Dancing Acting Talking Over The World

MADDIE ZIEGLER CAN DO IT ALL. (EXCEPT SHE’S TERRIBLE AT TEXTING. SHE’LL EXPLAIN.) AS SHE MAKES HER BIG-SCREEN DEBUT, SHE SHARES HER KEYS TO SUCCESS—AND SO MUCH MORE.

- Andrea Stanley

MADDIE ZIEGLER HASN’T LET FAME GO TO HER HEAD. HOW CAN YOU TELL? SHE’S DOING THIS INTERVIEW IN HER PAJAMAS. IN FACT, SHE WOKE UP JUST FIVE MINUTES BEFORE CALLING SEVENTEEN FROM HER HOME IN LOS ANGELES, AND FOR A FEW MINUTES, HER VOICE IS A BIT GROGGY. “I’M STILL JUST A TEENAGER,” SHE SAYS SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE CONVERSATION. BUT THE FORMER DANCE MOMS STAR, 14, ALSO HAPPENS TO BE ACTING IN TWO MOVIES THIS YEAR (INCLUDING THE BOOK OF HENRY, OUT NOW), HAS ALREADY WRITTEN A BEST-SELLING BOOK, AND CONTINUES TO BE SIA’S MUSE. “I GET SO CAUGHT UP IN WHAT I’M DOING THAT MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY SOMETIMES HAVE TO REMIND ME THAT WHAT I’M DOING IS COOL,” THE PITTSBURGH NATIVE ADMITS. “I NEVER IMAGINED THIS.” SO WHERE DOES SHE SEE HERSELF IN 10 YEARS? “I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M DOING NEXT WEEK! I’M A GO-WITH-THE-FLOW KIND OF GIRL.” HER IMMEDIATE PLAN, HOWEVER, IS TO EAT A BOWL OF HONEY BUNCHES OF OATS, BUT FIRST SHE’LL CHAT ABOUT NEW CHALLENGES—AND A MAJOR CHANGE SHE HAS IN MIND.

ON MOVIES & MOVES

She’s really into acting. 

“Movies are so much fun. I love being on set. I would love to do another movie. Actually, no, not just another one— like, 900 more! I don’t know if I think of myself as a movie star now, but I want to be one. When people think of me as, ‘Oh, she’s just a dancer,’ I want them to say, ‘Oh, she can act too.’ ”

There’s one big thing that got her here. 

“Yes, I get to have some amazing opportunities, but you have to remember, I work really hard. Things didn’t come naturally for me. I wasn’t an amazing dancer when I first started. My life isn’t perfect—no one’s is perfect.”