Whatever Happened To Miranda From Lizzie McGuire?
Lalaine Vergara-Paras, credited as Lalaine, is an actress and singer known for her role in the iconic Disney Channel series "Lizzie McGuire," in which she portrayed Miranda Sanchez, Lizzie's (Hilary Duff) best friend who dreams of becoming a musician. Throughout two seasons (and a movie that Miranda isn't in), audiences watch Lizzie and Miranda go on a variety of adventures, all in the name of growing up. Though it wasn't her first role, it is the one that propelled Lalaine to stardom.
However, since the popular show ended, the actress's career has followed a different path than her costars. Duff is still active today, starring in the series "How I Met Your Father" on Hulu, leaving fans of "Lizzie McGuire" to question what happened to the rest of the cast.
Lalaine's career continued after the Disney Channel series, letting her show off her other skills, reconnect with her castmates, and navigate some tricky situations. With the "Lizzie McGuire" revival canceled and the chance of seeing Lalaine play Miranda again gone (for the moment, anyway), here's everything the actress has been up to since filming her last episode.
She released an album
Lalaine is a multihyphenate, both an actress and singer-songwriter. Before starring in "Lizzie McGuire," she appeared as part of the touring cast in "Les Misérables" and the 1999 film version of "Annie." Fans of her work can hear her voice on the "Annie" album that accompanied the movie. However, that wasn't the end of her music career.
Though she came before the time of Disney Channel infusing an actor's music career into a television series, Lalaine did promote her music with Radio Disney. Her only solo album, "Inside Story," consists of 11 songs, six of which she helped write, debuted in 2003. She traveled in California and Hawaii with Radio Disney, promoting her music in what she described as "tours" with Disney in an interview with HuffPost. She also released an EP entitled "Haunted" with three songs in 2004.
She went on to record promotional singles for Disney, recording the song "Cruella DeVil" and appearing on the "Pixel Perfect" soundtrack with the song "If You Wanna Rock." Lalaine also released the singles "I'm Not Your Girl" and "Did You Hear About Us" in 2005.
She starred in a Disney Channel Original Movie
Disney Channel Original Movies have proven to be the network's bread and butter, with films like "High School Musical" and "Descendants" becoming important properties and making a last impact on the generations that watched them. After filming her final episodes of "Lizzie McGuire," Lalaine was one of the key supporting characters in the 2003 DCOM "You Wish!" alongside A.J. Trauth and Spencer Breslin.
The movie follows Trauth as Alex, a boy who uses a magic coin to wish his little brother out of existence. Alex's life changes for the better temporarily, propelling him to the top of the social hierarchy at school. However, he begins to second-guess his choices, going on a journey to bring his brother back with the help of Terrence, his brother's new identity in the altered timeline. Lalaine plays Abby, one of Alex's best friends before he wishes his brother away.
The actress was busy filming "You Wish!" instead of "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," and she wouldn't change that, even years later. "During that time, I was hopping around doing Radio Disney tours and at the same time filming in New Zealand with A.J. Trauth and Spencer Breslin [on 'You Wish!']," Lalaine shared with HuffPost in 2015. "Like, I would've been bummed missing out on that."
She appeared in a popular vampire drama
"Lizzie McGuire" wasn't the last television series Lalaine was a part of. After appearing in "You Wish!," the actress went on to have guest roles in other popular series. She portrays Chloe for two episodes in the seventh season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Chloe is a vampire slayer-in-training under Buffy's protection. While Buffy protects Chloe, she also trains the young girl in the wake of the First Evil trying to kill all slayers. Chloe's ending isn't a happy one in the series. After the First Evil appears before her and spends a night speaking with her, the slayer-to-be dies by suicide. Buffy buries Chloe in the backyard and tells the rest of the slayers that the girl is an "idiot" and "weak."
Fans of the series and actress have since expressed disappointment that Lalaine didn't have a larger role in the series. In a Reddit thread on the r/buffy subreddit in 2021, several users shared their thoughts on Lalaine appearing for just two episodes. "This is what makes Chloe's suicide (and Buffy's comment) harder to swallow because I grew up watching this girl on 'Lizzie McGuire,'" u/LightBlueSky55 wrote. Other commenters had similar sentiments, with u/EntMoot76 writing "Yeah [I] remember thinking, cool, [Miranda] is going to be a part of 'Buffy' now, and then [she's] dead like the next episode."
