creating online digital content.
Mendler’s unique ability to adapt to and overcome the many challenges of her career demonstrates her sagittarian drive for exploration and learning. Her willingness to take risks and break the mold of both her genre and profession highlights how Sagittarians thrive in uncharted territory, and respond to obstacles with relentless spirit.
Early Career and Acting Roles
Mendler's early acting credits include the films Alice Upside Down (2007), The Clique (2008) and Labor Pains (2009). After signing with Disney Channel in 2009, she played Juliet van Heusen on Wizards of Waverly Place (2009-2012) and soon rose to fame for her lead role as Teddy Duncan on Good Luck Charlie (2010-2014); she also starred as Olivia White in the original film Lemonade Mouth (2011) for the network.
When she was 13 years old, she got her first acting role as a guest star on the soap opera General Hospital, playing the dream child of character Lulu Spencer. 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.
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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. 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. It became 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. In 2010, Mendler played Teddy Duncan in the Disney Channel series Good Luck Charlie, centering on a teenage girl who makes videos for her baby sister to watch as she gets older.
In 2011, she starred as Olivia White, the lead role in the Disney Channel Original Movie Lemonade Mouth, watched by 5.7 million viewers on its premiere night. Mendler played Teddy Duncan in Shake It Up. Mendler played Teddy Duncan in Jessie and Good Luck Jessie. In 2011, Mendler had the supporting role of Appoline in the straight to DVD film Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2.
Musical Career
Mendler began her music career contributing to the soundtrack of Lemonade Mouth in 2011, which produced her first singles "Somebody" and "Determinate".
Mendler performed numerous songs for the soundtrack of Lemonade Mouth, which was released on April 12, 2011, by Walt Disney Records. The first single released from the soundtrack, titled "Somebody", was released on March 4, and peaked at number 89 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, "Determinate", charted in numerous other countries and peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Mendler recorded the song "This Is My Paradise" for Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2, which was released as a promotional single on January 11, 2011, with a music video directed by Alex Zamm. On March 31, 2011, it was confirmed that Mendler had signed with Hollywood Records, and had begun working on her debut album. The song "I'm Gonna Run to You" was co-written and performed by Mendler, and was also featured in Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!
In Summer 2012, Mendler confirmed that the title of her official debut single was "Ready or Not", written by Mendler herself, Emanuel "Eman" Kiriakou and Evan "Kidd" Bogart. The song was released for digital download on August 7 and for radio airplay on August 21, 2012. "Ready or Not" peaked at 49 in the United States and 53 in Australia, but at number seven in the United Kingdom and within the top twenty of the charts in Belgium, the Republic of Ireland and New Zealand.
Mendler ventured on her first headlining tour, Bridgit Mendler: Live in Concert, supporting her first studio album. The tour primarily reached only North America and she played at state fairs, music festivals and Jingle Ball's concerts series. Mendler's debut album, Hello My Name Is..., was released on October 22 by Hollywood Records and all the songs were written by Mendler with collaborators, included 12 tracks in standard version and 15 in deluxe edition. Mendler was also involved in its production. The album peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200 and sold less than 200,000 copies in the country.
On February 12, 2013, her second single, "Hurricane", was released for radio airplay. The song peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 in the United States. On April 2 Mendler released a remix single version and, on June 21, an EP remixed. Also in June Mendler debuted her second tour, the Summer Tour, reaching only the United States.
In 2013, Mendler began working on a second album. Mendler discussed some of the producers and songwriters she was working with, including Mitch Allan, Dan Book, Alexei Misoul, Augie Ray, Beloryze, TMS, Ina Wroldsen, and Steve Mac. The entire album was rewritten at a point after her computer failed and she lost all of her entries. After initial reports, it was confirmed on July 2, 2015, that Mendler left Hollywood Records earlier in the year.
On August 4, 2016, Mendler announced the title of her new single, "Atlantis", featuring Kaiydo, which was released on August 26, 2016. She released a follow-up single "Do You Miss Me at All" on November 4. Both tracks were featured on her EP Nemesis, which was released on November 18.
Her debut studio album, Hello My Name Is... (2012), reached number 30 on the US Billboard 200 and entered five international charts. Its lead single, "Ready or Not", received platinum certifications in four territories and appeared on ten charts worldwide; "Hurricane" and "Top of the World" were also released. She then independently released an extended play, Nemesis (2016), which earned critical praise and spawned the singles "Atlantis" and "Do You Miss Me at All".
Academic Pursuits and Entrepreneurship
In the 2010s, Mendler studied towards a degree in anthropology at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California. From 2017 to 2023, Mendler was a student and researcher with the MIT Media Lab. She is also registered as a PhD candidate with MIT's Center for Constructive Communications and Social Machines group. In 2024, she became the CEO and co-founder of the satellite data startup Northwood Space, and earned a JD from Harvard Law School.
In 2023, Mendler and her husband founded Northwood Space, a satellite data startup. The venture-backed company, where she is CEO, is based in El Segundo, California, and intends to mass produce satellite ground stations. Mendler told CNBC that the idea for the company was conceived during her stay in New Hampshire during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
She said that "While everybody else was making their sourdough starters, we were building antennas out of random crap we could find at Home Depot."
In an article for Hero magazine with Lemonade Mouth co-star Naomi Scott, Mendler explained her career shift: "I think I started to feel a bit of that disconnect with what I was doing in my day-to-day, in entertainment and started to put out feelers into more of the research domain. Then visiting the MIT media lab, I just felt like it was such fertile territory to explore something about an impact that would go into a different space, and beyond. I palpably remember that point in the transition, because music is always my first love, I love it so deeply, but I remember being at South by Southwest and just feeling… Lonely.
