From internet personality to Disney Channel star! Ariel Martin — otherwise known as Baby Ariel — got her start on the now-defunct Musical.ly app, which has since been turned into TikTok. Following a slew of successful lip-syncing videos, the Florida native kicked off an acting and singing career.

Over the years, Ariel released various singles before dropping her debut EP, Blue, in July 2021. Years prior, the songstress gushed about growing up and finally finding her footing with music.

“The song and video tell the story of two kids — and me in general — who are learning to accept themselves for who they are,” she told Billboard in October 2019 when promoting her “Wildside” single. “It’s a journey of self-exploration and being confident enough to share yourself with the world.”

Ariel continued, explaining that she’s “always felt this pressure to be a certain way” after growing up in the public eye.

“I’ve gotten to the point where if I continue letting other people’s opinions affect me, I’m going to explode,” the “Perf” singer added, revealing that she’s living life on her own terms. That includes looking forward to the future.

“I’ve been obsessed with movies my entire life, and one of my big goals is to direct movies one day,” she told Billboard of the music video that she directed. “To be able to get in there and create characters and write a story … to color the video, choose how I want every little thing to look, the way I want the camera to be set up, the way I want the world to look … It was just a dream for me.”

While she’s yet to make her directorial debut on a film, Ariel has also become a Disney Channel star thanks to the ZOMBIES film franchise. When the second movie premiered in 2020, she made her debut as Wynter the werewolf. She reprised the role for ZOMBIES 3 in 2022.

“I’m really lucky that [Wynter’s] on the football team. I don’t think you see that often, like a girl on a football team,” the actress told J-14 exclusively about her character’s evolution throughout the two movies. “Being able to play that and show a lot of girls out there like, you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to fit into this box. If you want to play football, if you want go play any sport, you can do it.”

Scroll through our gallery to see Ariel’s total transformation over the years. 

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