She starred in a feature film
Lalaine continued her film career by starring in her first feature film in 2004. Though she previously appeared in TV movies, "Promised Land" is the first time the actress stepped into a main role in a feature project. She portrays Norma, a teen runaway, alongside Chad Smith as Ethan Wildwood, a former child star. The movie competed in the 2004 Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.
Directed by Michael Beltrami, "Promised Land" follows Ethan, a washed-up child actor who now drives around town in a car covered with pictures of his face. In an effort to move his career in a new direction, Wildwood starts filming "road stories" to sell, which leads him to meet and become enamored with Vicky Dalton (Ruth Gerson), a singer who believes Norma could be the stolen daughter she is searching for a decade later.
The movie didn't fare well with the few critics who did review it. Variety highlighted that "overexposed visual cliches" and "excessively expository dialogue" were detrimental to the film. "Promised Land" doesn't have a Rotten Tomatoes score, but the few reviews it has on Letterboxd only give it two or three stars.
She had some trouble with the law
Lalaine did have a run-in with the law after her time on Disney Channel. According to a report from TMZ, Lalaine was charged with felony possession of the controlled substance methamphetamine in July 2007.
The actress failed to appear for her initial court date in December 2007, based on documents obtained by TMZ. A judge issued a bench warrant of $50,000 in January 2008 due to her missing a court date, but the warrant was later recalled. Lalaine pleaded guilty to the charge and entered a drug treatment program through the Asian American Drug Abuse Program in February 2008. With the completion of her time with the AADAP, which included "20 weeks of educational group sessions and 20 twelve-step meetings," her record was expunged.
"I had a time where I went through what I call my 'dark years,' where I just went nuts and stupid, just being angry and acting like I was so badass," the actress commented to HuffPost in 2015. "That just turned into me digging myself in a deep hole, and after I got arrested that was like a slap in the face that I needed to turn my perspective around."
She had a cameo in a popular rom-com
Lalaine's trouble with the law didn't slow her career down: The actress appeared in one of the most genre-defining movies of the 2010s. While it is a quick cameo and not the first on-screen appearance she made after her time in treatment, Lalaine's role in "Easy A" showed she was still being cast in major projects.
"Easy A" stars Emma Stone as Olive, a teen who leans into a rumor about her sex life at school. She uses the gossip to her advantage, changing her look and making it look like she and her friend Brandon (Dan Byrd) have sex at a party so no one questions his sexuality. She even breaks up a marriage between two teachers when she discovers one of them is having an affair. Lalaine is credited as appearing as a "Gossipy Girl" and tells Olive when Brandon runs away.
The movie not only starred actors who remain big names in popular culture today, like Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, and Stanley Tucci, but it is credited with redefining the teen film genre. Critics enjoyed "Easy A," with the film boasting an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Famed film critic Roger Ebert stated in his review that the film made Emma Stone "a star." Richard Corliss agreed, writing for Time that the movie "establishes the 21-year-old as an actress/personality — a star — around whom Hollywood could build some pretty good movies" while complimenting "Easy A's" intelligence.
She joined a girl band
After her time as a solo artist, Lalaine continued her music career by joining a girl band, as announced in April 2010. For about a year and a half, the actress and singer played bass guitar with Vanity Theft. The band also featured Elyse Driskill, Alicia Grodecki, and Brittany Hill. Lalaine was one of many bass guitarists who played with the band over their 10-year run.
"I decided to go on an adventure and peace out and join a girl band for a couple years, and I learned how to play bass," Lalaine shared with HuffPost. "I was on the road for like a year-and-a-half straight with these girls in like a van all across the country." It was a new experience for her, as she had "never performed like that in a band where I was playing something." She also enjoyed making her "bass face every night like five times a week."
In an interview with AfterEllen.com, Driskill shared how Lalaine joined the band. "One night we were hanging out and joking around and we're like, 'What if Lalaine was our bassist,'" the drummer said. When they approached Lalaine, she suggested a different friend who did play bass. However, it didn't work out. "Lalaine just ended up practicing and eventually said, 'Well maybe I will do this,'" Driskill concluded.
In 2011, the band asked Lalaine to leave before they left on another tour.
