Ex-Disney star Bridgit Mendler launches new space startup. And she's hiring!

And if you ever get the chance to co-found a space data startup … Well, good luck, Charlie.

Bridgit Mendler, 31, the former face of the 2010 Disney Channel original show “Good Luck Charlie,” is one of the most eclectic multi-hyphenates in Hollywood.

The Disney alum has not only enjoyed a successful singing and acting career, but also earned a Ph.D at MIT, a J.D. from Harvard Law School (where she was also the co-president of the Harvard Space Law Society) and just announced this week that she co-founded a space data startup called Northwood.

Mendler has been quite busy since her days playing Charlie Duncan’s older sister, Teddy Duncan, and teenage vampire Juliet Van Heusen on “Wizards of Waverly Place.”

Is Bridgit Mendler a CEO? What to know about 'Northwood Space'

“Expect the unexpected."

Mendler took to X (formerly Twitter) to share that she’s now the CEO of Northwood Space, a space startup that focuses on building ground stations that connect to satellites in space.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, she founded the startup along with her husband, Griffin Cleverly, and fellow engineer Shaurya Luthra back in October 2023. It will operate outside of El Segundo, California.

Per Northwood's website, the organization’s mission is to build “a data highway between Earth and space.” It also says it seeks “to meet the needs of today’s space industry, the one-lane rickety road for space data needs to adapt to a 10-lane highway routing continuous traffic across the globe.”

There's been no mention of Mendler and her team extending operations over to Cape Canaveral, but who knows? Maybe Northwood will find itself on Florida's Space Coast one day.

“So excited to be able to finally share what I’ve been working on with my two favorite ground nerds – Griffin Cleverly and Shaurya Luthra. At Northwood, we’re rethinking infrastructure for satellite backhaul from the ground up…” Mendler wrote in a LinkedIn post. “We have a lot of work ahead of us but that’s the fun part.”

“If you like building quickly and seeing your work deployed in locations around the globe with real impact, we want you at Northwood. Feel free to DM me or check our careers page.”

Right now, Northwood’s careers page has several engineer jobs posted.

Where did Brigit Mendler go to college? What is Bridgit Mendler's PhD in?

Bridgit Mendler earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in 2016 and went on to earn a master’s degree in humanity and technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2018.

Within the last year, Mendler has also completed programs with the MIT Media Lab and earned a PhD focused in technology and a juris doctor degree from Harvard’s Law School.

How old was Bridgit Mendler in Good Luck Charlie?

Mendler was 17 when the hit Disney Channel show "Good Luck Charlie" started. According to People Magazine, she landed the role after appearing in other Disney Channel shows, such as Wizards of Waverly Place and Jonas.

Good Luck Charlie ran for four seasons starting in 2010, even seeing a Christmas movie during the middle of its successful run. Mendler was 21 when the show came to an end in February 2014.

In 2017, she also played a supporting role in two episodes of season 5 of the TV show "Nashville" and landed a couple of other small parts in 2018 movie "Father of the Year" and 2019 eight-episode TV show "Merry Happy Whatever."

Did Bridgit Mendler adopt a child?

In the midst of announcing her new space start up, the former Disney star also revealed another big life moment — she had adopted a son.

In a post on X, Mendler said she and her husband secretly adopted her first child in 2022.

“The other news I wanted to share is I’m a mama to a sweet 4yo boy,” she wrote alongside a photo of the two at the beach. “Started fostering in 2021 adopted near Christmas of 2022. I’m so lucky — being a parent is the biggest gift and most defining experience there is."

Will Bridgit Mendler return to acting or singing again?

When Bridgit Mendler's 2012 hit songs "Hurricane" and "Ready or Not" made a comeback on TikTok in 2021, fans started begging for more music from her.

Mendler only tweets a few times each year, if she tweets at all. In November 2022, she cryptically tweeted "hello world," followed by another that said "K sit tight for news."

Almost exactly one year later, she tweeted "Friends! Staying on brand with a signature cryptic post from me because I see ur q’s, i’ll tell you this, news is coming (not imminently, give it a few) that I am thoroughly excited to share, though it will not be what you expect… better imo ;) love you."

Fans hoped this meant new music, but we now know it meant a big pivot in her career. Some aren't giving up on hoping for new Bridgit Mendler songs, though. One of the top-liked comments on her LinkedIn post about launching Northwood reads "Ok. Proud of you. But when is the next album? I mean, you could launch this with an album."

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Ex-Disney star Bridgit Mendler's new space startup is hiring engineers