I’m a 2000s Disney star who grew up on screen… but I gave it up to be a nurse for heartbreaking reason
A DISNEY star from the 2000s has revealed the heartbreaking reason they gave up acting to become a nurse after growing up on screen.
Jennifer Stone was known to millions as Harper in Wizards of Waverley Place, but spent the pandemic years fighting coronavirus on the front lines.
Despite a burgeoning acting career stateside, she left the industry in 2013, aged just 20, to focus on her studies.
Her journey into nursing was started when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, sparking a desire to learn about her condition and how her body works.
She enrolled in nursing school in Providence, Rhode Island, that same year, graduating from a volunteer nurse to a residency position in the thick of the pandemic in 2020.
Jennifer told Teen Vogue: “It’s very different and it’s an odd time to start working, but I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to actually be able to help.”
She works in the Emergency Room at a hospital in Burbank, California, and frequently posts about the profession on social media.
In an Instagram post honouring National Nurses’ Day in May, she wrote: “Happy Nurses and Hospital Week to all my fellow healthcare providers out there.
“You guys are the smartest, hardest working, most resilient people I know.
“I grew up on sets where it was all about teamwork. I love being an integral part of a team.
“Being a nurse is getting to work alongside some of the greatest teammates I have ever encountered.
“I’m honoured to be counted among you.”
However, her departure from acting hasn’t proved to be permanent, as she balances some projects alongside her shifts on the ward.
Jennifer appeared in and co-wrote The In-Between, a 2021 road trip film, in which she plays a woman with Type 1 diabetes.
She is also set to appear in an upcoming movie titled The Perfect Night, which is currently filming.
It comes after a star of one of the most popular children’s films ever revealed how she gave it all up to open her own shop.