After her breakout performance in Step Up and Cheaper by the Dozen as the sports-loving Sarah, and her recurring role on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Stoner took on the part of aspiring producer and dancer Caitlyn Gellar in the hit Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock and its sequel.
Aside from returning for two Step Up follow-up films, Stoner has also voiced characters in the Kingdom Heart video game franchise for almost a decade, as well as Isabella on Disney’s hit animated series Phineas & Ferb.
The 27-year-old penned an essay for Teen Vogue in 2018, opening up about her sexuality and her experience falling in love with a woman—her dance instructor. Stoner also released a single, “When It’s Right,” inspired by the relationship.
She told E! News not long afterwards that coming out was “a little bit scary” but the risk was worth it. She said, “What matters most is that it’s a really exciting, fresh time for me to feel more myself than ever.”
In 2019, Stoner debuted her shaved head in her “Stripped Bare” music video, and later opened up about her previous mental health struggles and overcoming an eating disorder.
“Shaving my head is an act of mental health and confidence, not self-destruction,” she told People. “I can’t tell you how many beliefs and opinions and insecurities fell to the floor with every tuft of hair, and I’m leaving them there.”
Later that same year, she made headlines for stealing the show at the MTV Video Music Awards when she teamed up with Missy Elliott for an epic performance of “Work It,” 17 years after she starred in the music video for the hit song.