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Debby Ryan
Ryan at the premiere for Up in May 2009
Background information
Birth name	Deborah Ryan[1]
Born	May 13, 1993 (1993-05-13) (age 16)
Origin	Huntsville, Alabama, USA
Genres	Pop rock, country pop, Jazz
Occupations	Actress, Singer, voice actor, screenwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Years active	2000–present (Stage) 2007–present (Television–film)
Labels	Walt Disney
Website	DebbyRyan.com

Deborah Ann Ryan (born May 13, 1993) is an American teen actress, singer, voice actor and screenwriter. Ryan is best known for portraying Bailey Pickett in the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life on Deck, which is the spin-off/sequel to The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Ryan started acting in professional theatres at the age of seven; in 2007 she appeared in the Barney & Friends straight-to-DVD film Barney: Let's Go to the Firehouse and then was discovered in a nationwide search by Disney. She is also known for appearing in the 2008 feature film The Longshots as Edith and will star in the independent film What If, which is set for a 2010 release.

Early life

Ryan was born in Alabama.^[2] Ryan is a Christian; she has performed in churches, theater performance groups and talent competitions.^[3] Ryan's father was in the military, so she often moved to different places in Europe. Ryan started performing in professional theaters at the age of seven on an American base in Germany.^[4] She found she loved acting. At the time, Ryan was fluent in German.

She returned to the United States at the age of 10 in 2003 and was raised in Texas.^[4][5] She dreamed of acting full-time. In a 2009 People Magazine interview, she described herself as a "nerd" in school.^[4] Ryan was bullied in middle school for being a mascot and in the school's chess club.^[6]

Ryan has an older brother, Chase (who is older than her by approximately two years). He is a guitarist and vocalist. In a March 2009 interview, Ryan said her older brother is one of her role models.

Acting

Ryan began appearing in various television commercials in her early teenage years. She appeared in several commercials of iDog and various board games, her latest commercial was in an iDog Dance commercial in 2008.^[3] Ryan's first film role was in 2007 as a guest character in Barney: Let's Go to the Firehouse, she played the role of a teenager. Ryan also had a supporting role in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film, The Longshots, alongside teen actress Keke Palmer and Ice Cube. Ryan played Edith, a teenage mean girl, in the feature film.

Ryan plays one of the main characters, Bailey Pickett in Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life on Deck. The series is a sequel/spin-off to the hit Disney Channel series, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. The series' pilot aired on September 26, 2008 in the US.^[7] The series premiere on the Disney Channel in the US drew 5.7 million viewers,^[8] and it became the most-watched series premiere in Canada on the Family channel.^[9]

The series was 2008's #1 top scripted television series for children between the ages 6 to 11 and pre-teenagers between the ages 9 to 14, beating the veteran series Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place in the ratings.^[10] The series is also 2009's top rated scripted series in the children and tween demographic (6-14), outpacing Hannah Montana and several other teenage shows.^[11]

Following the success of The Suite Life on Deck, she appeared on the first show of Studio DC: Almost Live, a special half-hour variety show that features The Muppets as well as Disney Channel stars. She also made a small appearance on Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream

In 2009, it was announced that Ryan landed a starring role in the independent feature film, What If... alongside Kevin Sorbo and Kristy Swanson. The film is a straight to DVD film which is set to be released on Valentine's Day in 2010, the film was shot in Manistee, Michigan in July 2009. The film is produced by Pure Flix Entertainment and centers a Christian family.^[12][13][14] In October 2009, Ryan hosted the first Tween Girl Summit in which she hosted the event and its concerts.^[15] "Tween girls are drawn to talented performers who emanate the joy of life, and we are so happy to have teen favorite Debby Ryan as the first host of The Tween Summit Music Festival," said Denise Restauri, founder of The Tween Summit, AllyKatzz.com and AK Tweens.^[15] "The Tween Summit is a day of celebrating the excitement of youth and hope for the future. As my tween friends say, 'This concert is going to Rock!'"^[15]

Music

Ryan plays several instruments including the acoustic guitar, piano and keyboard. She is also a songwriter and is currently working on music alongside her older brother.^[16] Ryan has showed many interest in several types of music and her music genre will be mainly jazz and country pop with a blend of alternative rock. Ryan was set to headline the "Terrific Teen Tour", a concert series which co-headlined Mitchel Musso, Jasmine Richards and Savannah Outen, that would start on July 9, 2009 and end on July 14 but the tour was canceled due to schedule conflicts.^[17][18] The tour would have been Ryan's debut as a live musician.^[19] Ryan's first single, "Adios" is yet to be released. ^[20]

Personal life

In a 2009 People Magazine interview, Ryan stated her Suite Life co-star, Brenda Song is her acting idol.^[4] In a March 2009 interview, Ryan revealed she also looks up to Meryl Streep, Ryan claims Streep "is so profoundly thought-provoking and life-changing." Ryan also said her other role models include Anne Hathaway, Rachel McAdams and Tobey Maguire. She also said, "I love jazz! I love singing it. I also love country! My brother loves rock, he also has this chill Jason Mraz-like style. So basically, my answer is: jazz-country-rock-alternative? I have no idea! But I honestly would love to make country music."

Ryan has spent time at the Ronald McDonald House and has help raise money for the kids in need.

Ryan is involved in Disney's Friends for Change. She was featured in a commercial on the Disney Channel.^[21] The charity helps explain how kids can help preserve the planet and invites them to go to the Friends for Change website to register and pledge, offering them the chance to help choose how Disney will invest $1 million in environmental programs.^{[22] [22]}

Filmography

Commercials

• Game of Life: Twists and Turns (2007)^[3]
• iDog Amp'd (2007)^[3]

Discography

Singles

• 2009: "Adios"^[20]
• 2009: I'm A Country Girl
• 2010: Hakuna Matata from DisneyMania 7

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Debby Ryan at the Internet Movie Database