Alyson Rae Stoner (born August 11, 1993) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer and singer. Stoner is known as Max in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and also for the roles Sarah Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen, Camille Gage in the Step Up series and Caitlyn Gellar in the Camp Rock series. She has been a background dancer for several artists, such as Missy Elliott, Eminem, Kumbia Kings, Outkast and Will Smith. Stoner is also known as Sally from Mike's Super Short Show that ran from 2002â€"2007, the voice of Isabella Garcia-Shapiro in Phineas and Ferb and the voice of Tiffany (Experiment #362) in "Stitch!".
Early life
Stoner was born in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of LuAnne Hodges (née Adams), a former executive secretary at Owens-Illinois, and Charlie Stoner. While growing up in Toledo, Stoner attended Maumee Valley Country Day School and studied ballet, tap dance, and jazz dance at the O'Connell's Dance Studio. She also modeled and trained at the Margaret O'Brien Modeling Studio. She won Best Model of the Year at the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Convention in New York City with Ms. O'Brien's studio in 2000, and she won many awards in acting and dance.
Career
2001â€"10: Mike's Super Short Show and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody
In December 2001, Stoner became the co-host of the Disney Channel Mike's Super Short Show along with Michael Alan Johnson, an infomercial segment regarding forthcoming Disney releases. In 2003 and 2005, she appeared as Sarah, one of the twelve Baker children, in the successful comedies Cheaper by the Dozen and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. She has also appeared in several television shows aimed at the preteen market, including The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, That's So Raven and Drake & Josh.
In 2006, she had a small film role in Step Up as Camille, Channing Tatum's character's younger sister. She currently provides the voice of Isabella Garcia-Shapiro and Jenny (until Season 4) in the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb and personally came up with Isabella's catchphrase "Whatcha doin'?". In 2008, she starred in the Disney Channel Original movie Camp Rock as Caitlyn Gellar, an aspiring music producer." Her reception in Camp Rock was particularly strong, with various media outlets suggesting it was about time she played a main character role having backed up for other big names such as Will Smith and Eminem. Stoner starred as Alice McKinley in the movie Alice Upside Down, based loosely on the Alice series, particularly The Agony of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. This was her second starring role and, according to an interview that appears on the direct-to-DVD release, she states that this was the first time she has had to appear in every scene in a movie.
In 2008, she sang two songs, "Lost and Found" and "Free Spirit", from the soundtrack of the movie Alice Upside Down, in which she plays the lead role. She has also recorded a cover version of the song Dancing in the Moonlight for the 2009 Disney DVD/Blu-ray movie, Space Buddies. In 2010, Stoner appeared in the third Step Up film Step Up 3D opposite Adam Sevani where she reprised the role. Stoner uploaded a video onto her official YouTube page of her final dance rehearsal which introduced other cast members. The same year, Stoner returned to reprise her role as Caitlyn Gellar in Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, a sequel to Camp Rock. Stoner also guest-starred in the television drama series House as a skater.
2011â€"present: Music debut, films and voice work
In 2011 Stoner is working with record producers, songwriters and a vocal coach in order to focus on transitioning her style of voice, from "kiddie-pop" into a more soulful pop vibe with a little alternative edge, so she can start working on her first studio album. On April 4 Stoner posted a video to her YouTube Channel announcing the release of her debut single, "Flying Forward" on April 20, 2010. In 2011 Stoner released her debut EP called Beat the System in 2011. Also in 2011 has also appeared in Wii Fit related videos on the Nintendo Channel on the Wii video game console demonstrating how to do balance exercises. She also replaced Hayden Panettiere as the voice of Kairi in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and Xion in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. In 2013, Stoner recently announced on her website that she would be voicing the character Opal for The Legend of Korra.
Other ventures
Dancer
After choreography training in Los Angeles, Stoner appeared as a background dancer in several music videos, notably Missy Elliott's "Work It", "Gossip Folks", "I'm Really Hot", Eminem's "Just Lose It", and "No Tengo Dinero" by the Kumbia Kings. She has also been a back-up dancer for OutKast at the 2004 Kids' Choice Awards and for Will Smith at the 2005 show. Stoner danced with a dancing group called the JammXKids between 2003 and 2006. She quit the group in early 2006 due to scheduling conflicts, but continues to work with the individual kids in different jobs. She was also one of the dancers in the special features for the Shark Tale DVD. Stoner teaches hip hop currently at the Millennium Dance Complex, and is credited as the youngest person to teach a master class there. She also recently appeared in Debby Ryan's "We Got the Beat" for Disney Channel's Radio Rebel music video.
Publishing
Stoner is the "dance editor" for KEWL Magazine. In February 2009, Stoner released the Alyson Stoner Project described as "a dance video hybrid - melding many styles of entertainment into one package". It was directed by Kevin Schmidt, her co-star from Cheaper by the Dozen.
Filmography
Discography
Extended plays
Singles
Featured singles
Promotional singles
Other appearances
Awards and nominations
References
External links
- Official website
- Official Alyson Stoner Project Site
- Alyson Stoner at the Internet Movie Database
- Alyson Stoner interview from Portrait magazine.