What Are Amber And Ashley From Hannah Montana Up To Now
The Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana" made a star out of Miley Cyrus, who played ordinary-girl-turned-pop-star Miley Stewart from 2006-2011. In the show, she and her best friends Lilly Prescott (Emily Osment) and Oliver Oaken (Mitchell Musso) tried to survive their daily lives as uncool students, all while Miley's celebrity alter ego was living the pop-star life on nights and weekends — complete with her secret, giant closet full of glamorous clothes and shoes.
Naturally, Miley's school needed some mean girls to provide a foil for Miley and to highlight how very different her rock-star life is from her daily grind. Enter Amber Addison (Shanica Knowles) and Ashley Dewitt (Anna Maria Perez de Tagle). The presence of these pretty, vain girls and their attitude towards Miley cemented her status as a loser at her high school. They also represented exactly the type of Hannah fans that Miley was trying to escape — the ones who'd fawn over her endlessly and superficially if they understood who she really was.
The actresses who played Amber and Ashley never became as successful as their co-stars. Osment has had steady work in the industry ever since "Hannah Montana" ended and even Musso, who's been a bit lower-profile, has plenty of acting and singing experience on his resume. It's a bit harder to understand where the actresses who played Amber and Ashley have been.
Amber and Ashley were high-profile recurring characters who were there at the beginning and the end
Starting from the very first episode of "Hannah Montana," when Amber and Ashley stole the cafeteria seats Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) and Lilly Prescott (Emily Osment) were about to snag next to their crush (Corbin Bleu), the two characters represented the popular kids in the Disney Channel series, who weren't always very nice to people. However, Miley and Lilly often gave as good as they got, sometimes mocking their rivals' signature "oooh, tsss" move.
The characters provided plenty of angst for Miley and her friends in the first two seasons of "Hannah Montana" as recurring cast members, but they were only seen in a couple of episodes in Season 3. Although they had a clear purpose in the show that didn't allow them much character development, Amber showed a bit more depth when she expressed stage fright in "The Idol Side of Me," an episode in which she makes it to a singing competition that Hannah is hosting. In Season 4, though, the duo showed up just once: in the series finale, "Wherever I Go." They turn out to be Miley and Lily's next-door neighbors in their dorm at Stanford, eager to be pals now that Miley has shed her Hannah persona and revealed herself as the star she is. So basically, they haven't changed.
Believe it or not, Amber and Ashley appeared in less than 20 episodes of "Hannah Montana," but their appearances were pretty memorable. Their presence at both the beginning and the very last episode highlights the fact that they were long-time fan favorites, even though the show evolved and maybe didn't need them quite as much anymore as it went on. So what happened to them, post "Hannah Montana"?
Shanica Knowles is still acting and put out a music video directed by Raven-Symone
Shanica Knowles, 30, told a ChasingLA reporter in 2014 that she was no relation to Beyonce, but the rumors have persisted so much that in 2017, Heatworld, which posted an interview with her about Beyonce and Jay-Z's relationship, was forced to retract it. She actually got her start with a role in Nickelodeon's "Unfabulous," playing cheerleader Vanessa. During her time in "Hannah Montana," she also starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Jump In!" and was in "Super Sweet 16: The Movie" in 2007.
Her acting career since has not been particularly prolific: She's had a few guest-starring roles on shows like "Awkward.", "Suburgatory," "Melissa and Joey," and "Real Husbands of Hollywood." In 2016, she did a Lifetime movie called "Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le." She was also in 2012's "Sassy Pants" and has been in TV movies such as "Megachurch Murder" in 2015, "The Time Capsule" in 2018, "Babysitter's Nightmare" in 2018, and Lifetime's "Christmas on the Menu" in 2020.
