Bridgit Mendler was one of our original Disney “it” girls and eventually created some of the best songs of the 2010s. However, after years of fans begging for more music, she recently resurfaced as the CEO and co-founder of Northwood Space. Of course, there was lots that happened between Disney and girl boss. Her journey reflects not only her versatility and ambition, but also a deep commitment to innovation and exploration. Mendler’s story serves as a testament to the power of reinvention and the limitless possibilities that lie ahead when passion meets purpose.
Starting her career at Disney in the early 2000s, Mendler came into the spotlight originally for her role as Juliet in “Wizards of Waverly Place,” but what most of us remember her for is her iconic role as Teddy in “Good Luck Charlie.” She starred in the show for the four seasons that it aired, as well as the spin-off Christmas movie, and became the first vlogger that many of us watched growing up. She also starred in a Disney hit movie “Lemonade Mouth,” which had one of the best movie soundtracks with songs like “Somebody” and “Determinate” charting.
The popularity of the movie launched Mendlers’ music career, and in 2011, she signed with Hollywood Records. Her debut single, “Ready or Not?” came out later that year and surged in popularity and set the scene for the album called “Hello My Name Is…” The album did pretty decent for a Disney star, peaking at number 30 on the Billboard 200, and built up suspense for the next single, “Hurricane”. After some career fluctuations between acting and singing, Bridgit left both for about a year and returned to the music industry independently in 2016 to release her second album, an EP called “Nemesis.” With a completely different vibe from her first album and little to no public reaction she began to take a step back from music to focus on her education.
Mendler started her long and successful academic career by earning her undergrad in anthropology in 2016 while studying at the University of Southern California. A couple of years later she announced that she was a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab with a focus on technologies that support inclusive and collaborative governance and citizen engagement. As for her personal life, while studying in her graduate program Mendler married her long-time boyfriend Griffin Cleverly in October 2019.graduated from MIT in early 2020. After graduating from MIT in early 2020 she enrolled at Harvard Law School, preparing to obtain her Juris Doctor. While in law school, Mendler also became a mother. Earlier this year the superstar herself released a statement on X where she said that she is “a momma to a sweet 4yo boy” who she had been fostering since 2021 and whom she had adopted in December of 2022. With all that, she completed her academic journey earlier this year by receiving her degree from Harvard and making headlines in publications like ENews and People.
But, of course, that’s not all. Recently, Mendler announced her standing as the CEO and co-founder of Northwood Space, a company hoping to build “a data highway between Earth and space” and “to meet the needs of today’s space industry, the one-lane rickety road for space data needs to adapt to a 10-lane highway routing continuous traffic across the globe.” So, while we’ve all been begging her to come back and make more music, she has been pioneering the space industry. She recently interviewed with Bloomberg Technology where she discussed revolutionizing outdated space technology and building ground stations that can communicate with satellites. Since then, Northwood has been making incredible progress and recently had a breakthrough in satellite connectivity with its new antenna test.
Overall, Bridgit Mendler is a real-life Barbie and the new Elon Musk: incredibly multifaceted and extremely talented. Her transition from acting and music to groundbreaking work in the space industry shows not only her diverse talents but also her commitment to making a meaningful impact in the world. Mendler’s story is a reminder that success is not a linear path; it involves reinvention, perseverance, and the courage to embrace new challenges. As she continues to push the boundaries of technology and foster innovation, Mendler inspires countless individuals like you and me to explore their passions, proving that the possibilities for growth and change are indeed limitless.