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| Image courtesy upi.com |
On this day, in 1988,
Brenda Song was born in Carmichael, California. The daughter of Thai
immigrants, Brenda began her professional career as a fashion model in San
Francisco long before she ever opened a schoolbook. By the time she was six,
she’d already appeared in two big commercials, one for Little Caesars Pizza and
one for Barbie dolls. Her first film role was in an AFI student short directed
by Elizabeth Sung, Requiem (1995). That
led to a thirteen episode run on a Nickelodeon show, 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd, in 1999 and guest appearances on
numerous other shows, including one on The
Bernie Mack Show that earned her a Young Artist Award nomination.
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| Image copyright Disney |
Brenda’s first gig for Disney came in 2000 when she starred
in The Ultimate Christmas Present on
the Disney Channel. She won a Young Artist Award for that performance and was
ultimately asked to sign a contract with the company in 2002. That year she starred
in the Disney Channel movie Get a Clue
with Lindsay Lohan. She then appeared on That’s
So Raven, had the recurring role of Tia on Phil of the Future and then starred in Stuck in the Suburbs.
In 2005, Brenda began playing her longest running role to
date: the spoiled hotel heiress London Tipton. Beginning her run as London on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, she
would continue being cluelessly rich when the series shifted gears and became The Suite Life on Deck in 2008.
Personally, Brenda and Phill Lewis, who played Mr. Moseby, were the only two
people worth watching on either show (yes, I’ve seen multiple episodes of them;
I have kids of a certain age).
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| Image copyright Disney |
Once Suite Life
took off, Brenda became a regular on all things Disney Channel. Brenda leant her voice to the American Dragon: Jake Long series, The Emperor’s New School and Phineas
and Ferb. She made guest appearances
on Wizards of Waverly Place and the Disney Games. She had a supporting role
in Wendy Hu: Homecoming Warrior until
the producers realized she had a black belt in taekwondo and recast her as the
title character. In 2009, her Suite Life
persona became one of the longest running characters in Disney Channel history.
Following
the end of The Suite Life on Deck in
2011, Brenda began to take on projects outside of Disney. She appeared in
Columbia Picture’s The Social Network,
starred in an award winning short film, First
Kiss, and had recurring roles in Scandal
and New Girl on television. In 2013,
she landed a starring role in the Fox comedy Dads, but the show only lasted one season. Since then, Brenda has
appeared in a number of pilots for shows that didn’t manage to get picked up but
don’t feel too bad for her. She currently has three projects in some stage of production:
a Netflix movie, Secret Obsession,
Seth Green’s directorial debut, Changeland,
and a new animated series from the creator of Gravity Falls, Amphibia,
for the Disney Channel. Brenda’s career is going to be just fine.
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