She had a 10-episode recurring stint on "The Young and the Restless" in 2018 and a supporting role in 2018's "Life-Size 2" with Tyra Banks as well. Also in 2018, she put out what appears to be her first musical single, a song called "Selenite" that had a video directed by Raven-Symoné. In an Instagram post, Knowles called Raven-Symoné "the first celebrity to say that she was a fan of mine when I was only 10 years old." She said she was a contestant in a Chicago talent competition and Raven-Symoné was a judge. She won that contest, after performing "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan. "Then a decade later, the Universe reunited us at an award show in Los Angeles where I was performing at. She was backstage watching my performance because she was getting ready to present an award ... we became more than just fans of each other, we became the best of friends."
Knowles also started a business teaching acting in 2020
In addition to acting, Knowles has decided to share her industry expertise. In early 2020, she announced that she was starting the business Inside Talents to help others break into acting. However, it appears that the COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed her efforts, as she promised instructional YouTube videos but has only produced a couple of them.
"So I've always wanted to do an online acting course for other aspiring actors because I remember when I came into this industry, I really wish I had someone that I looked up to that was able to give me some inside information or some tips on how to break into the industry because that would have saved me a lot of time," she said in her website's introductory video. "But more than anything, I really want to help aspiring actors who have dreams but don't know how to reach them."
If you're looking to catch up with her doings, check out her Instagram account, where Knowles occasionally posts. Back in April, she came on to say she was "mad busy but good busy," although she didn't specify with what, and promised an announcement soon. In July, she asked fans for help picking images of herself for an unnamed project. If she has something new going on, hopefully she'll announce it there, as she's done in the past.
Anna Maria Perez de la Tagle was known best for role in Camp Rock
Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, 30, is a Filipino-American actress who, while well-known for "Hannah Montana," also played a supporting character in another one of Disney's high-profile franchises during the run of that series. She played Ella in 2008's "Camp Rock," a similar character to Ashley, but with a bit more character development in the end — and a lot more musical talent. Ella is part of mean girl Tess Tyler's (Meaghan Martin) clique, who sing backup for her until, on the night of the Final Jam, they get tired of Tess' diva-like ways and desert her. She returned to the role in 2010's "Camp Rock 2," and by now, Ella was a bit more of her own person. Rather than follow Tess to Camp Star, she sticks with the "less cool" Camp Rock. Perez de Tagle got more singing and dancing time than dialogue in the sequel.
In 2009, Perez de Tagle made waves in the "Fame" remake, where her character Joy "looks so fetching we wish she had been given more substantial scenes," critic Roger Ebert said in his review. In 2010, she released an original song called "Roses" and toured with Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers performing "Camp Rock" songs. She has since guest-starred in some television shows, including "Baby Daddy" and the new "Charmed," but her on-screen credits aren't too extensive. In part, that's because she moved to the theater world for a bit and continued touring. She made her 2011 Broadway debut in "Godspell" (via Broadway Buzz), but was back in concert with the Jonas Brothers in Asia in 2012 (via Broadway World).
Perez de Tagle got married in 2018 and now has a baby daughter
More recently, Perez de Tagle's absence from the entertainment scene may be explained in part by her personal life: She got married in 2018 to half-Filipino engineer Scott Kline Jr. (via ABS-CBN News). Apparently, a cousin set them up and their first date was at Disneyland. In attendance, singing "Ave Maria" was her grandmother, Filipino musical icon Sylvia de Torre.
At the time, Perez de Tagle-Kline said, "But I still plan to still act, sing. We are still living in L.A. so we'll be fine with that." She told Balitang America that her husband was supportive of her career, but would also be similarly supportive if they decided to have kids and she decided to take time off.
Sure enough, on July 10, 2021 she announced on Twitter that on June 10, she'd had a baby girl named Amelia Grace Kline, so it's possible she'll be focused on first-time motherhood for a while. Still, like many actors who end up having a built-in audience because of their public prominence, she seems to be taking the influencer route. She appears to have partnerships with companies like Posh Peanut, which sells newborn clothing, and Wibargain.com, which sells mystery boxes sourced from major retailers. She's mostly active on TikTok, where she has posted much of her pregnancy and parenthood journey. So, if you're interested, you'll want to check her out there.