Mandy Moore’s the girl next door.
The girl you want to be best friends with.
Oh, and she’s a talented singer and actress.
Let’s take a closer look at her life and her stunning transformation from Florida kid to famous star.
And for young Mandy Moore, the appeal wasn’t in the fame, but the music.
Sheonce toldCosmopolitan, “I don’t think I had the aspiration to be a star growing up.
I loved Madonna and Bette Midler, and I had my karaoke machine and would sing their songs.”
That love of singing would pay off.
And the rest is history.
With the newfound success, Moore saw the negative, judgmental side of the industry as well.
Lucky for us, Moore has also taken the time to look back at her early career clothing choices.
Years later, she spoke withPeople, saying, “I started when I was 15…
I’d say between 15 and like 19, 20.
I give myself a bit of a pass, but there’s like leather pants with fringe on them.
That was my choice.”
Questionable or not, they were all fabulous choices (at the time).
Mandy Moore joined the acting world
It wasn’t only with music that Mandy Moore found success.
She also showed off her acting chops,starting with rolesinDr.
Dolittle 2andThe Princess Diaries.
Then in 2002, the then 17-year-old Moore took on a role that showed she was here to stay.
She starred inA Walk to Remember, based onthe novelwritten byNicholas Sparks.
This was a special role for Moore in many ways.
She said, “I was so fresh-faced and naive.
He was just the perfect partner for that.”
How else did playing the character of Jamie Sullivan affect Moore?
Believe it or not, hair had quite a bit to do with it.
Moore traded in herblonde locksfor brunette for the film, a look that stayed with her.
There was a real significance to coloring my hair.
In 2005, she started her own fashion line, Mblem.
As she toldWWD, “I love the fashion world.
I’m fascinated by it.
I’m humbled by it…
So next go round, that needs to be top of the list.”
She had been pinned into a certain stereotype when she first entered the industry in her early teen years.
She was ready to show who she really was years later, but experienced some opposition.
I was told what to sing and how to sing it, and I felt like a puppet.
I don’t think people cared about me or what I wanted to do musically.
It was more about: ‘This is what sells records.’
I totally felt disposable."
Still, Moore was looking to push forward with her music.
She had an album written and basically ready to record, but it wasn’t going anywhere yet.
During the sameElleinterview, she said, “I don’t know.
Maybe it will come out this year?
I think my label is expecting a poppier, mainstream-key in thing from me.
It’s been so long since I was singing ‘Candy’ and driving in a green Beetle.
What’s the reason for that?
It’s simple: she’s an old soul.
She was honest with her answer, saying, “I’ve never really put much thought into it.
I don’t think I even knew how old he was when we first started going out.
I don’t feel 22.
My girlfriends are all in their 30s.”
Moore continued, “They say I’m like an old woman.
I feel like a 65-year-old in a 22-year-old’s body.
I go to bed early.
I also say things like ‘jeez Louise.’
And I think I dress like an old woman.”
Everything Moore said makes her even cooler in my book.
Okay, maybe not arealprincess, but close enough.
The actressvoiced Rapunzelin Disney’s animated filmTangled.
I never had the opportunity to do something quite like this.
And what’s the hardest part of playing a princess?
Moore admitted to not knowing many facts about cervical cancer before GCF reached out to her.
But after reading up, she knew she wanted to help.
She said, “It’s tough.
Life is not easy…
It’s all fuel.”
Per usual, Moore was able to find an optimistic view in a negative situation.
She continued on to say, “I think everything happens for a reason…
But then she read it.
And as we now know, she got the part.
During her interview withVulture, Moore described these relationships a bit more, saying, “I love it!
We really take the mom and dad thing to the nth degree.
And I’m like, ‘No, it was all Dad.
‘Milo [Ventimiglia]put it together.
We have a lot of fun with it.
It’s pretty ridiculous considering that I’m younger than all of my children.”
What’s next for Mandy Moore?
In a 2016 interviewwithByrdie, she spoke of the transition from her past to her present.
Today, she is totally cool with being the old soul that she turned out to be.
Moore is looking forward to what the future will bring.
“I’m totally ready,” she said.
“I can’t wait until the day when watching60 Minutesis perfectly acceptable for my age.
The aging process: I say bring it on.”
