What The Cast Of The Mickey Mouse Club Is Doing Today
In 1989, when Disney was preparing to launch The Disney Channel, the studio resurrected one of its most iconic properties: The Mickey Mouse Club. On a show called "The All New Mickey Mouse Club," "MMC" for short, the mouse house once more assembled a group of talented kids to entertain the youth of America. They performed skits, sang songs, interviewed celebrities, and taught young people about their place in the world. Along the way, the show managed to mint some bona fide superstars.
The legacy of "MMC" is still going strong. When a number of cast members reunited in 2019 to raise money for charity, former Mouseketeer Chasen Hampton said in a press release, "What an incredible honor it has been representing one of Walt's passion projects. The show helped in raising us to be socially conscious and gave us the ultimate gift of the exposure to each other's beliefs, skills, and backgrounds to learn, grow and build upon."
Not everybody reached the stratospheric heights of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, but many former 'Teers have managed to continue working in entertainment, even as they've aged from child stars to full-grown adults. Read on to check in with the cast of "The All New Mickey Mouse Club" today.
Britney Spears' bestselling memoir spilled some Mickey Mouse Club tea
When Britney Spears first joined the "Mickey Mouse Club" cast, no one could have predicted that in less than a decade, she would be the biggest pop star in the world. In her memoir "The Woman in Me" (via People), Spears wrote about the television show as a sort of entertainment industry training ground. "[It] was honestly a kid's dream — unbelievably fun, particularly for a kid like me. But it was also exceptionally hard work: We would run choreography 30 times in a day, trying to get every step perfect," she recalled. After a year and a half on "MMC," Spears decided to return home. "Already within me was a push-pull: Part of me wanted to keep building toward the dream; the other part wanted me to live a normal life in Louisiana," she said. "For a minute, I had to let normalcy win."
In the latter half of the 1990s, Spears kicked off a pop career. Songs like "Baby One More Time" and "Toxic" became generation-defining hits, and her highly publicized mental health struggles would make her a tabloid icon, too.
Those struggles led to Spears being placed under a conservatorship. For more than a decade, her career was controlled by people who seemed like they may not have had the "Scream & Shout" singer's best interests in mind. A judge finally ended Spears' conservatorship in 2021, and in the years since, she has been enjoying herself on Instagram.
Justin Timberlake's 2024 album didn't hit
Before he was the curly-haired breakout member of *NSYNC, Justin Timberlake was part of the cast of "The All New Mickey Mouse Club." Marking the show's 30th anniversary, he told Entertainment Tonight that he and his co-stars felt like outcasts before being cast. "So, to have met all of those people at that time and then to all come together and be influenced — that was the most influential experience I ever had," he said. "I mean, we were 10 years old, we got to learn how to be on camera, we got to learn how to write, dance, sing, act. ... [M]y relationship with that is like, ultimate feels."
Timberlake went on to be part of *NSYNC, later embarking on a solo career that took his star to higher heights yet. Hits like "Cry Me A River," "SexyBack," and "Suit & Tie" kept him relevant for decades after his "Mickey Mouse Club" days, as did his tragic relationship with Britney Spears.
In 2024, he released a new album called "Everything I Thought It Was." In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, he said, "I'm really excited about this album. I think every artist probably says this, but it is my best work." However, the album failed to reach the chart highs of his previous releases; it debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, managing to sell less than a quarter of what his previous album did.
JC Chasez got back together with his band
Justin Timberlake wasn't the only *NSYNC member in the Mickey Mouse Club; J.C. Chasez is a former Mouseketeer, too! "For us, every day was the best day of your life. Really," he told Disney News a few decades later. "As a 14-year-old, you all of a sudden go from living in suburban Maryland in the outskirts of D.C. to living in the backyard of a theme park." Chasez particularly enjoyed learning about entertainment from so many different types of people, his co-stars included. "Doing what we loved, being around people that were like-minded but brought different points of view was huge for me ... I was encouraged by people my age as well as adults," he recalled.
Chasez went on to become a member of *NSYNC, launch a solo career, and appear in a Meow Mix commercial. In 2023, he acknowledged that it had been a while since he'd appeared in the public eye, telling People that he was developing two new musicals. This was taking longer than he expected, but he didn't seem to mind. "[T]he fun part is you just keep creating, because even with these pieces, they're not done," he explained. "They're just at this stage, and the fun part is they'll get better."
In 2024, Timberlake got *NSYNC back together to perform "Paradise" on his 2024 album. As Chasez told Billboard, "Every time we get together, it's always a good time ... It's as if we never left."
