A princess in the making.
A decade after Bailee Madison stole scenes from her Just Go With It co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, the Wizards of Waverly Place alum is singing her way into the spotlight with the highly-anticipated film, A Cinderella Story: Starstruck. This is the sixth movie in the Cinderella Story franchise first made famous by Hillary Duff‘s 2004 runaway Disney hit. Selena Gomez, Lucy Hale, Sofia Carson and Laura Marano followed in her glass slipper-clad footsteps.
In Starstruck, Madison’s Cinderella begins her story as small-town farm girl Finley who becomes connected with actor Jackson Stone (Michael Evans Behling) while his movie is filming in her Idaho town. After her audition for the big-budget flick goes sideways, Finley channels Amanda Bynes in She’s the Man—and lands a role while undercover as a cowboy named Huck. Yes, it’s ridiculous and adorable. Throughout, Finley dreams of stardom that will take her away from evil stepmother (April Telek) and step-siblings Saffron (Lillian Doucet-Roche) and Kale (Richard Harmon).
Madison, who is admittedly a “genuine fan of the franchise,” grew up watching Duff’s original A Cinderella Story. “It’s so timeless,” she exclusively told E! News. “They’ve done a beautiful job creating new versions of Cinderella. I feel like a lot of girls are able to relate to at least one of the Cinderella’s in it, so I love that.”