Some Disney Channel stars go through a rebellious phrase when their days with the Mouse are over. Others struggle with the transition to a more mature career path, while the rare few – Hilary Duff, anyone? – smoothly adapt to new lives and broader career opportunities once they’ve retired their ability to make mouse ears with a fluorescent wand. But I can’t think of any former Disney stars who have done this: former Shake It Up star Caroline Sunshine has joined the White House staff as a press assistant, CNN reports.
Playing the eccentric European exchange student Tinka Hessenheffer, Sunshine appeared on the Disney Channel series for its entire run from 2010 to 2013. Since then, the now-22-year-old has apparently chased a career in politics and was recently a White House intern. So, while we’ve all been watching throwback videos of Disney Channel’s glory days, Sunshine has seriously buckled down and achieved some great accomplishments.
This internship has evidently kept her away from acting in the past few months. Sunshine hasn’t posted on her Twitter account since September 2017, while her last post on Instagram was in January 2017. According to her IMDB page, she’s been relatively distant from acting since Shake It Up wrapped, with only three acting credits listed since her Disney days. So, note for the future: when a Disney star goes off the radar, he or she is clearly planning out their path to politics.
In a statement, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said of Sunshine, “In college, she was involved with the American Enterprise Institute and an active member of her school’s Model United Nations team. Prior to her internship at the White House, Caroline interned for the Office of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the College Republican National Committee and the California Republican Party.”
It’s definitely interesting to see a former Disney actor take such a different career path than her old co-stars have. Congrats to Sunshine on this opportunity!