Now that it’s almost Christmas time, there’s nothing better than grabbing some blankets and hot cocoa, snuggling up on the couch and watching all the classic holiday movies. All Christmas flicks are magical, but it’s always extra special when an unexpected favorite actor is the star of the film!
Stars like Vanessa Hudgens and Kiernan Shipka have showed up in out favorite holiday flicks and we’re obsessed with rewatching them each year. The High School Musical alum, for one, stars in The Princess Switch franchise along with The Knight Before Christmas — which are both on Netflix!
The first Princess Switch movie premiered in November 2018. It’s since spawned two sequels with The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star having premiered via the streaming service in November 2021. Throughout the second and third movies, Vanessa appeared as three different characters — Stacy De Novo, Duchess Margaret of Montenaro and Lady Fiona. But she’ll never play more than that in one movie!
“After I read [the script] I thought, ‘Ooh man, this is going to be a lot of work,’” the actress Entertainment Weekly in October 2020. “Three of me? Me, myself and I! I was very excited to create yet another character and had such a blast doing so. I was told they wrote in a new character but I had no idea how much fun it would actually be.”
As for the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actress, she appeared in the 2018 classic Let It Snow, alongside Descendants star Mitchell Hope, Dumplin’ alum Odeya Rush and Dora the Explorer actress Isabela Merced!
“I think the main lessons are to take a chance on love, to not be afraid and to not let love stop you from doing scary things because if you do those scary things, life could be more fulfilling,” Kiernan told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2019 of her Netflix film. “I think that’s the breakthrough that a lot of these characters go through, and I hope it inspires other people to do the same. To tell someone that they like them or love them. I think that’s lovely and I hope that happens.”
As fan know, these aren’t the only big stars to have appeared in a festive holiday movie over the years. Plenty of other OG Disney Channel stars have gotten into the Christmas spirit too! Scroll through our gallery to uncover all the celebrities that you totally forgot starred in Christmas movies!
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.