Disney Channel and Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images
- Ashley Tisdale sang and acted her way into being a household name with several iconic Disney roles.
- Since then, she's started a business and opened up about her days as a child actor.
- Tisdale said her favorite childhood memory was working, at 8 years old — and she knows it's weird.
Ashley Tisdale became a household name with her memorable turns as Sharpay in Disney mega-hit "High School Musical," and Maddie Fitzpatrick in "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody." She even voiced Candace on another Disney-nostalgia staple, animated series-classic "Phineas and Ferb," and was also the first woman to debut with two songs that hit Billboard Hot 100 chart at the same time, with the "High School Musical" songs, "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top."
Tisdale has been open about some of the personal aspects of her life as a self-care advocate for quite some time — from her struggle with alopecia, to navigating early motherhood, and fighting stigma around baby-feeding.
In a recent interview with Elle, Tisdale reflected on her Disney days and her early life as a child-actor. When asked about her favorite childhood memory, she said her happiest time was working as a kid. "I've been working since I was 3 years old," she said. "I got to do the national tour of 'Les Misérables' when I was 8," and "it was an amazing experience."
She's since realized that going on tour to work at such an early age, though she "absolutely loved" it, probably isn't the most normal favorite childhood memory. "I thought that was normal for an 8-year-old. Looking back, that is not normal."
Tisdale wasn't separated from her family, after all — she said her mom traveled with her, and her dad and sister met them at almost every city stop. Even though she knows it was unconventional, looking back on it as an adult, she said, "It was something I absolutely loved. It was so hard to get me off the tour. I was obsessed with it."
She's since explored other hobbies and interests apart from acting and singing, like her interior design work, which has been featured in Architectural Digest, and her Target self-care line "Being Frenshe." Although acting remains her first love, Tisdale says that her business is a special point of pride for her. "When you see a product, or you see a show that you had a part in developing, there's something more to it. You're just so proud. It's a piece of me. You have to share."