Genevieve Hannelius Was on Every Disney Channel Hit of the 2010s. Here’s Why She Left the Spotlight (Exclusive)

Genevieve Hannelius still remembers the exact moment she fell in love with acting.

She was just 7 or 8 years old, performing in a local theater production in her small Maine town, when the audience erupted in applause. That sound and the instant connection with the crowd was all it took. She was hooked.

Not long after, Hannelius and her family packed up and moved to Los Angeles. What was supposed to be a short, three-month trip for pilot season quickly turned into a permanent move after she landed her first role on the Disney Channel — as a fan on Hannah Montana. For the young actress, who had grown up watching the show, sharing the screen with her idol Miley Cyrus felt like a dream come true.

From there, Hannelius, still in elementary school, became a familiar face on the Disney Channel, with recurring roles on fan favorites like Good Luck Charlie, Sonny with a Chance and Jessie. Eventually, she landed the lead role of Avery Jennings on Dog with a Blog, a part she played until she was 16.

“People will send me things on TikTok, compilations of all the old Disney shows … it feels really special to have been part of so many people’s childhoods and that whole nostalgic era,” she says. “It really means a lot to me when people come up, especially young adults now who are my age, and say, ‘You were my childhood.’ “

“It genuinely makes me so happy to hear that, because I have people I looked up to growing up too,” she adds. “You feel really connected to the shows and the characters, and it does, it feels special. I’m really proud to have been part of that.”

For Hannelius, now 26, being a child actor never really felt like work — especially because she genuinely loved what she was doing. However, she does recall feeling an unspoken sense of responsibility that came with being on a kids’ show, knowing that young viewers were watching and looking up to her. While the pressure wasn’t overwhelming, she says it was always there, lingering in the background.

Looking back, one of her most vivid memories from her Disney days was filming Dog with a Blog — specifically, all the animals on set. She even shares a behind-the-scenes secret that might surprise fans: the spots on the dog were painted on.

“There were so many animals,” she says with a laugh. “I mean, we had a pig at one point. So many dogs. Birds, too. Just animals everywhere. I think that’s one of the funniest memories. There would be animals just walking around the set. And it was hilarious because you’ve got kids and dogs, which are notoriously the two hardest things to work with on a set. And we had both. It was basically a zoo and a TV set at the same time.”

“The dog was actually just white,” she adds. “Not to ruin anybody’s image of the show or take away the movie magic, but that’s one thing. We also had multiple dogs playing the same role at different times. I hate to spoil the illusion, but that’s a little tidbit!”

But despite the glitz and glamour, being a young actor on a kids’ network also came with a unique set of responsibilities. While working on set, Hannelius was homeschooled, juggling her education with a structured filming schedule. She worked with a tutor to complete her required hours and always prioritized school — even amid her growing success.

So, after Dog with a Blog wrapped, Hannelius was eager to experience something more traditional. She enrolled in a regular high school for her junior and senior years.

“My time at Disney was always really positive and really fun,” she says. “I know people have had so many different experiences working for Disney or being a child actor, and it does have its challenges and it also is kind of a bizarre thing to do. It’s not a childhood at all. It has affected me in certain ways for sure. But for the most part, my experience was really positive.”

“But I wanted to have different experiences, new experiences. I had been doing it for so long at that point, so when that transition happened, I was ready,” she continues. “That was something I really wanted — to grow up, have my own experiences, and not have it all be public.”

Having been homeschooled for so long, even everyday things like opening a locker proved to be a challenge when Hannelius entered public school at Sierra Canyon School. She recalls how, when she arrived at school for the first time, she was surprised by just how different it all felt.

“I was like, ‘Wait, people are drinking and partying and having fun, and I didn’t know this was going on,’ ” she recalls.

“I think it was tricky at first,” she adds. “People made assumptions about me because they knew who I was. Some maybe thought, ‘She doesn’t need friends.’ But the truth was, I definitely struggled with trying to fit in, especially in high school.”

Eventually, Hannelius felt it was time for a bigger change. After spending so much of her life in Los Angeles, she craved something new. So, after graduating high school in 2017, she decided to move to New York and attend Sarah Lawrence College.

For the actor, New York felt like the perfect place to reinvent herself. That’s part of what drew her to a liberal arts school, where she could explore a variety of humanities courses and take a step back from acting. As a student, she says she had the chance to introduce herself to an entirely new group of people — people who got to know her for who she truly is, without any preconceived notions.

“I had been working for so many years, and stepping back as an adult allowed me to take the time to really ask myself, ‘Is this what I truly want to do?’ ” she says. “It was so important to check in with myself, and I encourage everyone to take a step back and reassess their path as they get older. It’s a valuable part of personal growth.”

In January 2022, after college, Hannelius moved to New York City, where she’s since returned to acting and achieved one of her lifelong goals: getting back into live theater. Most recently, she starred in an Off-Broadway production titled S—.Meet.Fan.

While she’s been acting her whole life, this, she says, was something entirely new.

“I’d never done it, and I just kind of challenged myself,” she says. “So being able to do an Off-Broadway play that I did over the fall and winter was such a bucket-list moment. I got to work with so many amazing actors, and that’s a space I really want to continue working in.”

“I learned so much doing theater because it is such a different experience than TV and film,” she adds. “I think the biggest thing I learned is just being in the moment. When you’re doing TV and film, everything is a setup and there’s a lot of waiting to film something, and it’s a little more precise in that way. With live theater, it’s spontaneous and it’s in the moment, and whatever happens was meant to happen. You kind of have this interaction with the audience. So it really taught me a lot of things, but mostly I think just to trust myself as an actor.”

In addition to acting, Hannelius has stepped behind the camera. She recently wrapped a film titled The Lottery. She’s also jumped full gear into launching her own nail brand, G Polish.

“I don’t know how much I can say about it,” she teases, “but it’s a group of girls and it’s a really fun ensemble comedy with a bunch of amazing people. Hopefully that’s going to come out at the end of this year. So it’s kind of fun bouncing between different projects — I just like to keep myself busy doing new things.”

“Last year, I wrote and directed my first short film with one of my friends, who’s an editor,” she adds. “This year, we’ve been submitting it to festivals. It just premiered at a festival in L.A., and we’re hoping to continue showing it at festivals throughout the spring and summer.”

As for the future, Hannelius hopes to get her hands in directing. She’s also currently working on releasing new music this year.