Christina Aguilera is ruling Las Vegas
Britney Spears wasn't the only pop star who was part of the Mickey Mouse Club before going on to kiss Madonna; Christina Aguilera was there, too. At the D23 Expo in 2019, Aguilera was awarded Disney Legend status thanks to her "MMC" past. On the event's red carpet, she told Extra, "'Mickey Mouse Club' was whenever I first felt like I was home, being around other kids that truly enjoyed the same thing that I did." So clearly, she looks back fondly on it, which is good considering she's opened up about trauma from her time as a child star.
Thanks to hits like "Genie in a Bottle" and "Beautiful," Christina Aguilera went on to be a generation-defining pop star alongside her fellow Mouseketeers Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. A stint judging "The Voice" followed her imperial phase, and as of 2024, she ruled Las Vegas in a well-reviewed residency show. She told Vogue that the intimate theater show allowed her to look back on her career, appreciating all of the different musical evolutions she's undergone. "I couldn't be more grateful to have that kind of career for myself, and to keep doing it and pushing and challenging myself in new ways. It's a blessing," she said. "I am truly lucky to do something that I love and that I feel I am born to do, and it's really great when you can look back at a body of work that you're proud of."
Keri Russell went on to become an iconic television star
When she was on "The All New Mickey Mouse Club," Keri Russell didn't sing like some of the other people on the cast. This led her to reflect to W Magazine, "I was there at a time when there were a lot of famous kids there. And I say this completely truthfully: I was literally the least talented one there. I'm not kidding."
That led to a bit of imposter syndrome, and sure, Russell didn't become a pop star the way several of her fellow Mouseketeers did. Instead, though, she became an iconic actor instead. Not a bad consolation prize! Russell has led multiple hit television shows since she was on "MMC," including "Felicity," "The Americans" (where she met husband Matthew Rhys), and Netflix's "The Diplomat." At press time, she's picked up four Emmy nominations across those last two shows.
Russell told Deadline that she particularly enjoyed filming "The Diplomat," which premiered in 2023. The show features Russell as a State Department employee who gets involved in international intrigue. Acknowledging that the show's tone could be off-putting for some viewers, Russell explained, "It's not for everybody, but I find it very enjoyable."
Ryan Gosling was an Oscar nominee in 2024
Ryan Gosling is now one of the most critically acclaimed actors in Hollywood, but he got his start on "The All New Mickey Mouse Club." Unlike a lot of his co-stars, however, Gosling doesn't seem to look back on his time too fondly, which makes sense given his openness about his troubled childhood. "[M]oving to Florida, not feeling like I was very good in anything on 'Mickey Mouse Club,' and living in a trailer park where there was a gas leak — my mom and I were tired all the time until we found out there was gas in the trailer — just hustling to figure it out, not knowing what it was," he reflected to Variety.
Thankfully, Gosling seems to have figured it out by now. He went on to an illustrious acting career that included roles in films like "The Notebook," "The Place Beyond the Pines," and "Drive." In 2024, he was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Ken in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie." He told Variety that he even used his "MMC" days as inspiration for the character. "I was a hamster in 'The Mickey Mouse Club,' just to figure it out, and all these ridiculous things," he said. "I could relate to Ken and the need to find yourself and distinguish yourself."
Nikki DeLoach is a Hallmark regular
Unlike Tony Lucca and J.C. Chasez, both of whom thought they were auditioning for "Newsies" but wound up in "The All New Mickey Mouse Club" instead, Nikki DeLoach knew exactly what she was getting herself into. She told The Retaility that she was aware auditions would be happening a year in advance and took classes to give herself the best shot at success.
"They brought 24 of us down there to see how we would interact," she recalled. "I thought we were there for our screen test, but they were always watching." At lunch, she gathered a group that included Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera, and she now feels that fast friendship was what got her the gig. "They were like, 'Oh, [Nikki is] going to be the glue that holds them all together,' and that was the thing that made them choose me over somebody else," she said.
Nowadays, DeLoach is a veteran Hallmark actor, having appeared in more than a dozen movies for the network. As she told Woman's World, she's happy to work for them forever. "If I can be a part of bringing them any sort of comfort or peace or happiness," she said, "or just that feeling of not being alone ... I want to do that for the rest of my life."
Tony Lucca is still a musician
Tony Lucca dabbled in entertainment as a child, but he also loved athletics. In high school, he thought he was auditioning for "Newsies," the 1992 film that eventually starred Christian Bale, but it turned out to be a "Mickey Mouse Club" audition instead. He got the gig and wound up staying on the show for four years. "To look back in terms of regrets or anything like that, no way," he later told RockWired. "It's only surreal in hindsight. Those were my high school years, and that was my job."
