Demi Lovato

Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( DEM-ee lə-VAH-toh; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series Barney & Friends (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series As the Bell Rings (2007–2008). Lovato rose to prominence for playing Mitchie Torres in the musical television film Camp Rock (2008) and its sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010). The former film's soundtrack featured "This Is Me", her debut single with Joe Jonas, peaking at number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.

After signing with Hollywood Records, Lovato released her pop rock debut album, Don't Forget (2008), which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. Its follow-up, Here We Go Again (2009), debuted at number one in the US. Her third and fourth studio albums, Unbroken (2011) and Demi (2013), delved into pop and R&B, debuted at numbers four and three in the US, and featured the US top-ten singles "Skyscraper" and "Heart Attack". Lovato's fifth and sixth albums included soul influences; Confident (2015) earned a Grammy Award nomination, while "Sorry Not Sorry" from Tell Me You Love Me (2017) reached number six. After a hiatus, Lovato released her seventh and eighth albums, Dancing with the Devil... the Art of Starting Over (2021) and the rock-influenced Holy Fvck (2022), peaking at numbers two and seven in the US. Her ninth album, It's Not That Deep, followed in 2025, debuting at number nine in the US.

On television, Lovato starred as the titular character on the sitcom Sonny with a Chance (2009–2011), judged the American series of The X Factor for two seasons (2012–2013), appeared on the musical comedy Glee (2013–2014) and the sitcom Will & Grace (2020), and hosted her self-titled talk show and the docuseries Unidentified with Demi Lovato (both 2021). She also starred in the comedy film Princess Protection Program (2009), the animated films Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) and Charming (2018), the musical comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020), the co-directed documentary Child Star (2024), and the drama film Tow (2025).

Lovato has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Her accolades include an MTV Video Music Award, fourteen Teen Choice Awards, five People's Choice Awards, and a Guinness World Record; she was included on the Time 100 annual list in 2017. She co-founded the record label Safehouse Records with fellow singer Nick Jonas in 2015 and has been active in social causes. Her struggles with an eating disorder, substance abuse, and self-harm led to her self-help memoir Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year (2013), and the documentaries Demi Lovato: Stay Strong (2012), Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated (2017), and Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil (2021).

Early life and career beginnings

Demetria Devonne Lovato was born on August 20, 1992, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Dianna De La Garza (née Lee Smith) and engineer and musician Patrick Martin Lovato. Lovato has an older full sister named Dallas, a younger maternal half-sister, actress Madison De La Garza, and an older paternal half-sister, Amber, whom Lovato first spoke to at age 20.

In mid-1994, shortly after Lovato's second birthday, her parents divorced. Her father was of Nuevomexicano descent, with mostly Spanish and Native American ancestors, and came from a family that had been living in New Mexico for generations; he also had distant Portuguese and Jewish ancestry. He was a descendant of Civil War Union veteran Francisco Perea and Santa Fe de Nuevo México governor Francisco Xavier Chávez. Lovato had no interest in forging a relationship with Patrick after her parents divorced. Her mother is of Irish descent.

She has been vocal about her strained relationship with her father, calling him abusive and once stated, "He was mean, but he wanted to be a good person. And he wanted to have his family, and when my mom married my stepdad, he still had this huge heart where he said, 'I'm so glad that [he's] taking care of you and doing the job that I wish I could do.'" After Patrick died of cancer on June 22, 2013, Lovato said that he had been mentally ill, and she created the Lovato Treatment Scholarship Program in his honor.

Lovato was brought up in Dallas, Texas. She began playing the piano at age seven and guitar at 10, when she began dancing and acting classes. In 2002, Lovato began her acting career on the children's television series Barney & Friends, portraying the role of Angela. She appeared on Prison Break in 2006 and on Just Jordan the following year. Due to her acting career, Lovato was bullied and consequently requested homeschooling, through which she eventually received her high-school diploma.

Career

2007–2008: Breakthrough with Camp Rock and Don't Forget

From 2007 to 2008, Lovato played Charlotte Adams on the Disney Channel short series As the Bell Rings. Lovato auditioned for the channel's television film Camp Rock and series Sonny with a Chance during 2007 and got both roles. Lovato played the lead character, aspiring singer Mitchie Torres, in Camp Rock. The film premiered on June 20, 2008, to 8.9 million viewers. Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Lovato's acting skills were underwhelming and that she has "the knee-jerk smile of someone who is often told she has a great smile". The film's soundtrack was released three days earlier; however, the music was considered less current than that of High School Musical. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, with 188,000 units sold in its first week of release. Lovato sang four songs on the soundtrack, including "We Rock" and "This Is Me". The latter, Lovato's debut single, debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked at number nine, marking her first entry on the chart. That summer, Lovato signed with Hollywood Records and began her Demi Live! Warm Up Tour before the release of her debut studio album, and appeared on the Jonas Brothers' Burnin' Up Tour.

Lovato's debut studio album, Don't Forget, released on September 23, 2008, was met with generally positive reviews from critics. Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly said, "Demi Lovato might satisfy her 'tween fans but she won't be winning any rockers over with Don't Forget". The album debuted at number two in the US, with first-week sales of 89,000 copies. Ten of its songs were co-written with the Jonas Brothers.

Don't Forget was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for US sales of over 500,000 copies. Its lead single, "Get Back", was praised for its pop rock style and peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, also selling over 560,000 copies in the United States. The album's second single, "La La Land", was cited for its strong rock elements and peaked at number 52 in the US, and cracked the top 40 in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The music video for the song was directed by Brendan Malloy and Tim Wheeler. The third single and title track, "Don't Forget", peaked at number 41 in the US.

2009–2010: Sonny with a Chance and Here We Go Again

Lovato's Disney Channel sitcom Sonny with a Chance, in which she played Sonny Munroe, the newest cast member of the show-within-a-show So Random!, premiered on February 8. Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times described Lovato's acting ability as "very good", comparing her favorably to Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus. That June, Lovato starred as Rosie Gonzalez / Princess Rosalinda in the Disney Channel film Princess Protection Program, alongside Selena Gomez. The film, the fourth highest-rated Disney Channel original movie, premiered to 8.5 million viewers. For the film's soundtrack, the pair recorded the song "One and the Same", which was later released as a promotional single.