Growing up in the public eye! Maia Mitchell made her TV debut in her native Australia before taking her talents to the United States. The actress became a household name after starring as McKenzie in Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Movie film franchise. From there, she nabbed her iconic role as Callie Adams Foster, which she played from 2013 until 2022 in two shows: The Fosters and Good Trouble.
“I definitely, since my Disney days, have made an effort to delve a little deeper,” Maia told InStyle about her career in an interview originally published in June 2019. “Good Trouble was another really good opportunity to do that. It was a character that I know really well but put in a different light. It’s a little more sophisticated, which was exciting. Some of the themes are … I don’t know if they’re dark, but they’re definitely more serious.”
During the same interview, the former Freeform star got real about her decision to move from Australia to Los Angeles at the age of 18.
“My career is going great and that’s my first priority. So, I will stay here,” she shared. “It’s been a really interesting time of just re-shifting my plans, where I’m at, and being kind to myself in that. It’s been a really weird year.”
Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Maia changed her mind and put Callie Adams Foster in the past to head back home.
“I know there will be a lot of questions, and after sticking by me for so many years, you deserve transparency,” the actress wrote on Instagram in March 2022 following her final episode of Good Trouble. “Ten years ago, I auditioned for a little pilot called The Fosters. I was 19 with no clue of the luck I had stumbled upon. Years later, I was able to continue my journey as Callie when we formed the Good Trouble family. Two shows, 156 episodes, and a chosen family for life. Lucky me.”
However, she explained that she has “suppressed an undeniable gravitational pull to return home to Australia to be closer to my nearest and dearest.” Maia wrote, “Thus came the need to create the space to split my time between both countries.”
Eventually, she made the decision to move on. But there are still projects for Maia in the future.
Click through our gallery to see her transformation over the years.
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