She might be best known as Macaulay Culkin's leading lady these days, but Brenda Song started out as a Disney Channel celebrity in her early career. The actress charmed audiences on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and The Suite Life on Deck as London Tipton, a ditzy but, in the end, kind-hearted heiress.
Over time, Brenda did ditch Disney and worked on some more adult-oriented projects, heading one murder mystery film and appearing in some not-quite-PG scenes in The Social Network. But had Brenda Song not debuted in Hollywood, she could have done something very different with her life: gone to a highly esteemed college.
Brenda Song Was Accepted To Harvard University
In 2019, Brenda sat down for an interview with W Magazine. At the time, she was working on Dollface, another high-impact role after leaving Disney (though she didn't exactly leave; Song voiced a character on Amphibia through the show's end in 2022).
In the interview, Brenda shared her origin story and how she ended up working in Hollywood despite her parents having "no idea" what it all entailed. Brenda actually grew up in Sacramento, California, the daughter of immigrants, but her parents were supportive.
Starting from when Song was six years old, her parents would drive her to Los Angeles for auditions; she landed a gig in advertising on that first fateful trip. The family spent years supporting Song's auditioning endeavors, but Brenda says her parents didn't read lines with her or push her in any way. In fact, they were skeptical about her passion for acting. That is, until her Harvard acceptance letter came.
Brenda noted that she "was accepted into the college [she had] always wanted to go to," at the same time that her mom was diagnosed with cancer for the first time and the teen (different interviews have reported she was either 15 or 16 at the time) landed the role of London Tipton on Suite Life.
The choice was an easy one for Brenda, though.
Brenda's Dream Was To Become An Actress
It was thrilling to receive an acceptance letter to Harvard, noted Brenda, but she had to consider all the options.
She explained that her dad gave her a way to make the right choice; "My dad, who’s a schoolteacher, sat me down and said, ‘Here’s the thing. You have an amazing opportunity, if acting is what you want to do. Education is the most important thing. You go to college to figure out what you want to do, but if this is what you want to do, you have an opportunity to do it."
Clearly, Brenda knew that acting was what she wanted to do with her life, so the decision wasn't as difficult as it would have been otherwise. Plus, working in Los Angeles meant Brenda was closer to home during her mom's cancer treatment than she would be away at college in Massachusetts.
Surprisingly, the actress glossed over the minor detail of being around 15 or 16 (depending on the source) when she was accepted to Harvard. Clearly, she was the complete opposite of her character on Suite Life and had her ducks in a row enough to excel in school while pursuing acting gigs.
Song also considers herself lucky to have wound up with Disney Channel, which might be the Hollywood equivalent of Harvard for actors. Brenda recalled her time on Disney fondly, saying "I feel like I’ve been very lucky and can look back and say I haven’t done a project that I haven’t been proud of one way or another."
Brenda Didn't Exactly Regret Not Going To College
It wasn't all roses after Brenda's time as London Tipton ended. Song admitted it was hard to find roles after Disney was essentially "color-blind" in their casting, swapping her and Ashley Tisdale to create a new dynamic on their show (rather than parodying Paris Hilton).
Later, Brenda was cast in Dollface, which she told W Magazine was her "dream job," elaborating that, "With this cast, shooting in L.A., and with this character, I’ve never had a character that felt more me."
In a later interview, Brenda said she didn't necessarily regret her choice of diving head-first into a career, rather than focusing on her education, but that she has considered what that path would have led to.
There was no hesitation to choose acting, but it was hard because Harvard was a dream of mine. Working for Disney Channel, I was still able to get my education in a different medium and do what I love to do. But in this industry the highs are so high and the lows are so low. It's so inconsistent. There's so many times where I've questioned myself: Should I have taken my degree and done something a little bit more steady?
Brenda definitely hasn't taken her opportunities for granted, though, continuing to work even after welcoming her first child with partner Macaulay Culkin. The two welcomed a second child in late 2022, but that doesn't mean Brenda's quitting Hollywood just yet. After all, she's worked too hard to get where she is now, no thanks to Harvard.
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