You may or may not remember The Mickey Mouse Club, but we're sure that you recognize a few of these successful Mouseketeers that went on to become Hollywood A-listers.
The Mickey Mouse Club was a children's variety TV show which featured newsreels, cartoons, and ads where Mickey Mouse appeared and talent and comedy segments. The show aired on and off from 1955 until 1996. The show had quite a few revivals, and from 1989 to 1996, the show was called The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. The show featured a regular but ever-changing cast of teenagers called the Mouseketeers. In 2017, Club Mickey Mouse appeared on social media only but discontinued in 2018.
Every celebrity has to get their start somewhere. Some stars have worked hard since childhood, and The Mickey Mouse Club is responsible for launching the careers of these beloved Popstars, triple threats, and Oscar nominees.
10 Ryan Gosling
In 1993, Ryan Gosling joined some other famous stars on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club in its sixth season. While Ryan is not known for singing or dancing today, he can sing, dance, play the piano, and brought a lot of onscreen charisma to the show. Gosling expresses how the producers didn't think he could compare to the other young stars on the show, but it's safe to say that Gosling has quite the career. Gosling would end up starring in films such as The Notebook and La La Land.
9 Justin Timberlake
In 1993, Justin Timberlake joined the Mouseketeers as well. There is a clip of him and co-stars Ryan Gossling and JC Chasez singing to Jodeci's I'll Cry, and from an early age, it's clear to see that Timberlake had a lot of talent. Timberlake ended up being in the highly successful boy band NSYNC who sold over 70 million records. Timberlake then went on to have a successful solo career with #1 hits such as SexyBack and Can't Stop The Feeling! as a part of the Trolls movie soundtrack.
8 JC Chasez
JC Chasez, who would eventually become Timberlake's group member in NSYNC, talks about how The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, or MMC for short, as fans called it, was the first audition he ever landed. His mother and an ad in the newspaper for the movie Newbies, which casting directors expressed that he was either too young or too old for different roles. MMC was filming next door, and the rest is history. JC Chasez debuted his solo album Schizophrenic in 2004 and has gone on to write songs for other artists such as David Archuletta and the Backstreet Boyz, was a judge on America's Best Dance Crew from 2008-2012, and appeared on the revival of The Mickey Mouse Club in 2017.
7 Christina Aguilera
When Christina Aguilera was 13, she joined MMC. Even at such a precious age, she had a voice that was well beyond her years. Aguilera would move on to a successful singing career with #1 hits such as Genie in a Bottle, Lady Marmalade with Pink, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliot, and Moves Like Jaguar as a featured artist with pop group Maroon 5. She also starred in Burlesque with Cher and has been a judge on the singing competition show The Voice.
6 Nikki DeLoach
Nikki Deloach was most known for the comedy sketches on MMC. While many stars find it hard to escape the "child star" trope, DeLoach managed to keep her name relevant. Brittany Spears left the girl group Innosense to go solo, but DeLoach remained in the group from 1997-2003, opening for Britney Spears and NSYNC. DeLoach played in MTV's Awkward and has guested on shows such as NCIS, Castle, and Mad Men.
5 Keri Russell
Keri Russell's trademark is her bouncy curls. After lighting up the screen on MMC, she would star in the WB's Felicity and received a Golden Globe Award for the drama series. She also portrays IMF agent Lindsey Farris in Mission Impossible III and many other impressive film roles, such as August Rush. Russel's most recent work includes starring in FX's The Americans, a period drama about the complicated marriage of two KGB spies who pose as American that ended in 2018, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
4 Tony Lucca
Like Timberlake and Chasez, Tony Lucca also had an impressive voice and masterfully played the guitar. He, like Innosense, opened for NSYNC in the early 2000s and later came out with a whopping six studio albums. In 2012, Lucca found himself on season two of The Voice and came in third place. The guitar-strumming former Mouseketeer signed to Adam Levine's label. Lucca's music had a feature on different shows such as Friday Night Lights and Parenthood.
3 Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Whelchel joined The Mickey Mouse Club House in 1977, with this season being titled The New Mickey Mouse Club. Whelchel was a natural, although viewers overlooked this season because this series nestled in between more popular installments of the show. Whelchel would play Blair Warner on The Facts of Life. In 2012 Whelchel was a contestant on Survivor: Philippines. In 2019, she became the host of the unscripted show Collector's Call, which follows Whelchel traveling the United States to talk to the most prominent pop-culture memorabilia collectors.
2 Annette Funicello
Walt Disney himself discovered and hand-picked Annette Funicello to be an original Mouseketeer after seeing her perform at a dance recital in Burbank, California. Even with all of the talented Mouseketeers that appeared on the show, Funicello is the most popular. Funicello would go on to have a successful pop career. However, she never claimed to be a pop singer. Funicello solidified her acting career by starring in the Beach Party films' installments alongside Frankie Avalon in the 1960s. In 2013, Funicello succumbed to multiple sclerosis complications.
1 Britney Spears
Britney Spears, next to Timberlake, is the most commercially-successful artist on this list. After joining fellow cast members Gosling, Timberlake, and Chasez in 1993, she became a pop icon. Spears has released eight albums selling 33.6 million albums worldwide, and in 2013, she got a Las Vegas Residency titled Britney: Piece of Me. According to Rolling Stone, her 2016 album Glory was a fantastic comeback.
