Though the youth culture juggernaut “High School Musical” (Disney Channel, 2006) launched Ashley Tisdale into seemingly overnight stardom, the actress/singer had been building a career in both film and television since the age of three.Born Ashley Michelle Tisdale in West Deal, NJ, on July 2, 1985, Tisdale’s family had always had a tinge of stardom to it; her grandfather, Arnold Morris, was the pitchman for Ginsu knives, and her cousin was famed TV infomercial personality Ron Popeil. Discovered at age 3 by talent manager Bill Perlman, at a mall in her home state, Tisdale quickly booked a JC Penny spot, which led to appearances in over 100 national network commercials. At age eight, Tisdale was starring in the national touring company of “Les Miserables,” followed by an international tour for “Annie” and a performance at the White House by age 12. Seeing that their daughter’s career was gaining momentum, her family, including her sister Jennifer (also an actress), relocated to Valencia, CA when the future star was in the eighth grade.
Tisdale’s first credited role was as a voice in the English-language version of the Japanese animated feature, “Whisper of The Heart” (1995). Numerous television appearances followed, including episodes of “7th Heaven” (WB, 1996-2006) and “Boston Public” (Fox, 2000-04). She also turned up in the 2001 cult film “Donnie Darko” under the less-than-charitable name of “Dorky Girl.” More television followed, including repeat appearances on “The Hughleys” (ABC, 1998-2002), “George Lopez” (ABC, 2002- ) and “Still Standing” (CBS, 2002- ), as well as single guest roles on “Malcolm in the Middle” (Fox, 2000-06) and “Charmed” (WB, 1998-2006).
In 2005, Tisdale was cast in the Disney Channel series “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (2005- ) as Maddie Corwin, the series’ Girl Friday and babysitter to leads Dylan and Cole Sprouse, who played the rambunctious title twins. The show was second only to “That’s So Raven” (Disney Channel, 2003- ) in terms of network popularity and ratings. Tisdale reportedly auditioned for the roles of both Maddie and her foil, London (played on the show by Brenda Strong, a real-life close friend of Tisdale’s).
Having already proven herself in a Disney production, Tisdale was cast alongside fellow budding teen stars Zac Efron, Corbin Bleu, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Lucas Grabeel, and Monique Coleman in a TV movie that would feature both singing and dancing. The result – “High School Musical” – seemingly came out of nowhere and earned the highest ratings for a Disney production in the network’s history. In addition, the soundtrack, which featured Tisdale performing several numbers, was certified as three-times platinum by the RIAA. The unexpected runaway success of both the film and the soundtrack helped place Tisdale in the music history books as the only female performer to have two singles (“Bop to the Top” and “We’re All in This Together”) debut simultaneously on the “Billboard” Hot 100 chart. In 2006, Tisdale also found time to contribute a version of “Someday My Prince Will Come” to the Disneymania 4 CD.