She reconnected with her former castmates through fate
The first time Lalaine reconnected with her "Lizzie McGuire" castmates was by complete accident in 2015. The stars aligned to put them in the same place after 14 years apart, though Lalaine admits she has a small role in all three of them being there at the same time.
"I like to bowl ... We started bowling and I swore I thought I heard [Hilary Duff]. Like her voice will never not be recognizable for me," the actress shared with HuffPost. "And then I looked, and it totally was her." Lalaine immediately reached out to Jake Thomas because he lived close to the bowling alley. The two joked around, sending a drink Duff's way. She realized who it was and started "cracking up."
While Thomas shared a photo of the three on Instagram, Lalaine wasn't concerned about whether the world knew about the chance encounter. "I was more on the fact that it was hilarious that all of us were here," she continued. To her, it was all "a little bit of fate."
Though she hadn't spoken with Duff in a decade and a half, the two exchanged numbers during the surprise reunion. "Hopefully we'll keep in touch now," Lalaine commented to HuffPost. "It's like, yeah, we may not have spoken for 14 years, but somehow it's one of those things where it's probably gonna just pick up where it left off."
She reunited with a fellow Disney Channel star
Over the years, several former Disney Channel stars have reconnected on various platforms, from podcasts to YouTube channels. Christy Carlson Romano, known for her roles in "Even Stevens" and "Kim Possible," hosts former Disney stars on her platforms regularly, which is how fans got to see Lalaine again in 2019.
The actress appeared in "Christy's Kitchen Throwback," a series on Romano's YouTube channel. She even wore one of Miranda's hats from the series. The two cooked the host's spaghetti and meatballs recipe while reminiscing about their time with Disney Channel. They decided on the dish because of its prevalence in the "Lizzie McGuire" Season 1 episode "Gordo and the Girl."
Lizzie and Miranda end up covered in pasta after following Gordo to an Italian restaurant to see him on a date with his girlfriend. "No double for this," Lalaine revealed when discussing the scene with Romano, meaning that they didn't have several copies of the outfit to film the scene multiple times.
"I'm just more proud of how far I've come mentally," the actress shared. "I mean, getting day to day, I think, is a challenge." The two also discussed the notion of being a role model at that age and how it didn't quite sink in at the time, as well as touching on Miranda's eating disorder during her career as a child actor.
She did a reunion table read with her former castmates
In 2020, many TV series and movies held cast reunions as a way to bring a bit of light to everyone during the pandemic. "Parks and Recreation," "Lord of the Rings," and "The Princess Bride" are just a few of the popular properties whose casts came together again.
"Lizzie McGuire" did a virtual table read as their reunion, reading through the script of the Season 1 episode "Between a Rock and a Bra Place." The twelfth episode of the series follows Lizzie and Miranda as they try to go to the mall to shop for their first bras, keeping their intentions a secret from Lizzie's mother. It was the episode's 19th anniversary. The video not only reunited the cast members but also several other key crew members of the series. The writers behind the episode, Nina and Jeremy Bargiel, joined in the fun. Jake Thomas's father Bob acted as the narrator.
Hilary Duff credits Jake Thomas with the idea for the reunion. "He threw out having a virtual table read of one of our old episodes of 'Lizzie McGuire,'" the actress stated at the start of the special. "I thought there's no better way to cure boredom and to provide a little bit of entertainment for everyone who's stuck at home."
The cast and crew also encouraged fans to donate to different charities to help those in need during the pandemic.
She still acts sometimes
Though she may participate in fewer projects now than she did during her "Lizzie McGuire" days, Lalaine still works in the industry. In 2020, she appeared as Krista in the movie "Definition Please." It marked her first major feature film since appearing in "Easy A."
The directorial debut of Sujata Day ("Insecure"), "Definition Please" follows a former spelling bee champion as she reconnects with her brother when they are forced to reunite and care for their mother. Day also stars in the movie as Monica, the spelling bee champ. After graduating college, she continues to live at home, tutoring those who wish to follow in her spelling bee footsteps. She has job offers but seems unsure of leaving the familiarity of home. Krista is Monica's best friend.
The movie incorporates the best of Bollywood, with music and "name-checking of Hindu gods," according to The Hollywood Reporter. "[Day] offers up a quietly inventive take on Bollywood conventions — as well as the Bengali soap tradition — that fits quite comfortably in the category of American indie cinema," the article continued.