Demi Lovato Biography : People.com

Biography

Late 1990s: Playing with Barney & Selena
Lovato, 5, the daughter of Dianna De La Garza – a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and country music singer ("I got my voice from her," Lovato says) – attends a local casting call for Barney & Friends. Because she can't read yet, Lovato doesn't land a role on the show until she's 6. She spends two seasons on Barney alongside best friend and future Disney star Selena Gomez.
2007: Saved by the Bell
Post-Barney, Lovato moves from entertaining the toddler set to entertaining the tween set when she's cast on As the Bell Rings, a series of comedic shorts that run between Disney programs. "Even though the show was only, like, five minutes, it was the Disney Channel!" Lovato tells Entertainment Weekly in 2008. "I thought it was the coolest thing."
2008: June 20
Demi & JoBro 'Rock' Disney
The Jonas Brothers' Disney Channel movie Camp Rock premieres with 8.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched cable program of the year. In the TV movie, Kevin, 20, Joe, 18, and Nick, 15, star as pop stars sent to a rock camp, where Joe flips over Lovato's poor-girl-with-a-booming-voice character. "Joe is a big dork," Lovato tells PEOPLE. "Nick is witty and sarcastic – sometimes I think he's the funniest. Kevin plays the older-brother role. They're all really, really great."
Working BFFs: Selena & Demi
With Gomez, now the star of Wizards of Waverly Place, Lovato shoots the Disney Channel movie Princess Protection Program. In the original TV flick, Lovato plays a princess-in-hiding who covers as an ordinary teen with the help of Gomez's character. Lovato also begins shooting her forthcoming Disney TV series Sonny with a Chance.
September 23
Don't Forget Demi's Debut
Lovato drops her debut album Don't Forget, a pop-rock collection that contains songs featuring and co-written by the Jonas Brothers. "Kelly Clarkson, when she first went rock, was totally my inspiration," Lovato tells EW. "I realize, though, that I'm a pop singer. And I'm not gonna try to be too 'Oh, I'm hardcore, I'm a rock girl.'" In its first week, the album is the top seller on iTunes.
2009: February 08
The Next Tween Queen
Lovato becomes the Disney Channel's newest leading lady as the star of Sonny with a Chance. The singer plays Allison "Sonny" Munroe, a member of the fictional sketch-comedy show So Random!. "In the beginning I was so stressed out," she tells the New York Daily News of fronting the show. "There's a lot of pressure to carry a show when you're my age. [But] I could not be more excited with it."
: June
Cover Girls
With the upcoming premiere of their movie, Princess Protection Program, Lovato and BFF Selena Gomez appear in a special edition of PEOPLE. In the issue, Lovato opens up about finding and maintaining strong friendships. "I've cut out the people who I don't need in my life," she tells PEOPLE. "I realized I should surround myself with people who make me smile."