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Child star
- Lovato got her start on the popular children's show 'Barney and Friends' from 2002-2004. She was cast when she was just 10 years old.
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Early fame friends
- On 'Barney' is where she became friends with another young soon-to-be star, Selena Gomez, whose career has followed a fascinatingly parallel line. In 2009, they starred in the movie 'Princess Protection Program' together.
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Road to Disney
- The budding young actress landed roles in TV series like 'Prison Break' and 'Just Jordan' before landing a lead role in the first season of the 2007 Disney Channel series 'As the Bell Rings.'
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Singing chops
- She first showed off her huge voice in the 2008 Disney musical 'Camp Rock' alongside the Jonas Brothers. The made-for-TV movie was such a hit that it had a sequel.
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'Sonny with a Chance'
- Her previous Disney success led to her lead role in Disney's 2009 hit series 'Sonny with a Chance,' which ran for two seasons and spawned the short-lived spin-off 'So Random.'
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Transition to pop star
- Before 'Sonny with a Chance' aired, Lovato released her debut studio album in 2008, called 'Don't Forget.' The album garnered both commercial and critical success.
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Focusing on music
- After finishing with 'Camp Rock 2,' she returned with her 2011 album 'Unbroken,' which featured the mega-hit 'Skyscraper.' She was cementing herself as a pop star to be reckoned with, but unfortunately it wasn't all smooth sailing.
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First documentary
- 'Demi Lovato: Stay Strong' (2012) revealed the star's struggle that led to cancelling her tour with the Jonas Brothers and her subsequent rehab.
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Mental health advocate
- Lovato opened up about her struggles with mental illness, substance abuse, and being bullied. She used her fame to bring attention to these important issues, launching an anti-bullying campaign and joining We Day celebrations.
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'The X Factor'
- As an enormous and growing figure in music, in 2012 she was tapped to be a judge on the American version of 'The X Factor' reality singing competition. Along with Simon Cowell, Lovato sat on the judging panel with music exec L.A. Reid and fellow pop star Britney Spears.
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Back to acting, but no more Disney
- During her time on 'The X Factor,' Lovato's acting-singing combo was put to use again as a guest star in a multi-episode story arc on season 5 of 'Glee.'
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More mature role
- Lovato played Dani, a NYC waitress who joins Kurt's band and later forms a trio with Kurt and Elliott. Her character was also in a relationship with Santana, played by the late Naya Rivera.
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Coming out as LGBTQ
- In January 2020, Lovato opened up to Bravo host Andy Cohen about the “beautiful” moment in 2017 when she told her parents she could see herself "ending up possibly with a woman," adding she was "still figuring it out."
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Touching post to Rivera
- Following Naya Rivera's tragic death, Lovato shared a touching tribute: "The character you played was groundbreaking for tons of closeted (at the time) queer girls like me," she wrote. "And your ambition and accomplishments were inspiring to Latina women all over the world."
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Voice acting
- In 2015, it was announced that Lovato was joining the voice cast of 'Smurfs: The Lost Village,' released in 2017.
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Branching into country
- In 2016, Lovato crossed genres to record a country duet with Brad Paisley, called 'Without a Fight.'
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Mixing with legends
- Also in 2016, she lent her voice to a duet with Elton John on his hit 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart.'
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Executive producer - In February 2017, Demi executive-produced the documentary 'Beyond Silence,' which follows the lives of three people who suffer from mental health issues, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety.
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Fashion line - Not satisfied with her existing talents, she also announced the launch of her Fabletics sportswear line in 2017, a collection created to support the United Nations' initiative Girl Up.
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Highest charting single
- The lead single, 'Sorry Not Sorry,' off her 2017 album 'Tell Me You Love Me' became Lovato's highest-charting single in the US, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and being certified 5x Platinum.
