Here's What Sabrina Carpenter's Life Was Really Like Before Her Fame - Nicki Swift (2024)

Music

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ByJessica Choi/Nov. 8, 2023 2:00 pm EST

Sabrina Carpenter is one of those multi-hyphenates who is equally talented in both acting and singing. The star rose to fame in 2014 in the "Boy Meets World" spin-off series"Girl Meets World," and soon proved her musical skills with her debut album, "Eyes Wide Open" the following year. Now, Carpenter's star continues to rise and she finished a nationwide tour in May called Emails I Can't Send, named after her fifth studio album, as well as opening for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. Although Carpenter is a big name in her own right, being Swift's opening act was a big deal for her. "Night one felt unlike any crowd I've ever played to before. It was magic," the actor told Vogue.

In addition to her albums, Carpenter has starred in the Broadway rendition of "Mean Girls" and the hit movie, "The Hate U Give." While it's hard to imagine her as a non-famous person having grown up in the spotlight, Carpenter lived a pretty normal life before stardom and still has a soft spot in her heart for her hometown in Pennsylvania.

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Sabrina Carpenter always wanted to become a star long before she made it to the top. As reported by The Morning Call, the "Noobz" actor grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and was homeschooled while dreaming of a career in the entertainment industry. She began taking vocal lessons when she was six years old and at 10 years old, she nudged her way into Hollywood by entering a Miley Cyrus singing competition by filming a video of herself singing in a nearby town. She didn't win but she met the "Flowers" singer and proved to herself that she had the chops. "I learned about performing, making videos, and I met so many people. I realized this was something I was very passionate about," Carpenter shared.

The "Feather" singer went back to her roots when she made an appearance at a 2015 festival in Pennsylvania. "I don't usually get to play near my hometown so it's nice when I get the opportunity to," she told Lehigh Valley Live. "It is exciting to get to go back and play in front of a hometown crowd and to show people how hard work can lead anyone to success," Carpenter continued. Long before acting, the star's first love was music and after getting her foot in the door with Miley Cyrus' record label, she eventually got signed as a young teen.

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Although Sabrina Carpenter didn't win first place in Miley Cyrus' contest, she caught the eyes of the execs and got signed by Hollywood Records when she was 14 years old. "I was a child. I didn't even know what I was doing," she told i-D. Being a star was Carpenter's own dream and she was never pressured by her parents. "I never, thankfully, felt like I was a child being forced to work. It definitely wasn't a situation where my mom was like 'my kid's going to be a star!' and forced me in front of a camera," she revealed.

Carpenter shared with the Student Pocket Guide that her music has evolved since she first started out in the industry. "I think it's developed a lot because my writing's developed a lot, as the things I was writing about at 13 are very different to the things I'm writing about at 19. I think your voice and self-confidence grow a lot over time," she stated. Carpenter is now signed with Universal Music Publishing and she has again opened for Taylor Swift's Latin America leg of her Eras Tour, whom she grew up listening to. Things have come full circle for the pop star and she told Billboard, "I think what I really appreciate about music, but most specifically pop is that it's always evolving."