America’s Angel — that’s what they called her! Madison Pettis is known for her role as the president’s daughter, Sophie Martinez, on Disney Channel’s Cory in the House, but now, she’s all grown up.
Following her breakout role in the fan-favorite series, which aired from January 2007 to September 2008, the actress went on to have a major movie career. Most notably, she appeared alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in The Game Plan, which premiered in 2007. While some fans are accustomed to seeing Madison as a youngster, she’s definitely not a kid anymore! In fact, she even graduated high school in 2016 and has continued to succeed in Hollywood since then!
“There are so many reasons why people get into the entertainment besides the pure joy,” the actress told LeFair Magazine in November 2018. “So many people are in it to be famous, make money or get followers but if your heart isn’t in it, then it’s not a great industry to be in. There is a lot of competition and rejection. What keeps me going in such a hard industry is being on set and being inspired by other people who want to make art that they’re proud of, whether it makes people laugh and feel good or makes them emotional and touches on important topics. If you have a genuine love for it go for it. Work hard and practice all the time. It’s very hard and very challenging. I’ve been doing it for 13 years and I’m proud of where I am, but I’m still nowhere near where I want to be. Don’t give up.”
When it comes to her career, Madison has never given up. In fact, she started to take more mature roles.
“I never wanted to just hit people over the head with it and be like, ‘I’m not a little girl anymore,’” she explained to Teen Vogue in August 2021. “People always made jokes. It was like, ‘You’re my entire childhood.’ And then, slowly as I’ve gotten older and done more mature roles, been a little sexier, people are like, ‘Oh my god, you’re ruining my childhood.’ I’m like, you have to get with the progression.”
When it comes to her work, Madison’s just happy that people watch what she does.
“It’s just fun for people to view these projects,” she told the magazine. “I’ve worked consistently since I was a child, but if you haven’t seen anything since then, it’s like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I try to pick projects that I’m just passionate about that bring something different, something I’ve never played before.”
Scroll through our gallery and talk a walk down memory lane to relive the actress’ roles from her Disney days to now.
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