Lucca later moved to Los Angeles and picked up a number of acting gigs, including a recurring role on "Malibu Shores." Eventually, though, the audition circuit wore him down, and he decided to focus on music. "I really wanted to make sure that I could solidify a career as a music artist and maintain credibility in that regard," he recalled.
Lucca's career still contains regular reminders of his status as a former Mouseketeer. In 2012, he competed on "The Voice," and his former co-star Christina Aguilera was a judge. She didn't recognize him until after his audition, but he told The Hollywood Reporter that she was great when she found him backstage. "Everything's going to be a little bizarre in front of a camera, but I couldn't have been happier with the way it went down and I'm just really grateful for her to have been so gracious and flattering," he said.
Rhona Bennett is now part of En Vogue
When Rhona Bennett was cast on "The All New Mickey Mouse Club," she wasn't familiar with the show. "When I would come home from school, I always flipped to the cartoons," she told The Chicago Tribune at the time. "I didn't have cable, so I had no idea what 'The Mickey Mouse Club' was about." Quickly, though, she came to love the show's approach to tackling social issues with an eye toward a youthful audience. "The things we do are very different from any other teen shows I've seen," she said. "We talked to a 14-year-old boy who had AIDS along with kids who didn't but had questions."
After "MMC," Bennett went on to act in projects like "The Jamie Foxx Show" and "Malibu's Most Wanted." Nowadays, the multi-hyphenate is part of the current lineup of En Vogue. When she got married in 2021, Bennett told Essence that her groupmates, Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis, were her bridesmaids. "We've known each other now for almost two decades," she said, "and so they're very close to me."
Raquel 'Roque' Herring is an author now
Raquel "Roque" Herring won "Star Search" before she was cast on the first season of the new "Mickey Mouse Club," becoming the first female Black Mouseketeer in the franchise's history. In an interview with What Lara Wrote, Herring recalled getting along very well with the cast. "We really did work well together. We were kids, and we were all just excited to be there doing what we loved," she said. "We worked so much all the time, that was all we had to do, so you really had to love it."
She ultimately appeared on 95 episodes, but then she left to have a normal teenage experience. Herring continues to work in entertainment, releasing gospel music. "We go beyond everything spiritually together as a community, worshiping and singing our praises to Jesus," she told What Lara Wrote.
Herring wrote a book about her experience with child stardom, titled "Falling Up: The Unstoppable Journey of a Teer." Her website explains, "[D]espite the spotlight burning bright for so long, the transition to instantaneous adult fame didn't happen quite like she had hoped, let alone to the stratospheric degrees of fellow Mouseketeers and child stars Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell, and J.C. Chasez. Despite this, she never gave up." Herring leans into "Mickey Mouse Club" nostalgia on her Instagram, where she regularly connects with fans. She told What Lara Wrote, "I do it because it helps me and helps other people."
Josh Ackerman works behind the camera now
Josh Ackerman enjoyed being part of "The All New Mickey Mouse Club," but unlike some of his other co-stars, he focused less on performance and more on all of the other entertainment industry lessons he could learn on set. "I loved performing and being in front of the camera. However, what I really gravitated towards was being in the edit bay after something was shot. Like I consider that a huge component of the education I received when I was young," he told TV Goodness. Ackerman hung out with the editors during his breaks, learning as much as he could about everything that goes into producing a show behind the camera.
It makes sense, then, that Ackerman now has a thriving career behind the scenes. He's a reality show producer, the brains behind shows like "South Beach Tow" and "Kendra Sells Hollywood." He offered advice to other filmmakers in an interview with Backstage, proclaiming, "Trust in yourself, grab a camera, and go do your thing. There are so many arenas to play in now, and if you make something that hits, it could be the start of something big."
Chasen Hampton keeps the Mickey Mouse Club alive on Instagram
Chasen Hampton looks back fondly on his time in the Mickey Mouse Club. In fact, he was instrumental in getting a big group of former Mouseketeers back together in 2019, meeting up in Orlando, Florida, to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary. "It runs deep for us because we spent those very important years as children, together at Disney World," he told Laughing Place. "I mean, we went to school in Disney World, we worked, lived and breathed Disney. As a child, it was a dream come true!"
These days, Hampton works as an educator. He also resurrected his "Mickey Mouse Club" character Professor Wow, The Master of the Obvious for YouTube. In the short, which was posted in May 2020, Hampton wrote, "Professor WOW (The Master Of The Obvious) demonstrates the power of soap & the importance of washing our hands in stopping the spread of the Covid 19 Virus."
Hampton is also very active on social media, showing off his family life on Instagram and creating nostalgia content for "Mickey Mouse Club" fans. When former Mouseketeer Ryan Gosling performed at the Academy Awards in 2024, Hampton wrote, "No matter where you go in this world The #MickeyMouseClub has touched you at some point!"