Demi Lovato Has Quite The Story
From Disney star to punk princess, Demi Lovato is not your typical millennial. Whether you’re a fan of the actress-turned-singer or not, it’s safe to say she’s had a pretty interesting life so far.
Janette Pellegrini and Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Contributors via Getty Images
1. Off Screen Fans
In the Disney film Camp Rock, Lovato played Mitchie. During her solo (when she sang “This Is Me”), both The Jonas Brothers and Lovato’s own parents were in the audience watching her.
Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock
2. Let’s Go, Cowboys!
Turns out, being a performer is in Lovato’s blood. Though her mother, Dianna De La Garza, wasn’t an actress or a singer, she was a professional cheerleader. Mama De La Garza was a former cheerleader for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.
Brandon Williams, Getty Images
3. Sisterly Love
Lovato has two sisters: an old sister named Dallas (perhaps a nod to her mother’s career as a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys?), and a half-sister through her mother, fellow actress Madison De La Garza.
4. Family Legacy
Lovato has a pretty cool (not to mention diverse!) family history. Her mother has English and Irish ancestry, while her father is Mexican, as well as Portuguese and Jewish. More than that, Lovato is a descendant of an American Civil War veteran and a Mexican governor. She is distantly related to Union soldier Francisco Perea and a governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico, Francisco Xavier Chavez.
5. American Idol
As a young person growing up in the entertainment industry, Lovato has been influenced by a lot of other artists. Her biggest influences? Christina Aguilera and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. She’s also a huge fan of Britney Spears, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Aretha Franklin, Keri Hilson, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Billie Holiday.
6. Editor-in-Chief
In addition to being a killer actress and singer, Lovato is also a writer! Back in 2011, she became a contributing editor for Seventeen magazine. This was in the wake of her going public with her mental illness and addiction. The articles she wrote described her experiences and struggles.
7. Titanic Fan
Though we first came to know Lovato as a teenager on Disney, she started singing well before her adolescent years. In fact, her first public performance was at a kindergarten talent show. She sang the hit Celine Dion song, “My Heart Will Go On.”
8. Long-time Friends
Everyone knows Lovato and fellow Disney star Selena Gomez have had a rather tumultuous friendship. However, few people know that they were bffs long before their teenage years. The two first became friends at the age of seven, when they appeared together on the children’s television show Barney & Friends.
9. Toddlers & Tiaras
Actress, singer, and beauty queen—what can’t Lovato do? A native of Dallas, Texas, she was crowned Mini Miss Texas in 2000-2001.
10. Best Day Ever
Lovato was catapulted to Disney stardom in the span of just 24 hours. Over the course of one day, she auditioned for and was cast in both Camp Rock and Sonny With A Chance. Safe to say, this was probably one of the best days of the young star’s life.
11. Stars Are Just Like Us
Since Lovato is a successful star, it might be hard to believe that as a kid, she was bullied. It got so bad that by seventh grade, she asked her mom to let her be homeschooled.
12. Candy Addict
Lovato’s guilty pleasure? Sweets! She’s admitted to being a sucker for Aero chocolate bars, M&Ms, and Rice Krispie squares.
13. Film Buff
Lovato has stated that her favorite films are Donnie Darko and Girl, Interrupted.
Columbia Pictures, Girl, Interrupted (1999)
14. YouTube Stars
Add YouTube star to Lovato’s list of accomplishments! As a teen, she and Gomez used to host their own YouTube show aptly called The Demi and Selena Show.
Jean-Paul Aussenard, Getty Images
15. My Heart Will Go On
Along with every other girl who grew up watching Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio was her first celeb crush.
16. Second Time’s the Charm
Though Camp Rock and Sonny With A Chance were Lovato’s breakout roles, she had previously been cast in the Disney series As the Bell Rings. However, her road to being cast wasn’t easy. In fact, she had to attend two Disney tryouts before winning the role. The first tryout was in Austin, which was also attended by Gomez, and the second was in Dallas. It was at this second Disney talent search event that she landed the role in As the Bell Rings.
17. Disney Star Love
Showing a little love to the Disney Channel stars that came before her, Lovato admitted in an interview with Access Hollywood that she’s a huge fan of Hilary Duff. Other A-listers she looks up to? Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Matt Damon.
18. Treat Yourself
Everyone needs to treat themselves from time to time. Demi’s instant pick-me-up? Getting a manicure!
19. Boyfriend Material
Though you may have assumed Lovato and ex-boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama met at some swanky Hollywood party, they actually met at the actor’s home. They were shooting a public service announcement for Voto Latino in 2010, they started talking, and the rest is history!
20. #Wanderlust
Lovato travels the world to perform for fans, but there’s one place she had yet to visit in 2014: Fiji. According to the star, the picturesque Pacific Island was #1 on her travel list!
21. We All Scream For Ice Cream
Whether you’re a fan of mint chocolate chip, chocolate fudge, or plain old vanilla, one thing we can all agree on is that ice cream is downright delicious. Lovato herself is a fan of the icy treat, and has stated her favorite flavor is chocolate chip cookie dough.
22. Overachiever
Lovato was a major overachiever when it came to school. In fact, she graduated high school in 2009, one year early!
Dooley Productions, Shutterstock
23. My Super Sweet Sixteen
Unlike the lavish parties thrown on hit MTV show My Super Sweet 16, Lovato rang in her 16th at homegrown American restaurant chain Applebee’s.
Anthony92931, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
24. Risk Taker
One of Lovato’s biggest fears? Sharks! Most of us aren’t brave enough to face our fears head on, but this is exactly what Lovato did. In 2014, she travelled to Bora Bora, where she and Wilmer Valderrama swam with black tip sharks.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin, Getty Images
25. A Wish Is a Dream Your Heart Makes
Some of you may remember that Lovato recorded a version of “Let It Go” from the hit Disney film Frozen. Despite her attachment to the film, Elsa and Anna are not her favorite Disney princesses. She’s stated that her favorite princess is in fact Cinderella.
Walt Disney, Cinderella (1950)
26. Starbucks Lover
A major Starbucks addict, Lovato has admitted that she can't live without green iced tea from Starbucks. Generally speaking, the artist prefers tea to coffee.
27. Marvel Superpower
When asked what superpower she wishes she had, she gave a practical answer: teleportation. According to the star, she has to travel so much for work that having the ability to instantly transport herself to another city would be pretty handy.
28. Annoying Allergies
Lovato has major allergies when it comes to cats. According to the star, if she’s within 10 feet of a cat, she’ll have an allergy attack. She’s also stated that her allergies sometimes extend to dogs, but it depends on the type of dog.
29. Getting It Together
When she was just a teenager, Demi was so addicted to substances, she couldn’t even go more than an hour without a hit, and she only hit rock bottom after a violent incident on a private tour plane. She got in trouble with her management for partying the night before, and felt that one of her backup dancers had ratted her out, so she punched the dancer in the face. After the altercation, Lovato ended up leaving the tour to join a treatment facility. The road to recovery was rocky: as Lovato says, "I had a sober companion, somebody who was watching me 24/7 and living with me [and] I was able to hide it [the substance use] from them as well." However, Lovato has now been sober for years.
Jamie Lamor Thompson, Shutterstock
30. Food Fight
Although Lovato has been through so much, and has battled against her substance addiction, there's still one demon she has yet to conquer: her eating disorder. Lovato says she has suffered from compulsive overeating and bulimia since she was 8 or 9. As she says, “I had started working at that time and was under a lot of stress so I would bake cookies for my family and I would eat all of them and nobody would have any to eat. That was my first memory of food being that medicine for me.” She admits that “food is still the biggest challenge in my life.”
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