Maddie Ziegler Doesn’t Think She’s Famous
At 20, Maddie Ziegler has a resume that rivals what most people will accomplish in a lifetime. The multi-hyphenate has accomplished a staggering amount in her short life and gained plenty of fans along the way. At eight, Ziegler’s life was forever changed when she was cast in the hit reality TV show, Dance Moms. Then, at 11, things went into overdrive when she landed the lead role in Sia’s music video, Chandelier. But despite being in the spotlight for more than half her life, the dancer still doesn’t think of herself as famous.
Maddie Ziegler had no idea that ‘Dance Moms’ would make her well-known
Ziegler was hardly expecting Dance Moms to bring her any attention, let alone make her famous. She was just a regular 8-year-old with a passion for dance when the show started filming. She couldn’t have predicted just how popular the show would become or that it would bring her millions of fans. In fact, when Ziegler and her family first signed on to the show, it was only supposed to be a six-episode docuseries.
The actor has continued to find success since she quit the reality TV show
Since Ziegler and her family never watched Dance Moms, they didn’t have any inclination of the traction it was receiving. It wasn’t until the dancer and her friends (and fellow castmates) were recognized at an ice cream shop that they started realizing the show was popular. Of course, the reality TV show was only the tip of the iceberg for Ziegler. Lately, she’s been making a name for herself as an actor with films like The Fallout and the upcoming Bloody Hell.
Why Ziegler doesn’t consider herself to be famous
But despite the success, recognition, and millions of followers Ziegler has, she still doesn’t see herself as famous. While speaking with Cosmopolitan, she all but rejected the term. “I still have a hard time considering myself famous,” the talented dancer shared. “I know fame is a very wide spectrum, but still, I just don’t think I’m famous. I see people like Rihanna…I always say I’m ‘well known.'”
Calling herself well-known is less intimidating for Ziegler
Continuing on, Ziegler explained that by shying away from calling herself famous, she was protecting herself in a sense. She doesn’t want to come across as someone who is on a high horse, so she finds other ways to describe herself. “I have a fear of people thinking I think I’m all that, and that’s what I relate being famous to, even though I know that’s not necessarily the case,” she explained. “It’s just easier for me to say ‘well known’ or ‘in the public eye’ because to me, that just seems less intimidating.”
Whether Ziegler wants to describe herself as famous or not, it’s clear that there are plenty of people paying attention to her and her art. To date, the Chandelier video that she starred in has over 2.5 billion views. On Instagram, the West Side Story alum is quickly closing in on 14 million followers. And despite her low activity on TikTok, (she’s only posted 30 times) she’s managed to rack up 5.5 million followers. The actor also has put up with her fair share of paparazzi throughout the course of her career. We can see how having so many people watching her every move might be intimidating for Ziegler. It’s no wonder she’s found ways to make it more palatable for her.