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Second documentary
- In October 2017, the pop star unveiled a new documentary titled 'Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated' on YouTube. The film offered a daringly honest glimpse into her battles with addiction, depression, bulimia, and self-harm.
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Unseen struggles
- The documentary showed the unseen struggle behind her time on 'The X Factor,' as she was trying to get sober and was battling an eating disorder.
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Relationship with Wilmer Valderrama
- The documentary also looked at her experience following the end of her six-year relationship with Wilmer Valderrama, whom she started dating when she was just 18 and he 29.
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Time 100 - Praised for being vocal about her bipolar disorder diagnosis and inspiring others to do the same, Lovato was picked as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2017.
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A tall height to fall from
- Before 2018 took a nosedive, Lovato teamed up with Christina Aguilera for a fiery performance of the duo's single 'Fall in Line' at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards.
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Struggle with drugs
- The singer then released her song 'Sober' in June 2018, in which she admitted that she had fallen back into addiction after six years of sobriety. Then on July 24, 2018, the pop star was rushed to the hospital following a near-fatal overdose.
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Struggle with drugs - The singer was reportedly found unconscious by her assistant, and later revived with the use of Narcan, a drug that reverses opiate overdoses. TMZ claimed she was given drugs laced with fentanyl, the same drug that killed Prince.
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Rehab
- After leaving treatment, she established a healthy routine of working out at least four times a week, eating healthy food, and going to therapy. She cleaned up all the negativity and bad influences in her life.
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And she opened herself to love in 2020
- Earlier in 2020, Lovato was reportedly dating model Austin Wilson, but in March of the same year E! News reported she moved on to former 'Young and the Restless' star Max Ehrich.
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Wedding bells - In late July 2020, Lovato announced on Instagram that she and Ehrich were engaged! “I knew I loved you the moment I met you,” she wrote, adding that he makes her want to be the best version of herself and that she was excited to start a family with him.
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Messy breakup
- But in late September 2020, that all came crashing down. Lovato broke up with Ehrich, who claimed he was hearing about this for the first time in the tabloids. He actually had a lot to say, but Lovato ended up responding with a song.
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Back to TV
- The actress and singer is taking on the lead role as well as an executive producer position on NBC's new comedy series 'Hungry.' The show, from 'Will & Grace' and 'Hot In Cleveland' writer Suzanne Martin, is a food issues comedy following a group of friends who "help each other as they look for love, success and the perfect thing in the fridge that’s going to make it all better," Deadline reports.
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Demi Lovato and her most dynamic career moments
'Dancing with the Devil' docuseries premiere shocks fans with accounts of sexual assault, heroin addiction, and more
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How many people can say they've reached worldwide fame, experienced a brush with death, helped hundreds of thousands of young people around the world, and battled addiction, mental health issues, the pressures of fame, and bad breakups, all before turning 30?
That's Demi Lovato for you, and all of this becomes obvious in her new four-part documentary 'Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil.' In it she talks about her 2018 relapse, which included "a shopping spree" of drugs. "I tried meth. I mixed it with molly, with coke, weed, alcohol, oxycontin. And that alone should've killed me," she said, adding that soon after she became "addicted to crack and heroin."
Her overdose also wasn't the last time she touched heroin, she confessed. In another heartbreaking reveal, Lovato alleges that she was sexually assaulted by the unnamed drug dealer whose fentanyl she overdosed on. She later relapsed and called the same drug dealer to "to rewrite his choice of violating me," she says, adding that she called him and said, "I'm going to f--k you." Of course, she admitted, "It just made me feel worse." And that was not the first time she'd tried to make an assault right by "being in control" a second time, as she reveals in the doc: "I lost my virginity in a rape. I called that person back a month later." The singer explained that she was telling her #MeToo story publicly for the first time ever because she was scared of "people not believing me."
Demi Lovato has certainly lived many lives in this one she was given, from getting her start as a Disney star to branching out with music, television, activism, and more. Click through to read all about her incredible career—so far.
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