Bridgit Claire Mendler (born December 18, 1992 in Washington, DC) is an American actress and musician. She is best known for her lead role as Teddy Duncan on Good Luck Charlie and her recurring role as Juliet Van Heusen on Wizards of Waverly Place. She also appeared in Labor Pains, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Lemonade Mouth.
In 2011, it was announced that Mendler had signed with Hollywood Records and was working on an album. She debuted as a musician in August 2012 with the hit single "Ready or Not", later releasing her debut album Hello My Name Is... several months later, as well as an EP titled Nemesis in 2016.
Since 2017, Mendler has been a student and researcher with the MIT Media Lab. As of 2022, she is concurrently enrolled at MIT and Harvard Law School, and is working on her PhD from the former university's Center for Constructive Communications and Social Machines group.
Notable roles played by Mendler:
- Kristen Gregory in The Film of the Book The Clique.
- Juliet Van Heusen in Wizards of Waverly Place.
- Teddy Duncan in Good Luck Charlie.
- Emma Clayhill in Labor Pains (2009).
- Olivia White in Lemonade Mouth.
- Arrietty in Arrietty.
- Candace in Undateable
Discography
- Hello My Name Is... (2012)
- Live in London (EP) (2013)
- Nemesis (EP) (2016)
Tropes that apply to Ms. Mendler include:
- Album Title Drop: "Ready Or Not":Bridgit: Hello my name is Bridgit, nice to meet you.
- During a Disney Channel Total Access segment, Mendler explained that she had trouble figuring out the album title and went through lyrics from the songs to come up with it.
- A Wild Rapper Appears!: Subverted in "Rocks At My Window". There's a rap interlude at one point, but the rapper is Mendler herself.
- Analogy Backfire: In "Love Will Tell Us Where To Go", Bridgit says she is the Bonnie to her Love Interest's Clyde. Clearly she forgot how that ended.
- Break-Up Song: "Forgot to Laugh", "5:15"
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: "Hang in there, Baby" for Good Luck Charlie.
- Dumb Blonde: This trope is mocked in "Blonde", but averted with Mendler herself, as she is highly intelligent.
- Follow Your Heart: "City Lights", "Postcard" show examples of this.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Samantha Boscarino (they've been close friends since they were both 12).
- Idol Singer: On her way there, and already showed her singing in the songs "How To Believe" (not the David Pomeranz one) for Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, "This is My Paradise" for Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2, many songs for Lemonade Mouth, and "Summertime" for Arrietty among others.
- She also has an album out.
- Obsession Song: "All I See is Gold", in a way.
- The Power of Love: "Love Will Tell Us Where To Go" is all about this.
- Silly Love Songs: "Top of the World", "Hurricane", "The Fall Song", "Love Will Tell Us Where to Go", "Rocks at My Window", "Hold On for Dear Love"
- Stalker with a Crush: "Ready or Not".
- The Rant: She used her social media sites to complain about Chrysler's plan to discontinue the Chrysler Town & Country (or Chrysler Voyager/Grand Voyager) and Dodge Grand Caravan, insisting that they should retain them, claiming their popularity was immense.
She then went on to state that crossover SUVs were a fad, and that sedans and MPVs/minivans were strong, solid sellers, citing that the Volkswagen Jetta, Passat and Tiguan sell well alongside one another with no crossover replacement and Toyota Camry and Sienna sell well, co-existing perfectly alongside their crossover SUVs. Yet this was all done in an entirely civil manner. However,
she pulled it from her social media feeds 3 hours later, although a few fans decided they would keep copies. (She apparently hadn't gotten wind of the replacement for the Town & Country, the Pacifica
- which had earlier been used by Chrysler for a Town & Country-based crossover SUV.) - Unplugged Version: She released one of "Ready Or Not" that shows off her rather impressive vocal range.
- Urban Legend: In Wigan an urban legend circulates that she has a house in Ince-in-Makerfield or Atherton - but this isn't confirmed.
