Madison "Maddie" Nicole Ziegler (born September 30, 2002) is an American dancer, actress, and model. She portrayed Shelby Hayden in Homework & Hidden Talents.
Early life and Career[]
Ziegler was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Melissa Ziegler-Gisoni and Kurt Ziegler. She is of Polish, German, and Italian descent. Her parents divorced in 2011, citing the financial and emotional toll dance took on the family. She was an active member of the Abby Lee Dance Company since 2004 at the age of two. She trains in tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, acro, jazz and aerial dance. Ziegler has a younger sister, Mackenzie (b. June 4, 2004), who was also an active dancer at the Abby Lee Dance Company, as well as two older half-brothers from her father's previous marriage and two older step-siblings.
Ziegler attended Sloan Elementary School until 2013, leaving to be home schooled. Ziegler and her family currently live in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Ziegler began dancing at the age of two and currently attends the Abby Lee Dance Company. She has won numerous titles at regional, state, and national levels in the dance world.
Maddie in a publicity photo.
In 2010 at age 8, Ziegler performed for Paula Abdul's reality television program Live to Dance but the program was canceled before her performance aired. In 2011, Ziegler's mother earned a role on Lifetime's Dance Moms where appears alongside her mother and younger sister, Mackenzie. In 2013, she made guest appearances on the spin-off program, Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition. In 2012, Ziegler landed her first professional acting job, portraying the character of Young Deb on the Lifetime series Drop Dead Diva. She will continue her acting career in 2015 with a guest spot on the Disney Channel series Austin & Ally.
Ziegler has appeared in music videos for various artists. Sia's "Chandelier", which Ziegler stars in, received nominations at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year and Best Choreography, winning the latter. The video was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Ziegler later starred with Shia LaBeouf in "Elastic Heart", also by Sia. Ziegler has performed on several shows, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dancing with the Stars, and Saturday Night Live, as well as at the 2014 Hollywood Bowl. On February 8, 2015, alongside Sia and Kristen Wiig, Ziegler performed at the nationally televised 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Ziegler has modeled for various fashion lines including Glitzy Girl, Sally Miller, and Purple Pixies.
In 2016, Maddie and her sister Mackenzie both left the Abby Lee Dance Company to pursue other jobs
Filmography[]
Acting credits[]
| Year | Series | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Drop Dead Diva | Young Deb | Guest, Episode 'Lady Parts' |
| 2015 | Austin & Ally | Shelby | Guest, Episode 'Homework & Hidden Talents' |
| Pretty Little Liars | Girl from Spencer's Memory | Guest, Episode 'She's No Angel' |
As herself[]
| Year | Series | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Live to Dance | Episode did not air |
| 2011–2016 | Dance Moms | Lead |
| 2013 | Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition | Performer, 2 episodes |
| 2014 | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Performer, Episode 11-160 |
| Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Performer, Episode 12-95 | |
| Late Night with Seth Meyers | Guest star, Episode 1-57 | |
| Dancing with the Stars | Performer, Episode 19-Finals | |
| Good Morning America | Guest, 1 episode | |
| 2015 | Saturday Night Live | Performer, Episode 40-11 |
| The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Performer, Episode 12-93 | |
| 57th Annual Grammy Awards | Performer |
Trivia[]
- She has dreamed of performing on Broadway as either a dancer or choreographer.
- She was born Taylor Nicole Ziegler, but her name was changed to Madison Nicole a couple of days after she was born.
- She has been dancing since she was 2 years old.
- Alongside dancing, she also sings, acts, and models.
- She has won more than 12 crowns from dance competitions.
- Her favorite dance styles are tap and lyrical.
- She was crowned Lifetime Beautiful Stars.
- She received the scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet Summer Camp Intensive but was not able to participate.
- In the season 2 mid-season finale of Dance Moms, the girls auditioned for a Joffery Ballet Scholarship. On the show, Chloe is the only one who receives a full scholarship. In reality, Maddie received a full scholarship to a Joffrey modern dance program; Chloe got also got a full scholarship for ballet.
- She has appeared in the music video for Sia's song Chandelier and has performed the dance from the video with Sia on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The music video has more than 178 million views on YouTube.
- She has appeared in a Sketchers commercial.
- Some of her best friends are Kalani Hilliker and Kendall Vertes. Kendall also dances on the reality TV show Dance Moms. Kalani used to be a part of Dance Moms with them but left to dance at a different studio.
Gallery[]
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