Celebrities you may have forgotten were on Nickelodeon shows early in their acting careers

Nickelodeon has been the stepping stone for many stars to reach A-list status. 

Before he portrayed Elvis Presley in the 2022 Oscar-nominated film, Austin Butler was on several Nickelodeon programs, like “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” and “Zoey 101.” 

Before she landed the role of Glinda in the “Wicked” film, Ariana Grande played Cat Valentine in “Victorious.” 

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Read about these stars and more who appeared on Nickelodeon as kids.

1. Ariana Grande
2. Austin Butler
3. Miranda Cosgrove
4. Kenan Thompson
5. Jessica Alba
6. Jamie Lynn Spears
7. Emma Roberts
8. Nick Cannon

1. Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande’s career in acting started when she was 15 years old in the Broadway musical “13.” 

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She became more well-known when she played Cat Valentine in the television series “Victorious.” 

The show followed Tori Vega (Victoria Justice) as she joined Hollywood Arts, a high school full of students with different talents in entertainment, from singers, to musicians and actors. 

Following “Victorious,” Grande went on to act in the show, “Sam & Cat” with Jennette McCurdy from “iCarly.” In this series, they played their characters from their respective shows. 

At this point in Grande’s career, she really began to put more effort towards her music, with the release of her debut album, “Yours Truly” in 2013, after she signed with Republic Records. 

Ariana Grande (R) played Cat Valentine on “Victorious” and the show “Sam & Cat.” (Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

She has since put out the albums “My Everything,” “Dangerous Woman,” “Sweetener,” “Thank U, Next,” “Positions” and her newest, the 2024 album “Eternal Sunshine.” 

In 2021, it was announced that Grande would be playing Glinda in the film production of “Wicked.” 

The first of two “Wicked” films will premiere in November 2024. 

2. Austin Butler

Austin Butler played roles on numerous TV shows before landing massive movies, but his most well known Nickelodeon role was in “Zoey 101.” 

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Butler spent most of his Nickelodeon days as James Garrett, a love interest to Zoey Brooks (Jamie Lynn Spears) on “Zoey 101.” 

He played the character during the show’s final season. 

Butler also made very small appearances in “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” and “iCarly,” when he appeared in a single episode of each show. 

Around this time, Butler also acted in numerous Disney shows, like “Zeke and Luther,” “Hannah Montana,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Jonas.” He was also in the Disney movie “Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.” 

After his roles on Disney and Nickelodeon, he started to drift into more adult TV shows with roles in “Switched at Birth” and “The Carrie Diaries.”

Austin Butler acted in several shows on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel before landing major movie roles.  (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)

This led Butler into massive movie roles in “Elvis,” “The Bikeriders” and “Dune: Part Two.” 

3. Miranda Cosgrove

If you think back to the early days of Miranda Cosgrove’s career, you probably remember her from her time acting on the Nickelodeon shows “Drake & Josh” and “iCarly.” 

If you think back even further, you may remember her as Summer Hathaway in the 2003 film “School of Rock.” 

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Cosgrove made appearances on other Nickelodeon TV shows, like “Zoey 101” and “Unfabulous,” but was a series regular on the show “Drake & Josh,” where she played the mischievous little sister of the show’s main characters. 

After “Drake & Josh,” Cosgrove went on to get her own show “iCarly.” In one episode of the show, Jack Black, Cosgrove’s “School of Rock” co-star, made a brief cameo. 

Nearly 10 years after the conclusion of “iCarly,” she shared the screen again with many of the show’s original stars in a reboot from 2021 to 2023.  

Miranda Cosgrove was the star of the Nickelodeon show “iCarly.” In one episode, Michelle Obama was a guest star.   (Lisa Rose/Getty Images via Viacom International)

Cosgrove has acted in a number of movies since her days on Nickelodeon, including the “Despicable Me” films, where she voices Margo, and the 2024 film “Mother of the Bride.” 

4. Kenan Thompson

Kenan Thompson was an original cast member of the Nickelodeon comedy series, “All That.” He was on the show from 1994 until 2000. 

Beginning in 1996, he was also on the show “Kenan & Kel.” In the ’90s, he starred in the movie “Good Burger,” a film he is widely known for today. 

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In 2011, Thompson joined a new cast of Nickelodeon actors for the TV movie “iParty with Victorious.” The television movie was a crossover of the shows “iCarly” and “Victorious.” 

Thompson appeared as himself in the 2011 movie. 

Since 2003, Thompson has continued to bring his comedy to the small screen on “Saturday Night Live.”

5. Jessica Alba

“The Secret World of Alex Mack” was a Nickelodeon series that ran from 1994 to 1998. The show was about a girl that gained supernatural abilities after a chemical factory incident. 

Jessica Alba has appeared in many shows like “Dark Angel” and movies such as “Machete” since her days on Nickelodeon.  (MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Alba appeared in three episodes of the Nickelodeon show in 1994. 

After that, Alba acted in many other TV shows, like “Flipper,” “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Dark Angel.” 

Notable movies of Alba’s include “Fantastic Four,” “Sin City” and “Machete.” 

6. Jamie Lynn Spears

Jamie Lynn spent many years on the set of the Nickelodeon show “Zoey 101.” She got the leading role on this show after spending two years as a cast member on “All That.”

In 2023, a “Zoey 101” reboot movie was released called “Zoey 102.”  

In 1999, Spears’ older sister Britney appeared in a 1999 episode of “Kenan & Kel.” 

She played herself in the episode that came out shortly after she released her debut song “Baby One More Time.” 

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7. Emma Roberts

Emma Roberts spent three years playing Addie Singer on the Nickelodeon show “Unfabulous.” 

She also appeared in a 2004 episode of “Drake & Josh.” 

During the time she was on “Unfabulous,” she also acted in the movies “Aquamarine” and “Nancy Drew.”

Emma Roberts was the star of the Nickelodeon show “Unfabulous.”  (Jesse Grant/WireImage)

Roberts was later in “Hotel for Dogs,” “Valentine’s Day,” “Scream 4” and “We’re the Millers.” 

She went back to TV in 2013 when she began acting in “American Horror Story.” She also starred in the 2015–2016 series “Scream Queens.”

8. Nick Cannon

One of Nick Cannon’s earliest roles was on the Nickelodeon TV series “All That.” During the time he was on “All That,” from 1998 to 2004, he appeared in two episodes of “Kenan & Kal.” 

Cannon then had his own Nickelodeon series, “The Nick Cannon Show,” from 2002 to 2003. 

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In 2005, Cannon started hosting the MTV series “Wild ‘N Out,” until 2019. 

For eight seasons, Cannon was the host of the competition show “America’s Got Talent.”

He now hosts the singing competition show, “The Masked Singer,” where celebrities take the stage disguised in elaborate costumes, and judges must guess who’s under the mask.