Ready to feel old? This summer marks 20 years since the release of Disney’s 2001 teen coming-of-age classic, The Princess Diaries. That’s right, it’s been two decades since Anne Hathaway’s Mia Thermopolis learned of her royal lineage and began ruling over the fictional land of Genovia with the help of her grandmother, Queen Clarice (played by the immortally elegant Julie Andrews).
It’s also been two decades since the hit movie’s soundtrack introduced us to Myra, the first teen pop star signed to Walt Disney Records. (She reportedly signed with the label in 2000.) Myra’s breakout bubblegum single “Miracles Happen” took over the airwaves that summer, playing constantly in malls, movie theaters and Disney Channel commercial breaks around the country.
Following the release of her self-titled debut album in June 2001, Myra followed up with a Spanish-language album, Milagros, just four months later. She also recorded “You’re the Dream” as the anthem track for the 2002 Special Olympics.
But what is Disney’s OG pop princess up to these days? Read on for five things we know about where Myra is now!
She’s a mom
The Mexican-American star gave birth to her daughter, Jadah, in 2011, and frequently shares pictures with her “mini” on Instagram.
She’s still making music
While her days as a Disney star are behind her, Myra’s still hard at work on her music career. According to this interview with MTV News back in 2016, she was working on both a “pop-R&B” album and a mariachi music record at the time, though it’s unclear if she still plans to release either.
She’s the creative director of a Latinx-focused YouTube channel
Myra has turned her trailblazing career towards women’s empowerment. She’s currently the creative director of HermosazUSA, a Spanish-language YouTube channel dedicated to highlighting Latina women forging their own paths in all types of industries.
She posts plenty of YouTube covers
If her official YouTube channel is any indication, Myra’s a big fan of karaoke, delivering her take on everything from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” to Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” and Martina McBride’s “In My Daughter’s Eyes.”
She’s been back in the recording studio lately
As recently as November 2020, Myra shared an inside look at her recording new music in the studio. “So many pieces to the puzzle…making a song is one thing.. recording is another.. mix and mastering a game of its own.. I’m so excited to see it all come together with the best!” she captioned one video of herself inside a vocal booth on her Instagram page.
Hopefully, we’ll have new music from Myra soon. After all, miracles happen once in a while when you believe.