Former Disney Channel Star is now a space startup CEO

Bridgit Mendler, who once graced our screens on Disney Channel, has a brand new career which is taking her to new heights.

We first came to know the 31-year-old when she starred as Teddy Duncan in the beloved sitcom Good Luck Charlie between 2010 and 2014. She also made guest appearances as a teenage vampire in Wizards of Waverly Place.

As many of her peers and former co-stars, including Selena Gomez and Zendaya, pursued more opportunities in music and film, Mendler has swapped sitcom sets for space, as she is now the CEO of a space start up, and she recently shared a very exciting update about her work.

Earlier in October, Bridgit appeared in a short documentary about her company Northwood Space as it conducted its first major ground-to-space test by connecting with orbiting Planet Labs imagery satellites.

Ground stations are an important link for sending data to and from orbit. They are also crucial for controlling satellites, and the goal of Mendler’s company is to improve communication from the ground by building a global network to send data for satellites.

Bridgit Mender as Teddy Duncan.Disney Channel

In the documentary about Northwood’s test, Mendler explained how she fell in love with space and came to the decision to move on from her career as an entertainer.

“As a young person, the coolest thing I could do was be on a TV show, and it was a really amazing adventure and I think it taught me so many things and I got to meet so many people, which was amazing,” she explains.

Her parents always urged her to do something ‘impactful’ with her life, and after inspiring countless kids and teens while being on the small screen, Mendler decided to pursue a different path.

“But at a certain point in time I felt like my impact was kind of being funnelled through he activities of other people. As an actress, sometimes you just feel like a spokesperson for other causes and other activities, and I wanted to feel more of a direct connection to the impact that I could have.”

Mendler visited the MIT Media Lab, which she called an ‘awakening’ experience. The website for the Massachusetts-based research lab says it aims to, “create transformative technologies, experiences, and systems that enable people to reimagine and redesign their lives".

It was after this trip Mendler became interested in space, and achieved a law degree from Harvard in May this year. Her four-year-old son, whom she adopted in 2022, was at the ceremony to cheer on his mum. According to Mendler’s LinkedIn account, she was co-president of the Harvard Space Law Society from 2022 to 2023.

The Lemonade Mouth actress is now focused on continuing her space work with Northwood Space, which she co-founded in February 2024. "At @NorthwoodSpace we have our sights on building a data highway between earth and space,” she said in her announcement on X, which also confirmed a $6.3m (£4.9m) seed funding from investors.

She added: “We are designing shared ground infrastructure from first principles to expand access to space.”

Despite stepping away from a career in Hollywood, Mendler still has a legion of fans following her every move.

“You’re my Elon,” declared one X user.

“Definitely an individual for the history books,” said another fan. “You are changing the world. I am proud of you.”

And in reference to how Teddy finished her vlogs for her baby sister Charlie on the Disney Channel show, a follower wrote: “Good Luck Bridgit!”

We couldn’t have said it any better!

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