'It Was Kind of Like a Juilliard on Steroids for Kids'

Actor Nikki DeLoach opens up about her time on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club and the life-changing illnesses that altered her mindset

- BILLIE SCHWAB DUNN

SHE BECAME A CHILD STAR ALONGSIDE THE likes of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, and now actress Nikki DeLoach has compared the program to New York City's most prestigious performing arts school, calling it "Juilliard on steroids for kids."

DeLoach, 44, a mother of two, is an actor known for her roles in the TV series Awkward, North Shore and Days of Our Lives as well as multiple Hallmark movies. But she got her start on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 when she was 12 years old.

The young cast-known as Mouseketeers-performed in a variety of musical and dance numbers, with the show particularly known for its sketch comedy. It was a springboard for the stars to go on to become successful in the entertainment industry, and DeLoach's co-stars included Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez from NSYNC.

During a conversation with Newsweek, DeLoach spoke fondly of her time on the show, and while she said it never felt like work, she detailed an intense work schedule and told how it felt to see her co-stars become megastars, while she wasn't so lucky.

"[It was] one of the best experiences of my life. I hear these horror stories of kids in the entertainment business and, listen, I did go through a lot later in my life of the dark side of the entertainment business for sure. But on that show specifically, they did a lot of things right, a lot of things," she said.

Before going on to talk about those dark times, when her music career was severely damaged by a deeply corrupt manager who was eventually jailed, DeLoach prefers to focus on the early days of her life in entertainment.

"These were the days when Disney had moved the show to Orlando to kind of get around those child protection laws from California," she continued.