Liv and Maddie remains one of Disney Channel’s most popular shows, running for four seasons from 2013 till 2017. Dove Cameron joined the list of actors who have played multiple roles in the series, portraying identical titular twins Liv and Maddie, who have extremely different personalities. The family-friendly comedy was a hit throughout its run, charming its way into audience members’ hearts with exceptional performances from Cameron and the rest of the talented cast.
It’s been five years since we said goodbye to the series, and fans have become increasingly curious to know what the cast members are up to today. Here’s what we know about each of the show’s main stars.
Dove Cameron (Liv and Maddie)
Dove Cameron is an actress and singer known for playing the roles of both Liv and Maddie and earning a Daytime Emmy Award for her incredibly convincing portrayals. She showed some more of her range when she was cast as the edgy and headstrong character Mal in the Disney film, Descendants. By 2015, she made her debut as a music artist with the soundtrack album for Liv and Maddie. In the same year, “If Only,” her debut single for Descendants, was released. She also ventured into Broadway, gaining positive reviews for her performances in Hairspray Live! and Clueless: The Musical.
As of 2022, Cameron has deleted all of her existing music — including her 2019 EP Bloodshot/Waste — from all music platforms and has chosen to start again on a clean slate. She has also been cast as Bubbles in The CW’s upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular animated show The Powerpuff Girls. While the show has hit several roadblocks, including the network’s rejection of the pilot, Cameron revealed to ComicBook.com earlier this year that things were moving in the right direction.
“Powerpuff is such a high concept show, and the way we wanted to do it was so high concept, that there were 99 ways it could have gone wrong, and one way it could have gone right. And I think we were close, but we didn’t nail it. That’s for a number of reasons. I remember them calling me and being like, ‘This is how it ended up, and this is what we would rather do,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I can’t even be mad about that. That’s fair. Let’s do that, then.’ I think they really just want to get it right.”
Fans can catch Cameron on Apple TV Plus’ musical comedy Schmigadoon!, which will hopefully be renewed for a second season soon.
Joey Bragg (Joey Rooney)
Before he gained recognition for his role as Joey Rooney, Joey Bragg was cast in the 2012 film Freddie 3: Camp Fred as Peter Mago. After his four-year-long role on Liv and Maddie, the actor and comedian has appeared in various television shows including Mark & Russell’s Wild Ride, Criminal Minds, and Father of the Year. He was cast as the lead role in the ABC series Call Your Mother, but the show was ultimately canceled after one season. Bragg also has made his name known in the comedy scene and has a successful career as a stand-up comedian.
Tenzing Norgay Trainor (Parker Rooney)
Before he took on the role of Parker Rooney, Tenzing Trainor had appeared in a few films including Bits and Pieces, Stevie TV, and The Jadagrace Show. The actor’s fame grew substantially after he was cast as Liam in the short film Clueless in 2019 and voiced the character Jin in the animated feature Abominable. He appeared in the final season of ABC’s American Housewife and is set to star in the upcoming Netflix miniseries Boo, Bitch alongside Lana Condor.
In 2017, after the show’s end, Trainor revealed to Teen’s Weekly Insider that he and his character are very similar and his personality was written into Parker’s.
“A lot of me is in Parker Rooney. I would say about 95.2%. When we first shot the pilot years ago the writers sat with each of us to find out what we were like, what we were good at, and stuff. They wrote a lot of that into our characters.”
Kali Rocha (Karen Rooney)
Kali Rocha is a seasoned actress that has appeared in many films and shows since 1996. Her roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Falling for Grace, Grey’s Anatomy, and Sherri are some of her most notable acting performances. After being cast as the matriarch of the Rooney family in Liv and Maddie, Rocha was cast in the 2016 series Man With a Plan. In 2019, she made a guest appearance in Harvey Street Kids and currently has no upcoming movies or series lined up. She also co-wrote four episodes of Liv and Maddie and has guest-starred in several popular series including Modern Family, Bones, Boston Legal, Drop Dead Diva, and Monk, among others.
Benjamin King
Benjamin King played the father of the Rooney family and has made guest appearances in several shows from the late ’90s well into the 2000s. Some of these shows include Eva, The King of Queens, ER, Scrubs and Grey’s Anatomy. He was a part of the main cast of the show for the first three seasons, but did not return for the fourth and final season due to health issues. In 2018, King made his on-screen comeback as Carter Camply in the film The Middle of X. According to The Hollywood Reporter, King has been added to the cast of the upcoming comedy Shriver, which will star Michael Shannon and Kate Hudson.
Lauren Lindsey Donzis (Ruby Smith)
Donzis joined the cast of Liv and Maddie in the fourth and final season as the children’s cousin Ruby. Before that, she had only appeared in two shows, Austin & Ally and Best Friends Whenever. Since the series’ cancellation, Donzis has continued to grow her acting portfolio, venturing into voice acting and lending her voice to the Disney Plus animated comedy series 101 Dalmatian Street. She had a leading role in the Netflix series No Good Nick, which ran for one season, as well as in Peacock’s Punky Brewster, a revival of the 1980 series of the same name.
