Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (2024)

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The singer/actress has gone from child star to Disney star to superstar at a fast pace

Jordan Runtagh

Jordan Runtagh is an executive podcast producer at iHeartRadio, where he hosts a slate of pop culture shows including Too Much Information, Inside the Studio, Off the Record and Rivals: Music's Greatest Feuds. Previously, he served as a music editor at PEOPLE and VH1.com. He's written about art and entertainment for more than a decade, regularly contributing to outlets like Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, and appearing as a guest on radio and television. Over the course of his career, he's profiled the surviving Beatles, Brian Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Roger Waters, David Byrne, Pete Townshend, Debbie Harry, Quincy Jones, Brian May, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Taylor and many more. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he lives in Brooklyn, where he can be found DJing '60s soul records.

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Rachel DeSantis

Rachel DeSantis is a staffwriteron the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has previously appeared in Entertainment Weekly and the New York Daily News.

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Published on July 7, 2024 10:30AM EDT

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (3)

This is the story of a talented kid turned Disney star turned pop legend in her own time ... who's just getting started.

Olivia Rodrigo has been everywhere in recent years, thanks to her Disney Channel days and perhaps, most notably, the release of her blockbuster 2021 single, "driver's license." She's also the subject of PEOPLE's latest special issue, available on newsstands and Amazon.com now.

"When I wrote my first album, I was 17," she tells PEOPLE. "I think everyone is super insecure at 17 and doubting themselves constantly. 'Am I talented? Can I do this?' [Now] I'm a lot happier, and I take myself a lot less seriously. I trust my gut more, and I trust my intuitions."

Before that confidence came local talent contests, a stint with American Girl and more childhood dreams, as seen in the photos that follow. But they all brought Rodrigo, now 21, to where she is today.

"What is next?" she asks in her PEOPLE story. "I don't know! I'll get back to you in a few months."

01of 15

Idol Eyes

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (4)

When Olivia Rodrigo's local Boys & Girls Club staged their take on American Idol in 2011, the singer introduced herself, explaining that "for fun" she liked having sleepovers with friends.

02of 15

She's a Winner

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (5)

"I want to win Idol because I like having fun, and competing is fun for me," the young starlet said at the time.

03of 15

First Steps

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (6)

Boldly taking on the Barbra Streisand showstopper “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” Olivia Rodrigo, at just 8, earned first place in her age group.

04of 15

Magic Mic

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (7)

The young singer clearly had a vision, as evidenced by this Disney-devoted home photo.

05of 15

Sing Thing

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (8)

In 2013, Olivia Rodrigo reached for a big note to triumph in a Temecula, California, Boys & Girls Club Idol talent competition.

06of 15

Commercial Success

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (9)

Olivia Rodrigo was 12 when she landed this 2015 holiday spot for Old Navy (above) featuring Portlandia stars Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein.

American Girl

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (10)

Next she scored her first starring role in this entry in the American Girl series, 2015's Grace Stirs Up Success.

08of 15

Next Step

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (11)

One year later, the rising star made her small-screen debut on the Disney series Bizaardvark.

09of 15

Besties for the Resties

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (12)

Olivia met Bizaardvark costar Madison Hu (together in 2016) at an early audition for the show. The connection was instant. Madison later told Vogue. “It was immediately like, ‘Olivia’s my best friend.’ ”

10of 15

Disney Days

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (13)

Olivia Rodrigo (with her Bizaardvark castmates Madison Hu, DeVore Ledridge and Ethan Wacker in 2017) would admit that she found it hard to balance work with just being a kid.

11of 15

Love Story

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (14)

On High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Olivia Rodrigo played Nini, whose ex Ricky (Joshua Bassett) joins the drama club to win her back after she finds a new love.

12of 15

Cool Kids

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (15)

Olivia Rodrigo (center, with her costars) learned she was cast on the High School Musical spinoff while studying for a test in a cafe.

13of 15

The Write Stuff

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (16)

“Nini and I are very similar,” Olivia Rodrigo (seen in 2019) told The New Yorker of her High School Musical character. “She writes songs about boys and puts them on social media, and that’s totally something that I do." She later added to Variety, "I write about what I know and what I am feeling intensely."

14of 15

Pen to Paper

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (17)

The singer/songwriter frequently performed on the series and even composed a song that aired. "It's interesting — heartbreaks when you're 16 or 17 — because you don't yet have that perspective of knowing that life goes on," she told The Guardian in 2021.

15of 15

All About Olivia

Before She Spilled Her 'Guts' and Got 'Sour': Photos of a Young Olivia Rodrigo's Rise to Fame (18)

For all things Olivia Rodrigo, pick up PEOPLE's special issue on the star, available on newsstandsand Amazon.comnow.