This Good Luck Charlie Star's Real Life Mirrors Her Character

Bridgit Mendler once led the cast of Good Luck Charlie and has had a lucrative post-Disney Channel career, with a hint of narrative irony. The beloved family sitcom holds its own against the best Disney Channel original TV shows, depicting Mendler's Teddy Duncan and her family following the unexpected birth of their fourth child. The hook of the series is that Teddy embarks on a project of recording a video diary of advice for her baby sister Charlie (Mia Talerico), with the help of their brothers Gabe (Bradley Steven Perry) and PJ (Jason Dolley).

A recent reunion among some of the Good Luck Charlie cast on Twitch streamer Kai Cenat's "Mafiathon 2" event did not include Mendler, despite her prominence in the series (via People). Meanwhile, other actors who once starred in Good Luck Charlie's contemporary TV shows have only been getting bigger, including the likes of Zendaya and Zac Efron. Mendler arguably could have been one of the best stars to come out of Disney Channel, but her career took her away from acting, in a way that surprisingly resonates with her Good Luck Charlie character.

Teddy Duncan Was Always A Dedicated Student In Good Luck Charlie

Teddy's Commitment To Her Studies Provided Comedy For Good Luck Charlie & Lead Her To An Ivy League School

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Teddy was always the most studious member of the Duncan family, her intense dedication to her studies and at times overdone perfectionism serving as the backbone of certain comedic situations. Some of the wackiest episodes with her character include her panicking after receiving a B on a report and pursuing a place to study for a final all over town when her house is too loud. This is her basic stock character trait, set against PJ as the well-meaning but "dumb" child and Gabe as the resident troublemaker.

Multiple Disney Channel series had foregone conclusions (Miley reveals herself as Hannah Montana, the competition to be the family wizard finally happens, etc.) and for Good Luck Charlie, that was Teddy leaving for college. At the end of the series, Teddy is accepted to Yale University, tantamount to winning the lottery in real life. Teddy wraps up her video diary series and leaves Denver for New Haven, thankfully rewarded for her hard work and for being used as one punchline for the show.

Since Good Luck Charlie, Bridgit Mendler Has Graduated From Two Prestigious Universities

Mendler Did Some More Acting Before Focusing On Academics & Her Start-Up

After Good Luck Charlie ended in 2014, Mendler did some limited additional acting work, including several small TV roles. Perhaps the biggest show she has been on in later years is Nashville, for which she portrayed Ashley Willerman in two 2017 episodes. She also provided the voice of Arietty in the English version of Studio Ghibli's The Secret World of Arietty before the Disney Channel show ended, and produced a number of music videos afterward. However, Mendler's last acting credit was in 2019 for Merry Happy Whatever, before she started down a career path much more like Teddy's.

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Mendler graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2020 and Harvard University in 2024, before launching her tech startup Northwood Space (via J-14). These impressive accomplishments now appear to be her primary focus and would have made her Good Luck Charlie character proud. Teddy's major at Yale is not confirmed in Good Luck Charlie, but she demonstrates an aptitude for almost every subject and could have also chosen to go into STEM-focused research. Disney Channel fans may miss Mendler, but she is doubtlessly doing great things.

Bridgit Mendler Stepping Away From Acting Has Implications For A Disney Revival Besides Good Luck Charlie

Mendler Probably Won't Return To Good Luck Charlie Or Waverly Place

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Discussions about a potential Good Luck Charlie reboot, following in the footsteps of other Disney Channel revivals, usually snag on Bridgit Mendler as the cast member least likely to return, which would be a problem when Teddy is essentially the main character of the original. However, Mendler's apparent departure from acting has implications for another series. In another hit Disney show, Wizards of Waverly Place, Mendler held a recurring role as the vampire girlfriend Juliet of series regular Justin Russo, played by David Henrie. Justin is now married to someone else in the sequel series Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.

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However, there has still been speculation about whether Juliet will ever appear in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. This could hugely benefit the series: fans want to know what happened to her and why she and Justin broke up, her presence would cause tension with Justin's wife, and her vampire status would lead to more fantasy shenanigans. However, Mendler has not publicly shown interest in doing this and hasn't acted in years. Back in the day, Mendler carried weight as a multi-character Disney Channel star, which now has implications for continuities beyond Good Luck Charlie.

Source: People, J-14