EVEN STEVENS Star Reveals Why She Left Hollywood for Her Kids
By Movieguide® Contributor
Disney actress Christy Carlson Romano ditched Hollywood to live in Austin, Texas, and she doesn’t regret it.
“The former child star and her husband, Brendan Rooney — the masterminds behind podcast company PodCo — relocated to Austin, Texas, in 2020 with their two small daughters, and Romano tells PEOPLE that the move just felt ‘right,’” PEOPLE reported.
“I love that the girls can kind of be out of the Hollywood area,” she said. “I love California, we have our PodCo offices there. And I also truly feel at home in Austin. I have a really strong community of friends there, and I’ve really found a way to set down roots.”
Romano and Rooney are parents to Isabella, 7, and Sofia, 5.
As a child, Romano rose to fame through her roles as Ren on EVEN STEVENS and as Kim in KIM POSSIBLE.
“Something I’ve realized is that my daughters think it’s normal for people to come up to me because I’m so friendly to my fans,” Romano said. “My fans, especially since I started doing YouTube and podcasts, are so supportive and loving to me. And so my girls, I don’t think they’re freaked out about it because it just kind of feels like to them that I am talking to someone I know.”
Movieguide® reported that Romano doesn’t want her daughters to be Hollywood stars:
“There is a difference between a stage parent and a parent who has a child in the industry,” the EVEN STEVENS star explained. “You have to be the parent first. I think that’s something that I just realized, and I would probably not put my kids in the industry.”
Romano rose to fame on the Disney Channel show, as well as KIM POSSIBLE, where she voiced the titular spy character. Today, she hosts “Vulnerable,” a podcast where she and fellow child stars unpack the experiences of being young in Hollywood.
She also pointed to young YouTube stars as others who are suffering in the entertainment industry, saying, “[They] are so influential to so many people’s kids, and yet [these kids] are suffering in so many ways in which you’d never want your own kids to suffer.”
Romano asks a lot of questions when it comes to parenting.
“How am I going to be a parent? How am I going to afford that? Am I going to have more than one, if one at all?” she said. “I have multiple children and I work, and so I want to always make sure that they have a very balanced life.”
PEOPLE said, “Perhaps the biggest difference between Hollywood and Austin is the ‘slower pace,’ says the EVEN STEVENS star, though she notes that the city ‘still has all the things that [the girls] could need.'”
“I’m really happy that we live there,” the CADET KELLY star told PEOPLE.
PEOPLE previously reported on Romano’s home in Austin. The family moved there in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Romano showed PEOPLE her shared office, Rooney’s “man cave,” living room and spacious kitchen. The girl’s playroom has a large chalk wall, complete with plenty of books and toys.
“I don’t miss California at all,” Romano said. “We are so happy here in Austin.”
Romano shared her love for Texas in a TikTok last year.
“In the short clip, Romano…showed herself disappointed with a caption that read, ‘Me living in LA, working as a child actor, living the ‘dream’ but wanting to get away from the toxic Hollywood culture.’ She then filmed herself glowing and shining with the caption, ‘Texas,” My San Antonio reported.
Romano also shared that she’s “the happiest” she’s ever been after her move to Austin.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