Philanthropy and Activism
From 2010 to 2012, Mendler was an ambassador for nonprofit First Book, which encourages reading, and Give with Target, to raise funds to reform schools in the United States.
In 2010, Mendler became ambassador to First Book, a service that encourages reading and provides books to children in need. In 2011 it became part of Disney's Friends for Change, a pro-social "green" initiative of charity for environmental issues encouraging fans to take action. As campaign theme that year Mendler released a promotional single on June 11, "We Can Change the World", raising $250,000 for the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.
She also participated of the Disney's Friends for Change Games, an Olympic-based televised games aired on theDisney Channel, getting $125,000 donation to UNICEF as Yellow Team captain and also competing for $100,000. But her team lost to the World Wide Fund for Nature. In 2012 Mendler won the honorary award Common Sense Media as Role Model of the Year for her work against bullying.
She also attended the annual UNICEF acoustic concert in New York to raise donations for charity in January 2013. In July 2012 Mendler became ambassador of the campaign Give With Target with department store chain Target to raise funds to reform schools in the United States. The campaign aims to get $1 billion by 2015. To start the Target campaign, they invested $5 million and distributed $25,000 grants to 100 in-need schools for the school year.
Mendler was featured in a March 2013 public campaign Delete Digital Drama with Seventeen magazine to end cyberbullying. About the campaign she said "Being bullied is something I experienced in school and it is not fun...I love working to end cyberbullying. People don't have to push back as much as they would in real life. In November 2013, Mendler participated in the World Challenge Marathon for Save the Children Foundation, a charity race to help children with health problems.
In March 2014, Mendler traveled to the region of El Quiché, Guatemala to participate in the other project of Save the Children that helps underprivileged children in developing countries. On April 8, she launched the Baby Sit In, a campaign that asked for teens to help give parents a break and give babies a healthy start to their life. Mendler represented the institution during the charity congress Save the Children's annual Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C.
Musical Influences
Mendler has cited Bob Dylan as her biggest musical influence. To Ed Condran of Hartford Courant she said that: "You look at what Bob Dylan and artists like him have done and you just can't help but be blown away. I'm just glad I have the opportunity to start with this and I just want to take it as far as I can". In an interview with Disney Channel Netherlands, she revealed that her favorite song was "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" from Dylan's 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.
Also to Trudon, Mendler cited Etta James, Elvis Presley, B. B. King, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, and talked about these artists: "I love that they have soul in their voices. She said hip hop trio Fugees had great influence in her music training and also the recording of the debut album and song "Ready or Not", "One of the writers was like 'Check out this Fugees song, 'Ready or Not'. So we all listened to it and were like that would be kind of fun to do some sort of interpolation off of that song, which is what we did. I think it stands by itself as its own song but it still has that memorable quality of the Fugees song, which is fun.
Mendler says that she is influenced by British neo-soul music, and listed Ellie Goulding, Florence and the Machine, Marina Diamandis, Lily Allen, and Lianne La Havas as her biggest British influences. She has also mentioned Natasha Bedingfield, Broken Bells, Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse.
In 2013, Mendler revealed to have a big admiration for the Adele's musical style. To Disney Channel UK she said that "admire the career of Adele, because she has her own musical style. She does things her way and writes about things she is passionate about. It is really working out well for her". She was also influenced by Canadian artists Feist and Tegan and Sara.
In acting career, Mendler has cited some influences as Jamie Foxx, Natalie Portman and Rachel M..
Bridgit Mendler relied solely on her natural acting talent and bubbly personality to emerge as one of the Disney Channel's biggest discoveries. Mendler bounced around as a supporting player on some of the network's most popular teen shows until she landed a starring role on "Good Luck Charlie" (Disney Channel, 2010- ), a series that marked the return of the family sitcom. Mendler played a teenager who documented her suburban family's life on camera for her baby sister to watch when she grows up.
Bridgit Claire Mendler was born on Dec. 18, 1992 in Washington D.C. The future star moved to Northern California, just outside San Francisco, when she was eight years old. Mendler began to express an interest in acting as a young girl, and pursued an entertainment career by the time she was 13. She landed her first onscreen role in 2006, appearing on the popular daytime series "General Hospital" (ABC, 1963- ).
Mendler's career went full speed ahead in 2009 with a role in the Betty Thomas-directed "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," the follow-up to the hit family film, "Alvin and the Chipmunks" (2007). That same year, she co-starred opposite former Disney darling-turned-tabloid queen Lindsay Lohan in the comedy "Labor Pains." Mendler was cast as the younger sister to Lohan's character, a woman who fakes her own pregnancy in order to save her job.
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Mendler also reportedly auditioned for the lead role on "Sonny with a Chance" (2009- ), a Disney Channel series about a young Midwesterner who moves to California after winning a featured spot on her favorite TV show. Disney Channel, however, took note of Mendler's star potential. In 2009, the network cast her in a recurring role on its hit comedy "Wizards of Waverly Place" (2007-11) as a young vampire who falls in love with a teen wizard (David Henrie) living in New York.
That same year, she was cast as a love interest for another heartthrob, Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. Mendler played a girl who inspired the rocker to write a song about her on an episode of "Jonas" (Disney Channel, 2009-10). Mendler finally landed a starring role on a new Disney Channel sitcom in 2010, "Good Luck Charlie." The series revolved around a suburban family who grows after the birth of their fourth child, Charlotte (aka "Charlie").
Mendler played the eldest child Teddy, who videotapes life around their home and gives on-camera advice to her baby sister. "Good Luck Charlie" also starred comedians Leigh Allyn Baker and Eric Allan Kramer as the parents, and Jason Dolley and Bradley Steven Perry as her troublemaking brothers. The show focused on bringing the family sitcom back to the small screen, but it also launched Mendler - who performed the theme song "Hang in There Baby" - as a Disney Channel breakout star.