Maddie of Dance Moms: Why She Finally Cut Ties With the Past

Everyone remembers the girl in the Sia wig. That 11-year-old powerhouse who contorted her body in a crumbling apartment, looking both ancient and brand new at the same time. If you grew up in the 2010s, Maddie of Dance Moms wasn't just a reality TV star; she was the gold standard. The favorite. The one we all watched with a mix of awe and a little bit of secondhand anxiety because, honestly, the pressure on her was palpable through the screen.

But where is she now? It’s 2026. The glitter has settled, the ALDC studio in Pittsburgh is a relic of the past, and Maddie Ziegler has spent the last few years quietly, but very intentionally, dismantling the "prodigy" image that made her famous. She’s not just "Abby’s girl" anymore. In fact, she hasn't been for a very long time.

The Toxic Reality of Being the Favorite

We need to talk about the favoritism. On Dance Moms, being Abby Lee Miller's favorite wasn't the gift it seemed to be. It was a cage. While the other moms were screaming about their kids not getting solos, Maddie was in a rehearsal room being told she was the only one who could "save" the team. That's a lot for an eight-year-old.

She recently opened up about how she felt a massive amount of guilt for leaving the show in 2016. Abby was distraught. The environment was, in Maddie’s own words during a Cosmopolitan interview, "toxic." Imagine being 13 and feeling like you owe your entire existence to a woman who is constantly at war with your own mother. Maddie hasn't spoken to Abby since she left. Not a word.

She’s at peace with that.

People often ask if the drama was fake. Some of it? Sure. But the fear in those girls' eyes when a routine went wrong? You can't act that. Maddie lived in a world where perfection wasn't a goal—it was the baseline requirement for survival.

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The Sia Era: From One Mentor to Another

When the "Chandelier" video dropped in 2014, everything changed. It was the exit ramp Maddie needed, even if she didn't know it yet. Sia didn't find her through a casting call; she found her by watching the show and seeing a kid who could emote like a seasoned Shakespearean actor.

But this relationship wasn't without its own set of complicated headlines. Critics have spent years debating whether the collaboration was artistic genius or child exploitation. You had a 28-year-old Shia LaBeouf wrestling a pre-teen Maddie in a cage for "Elastic Heart." It was jarring. It was uncomfortable for a lot of people to watch.

"She’s my guardian angel," Maddie has said about Sia.

Sia effectively became a second mother, a protector, and a business partner. She even reportedly bought Maddie her first car. But as Maddie has entered her 20s, that intense, codependent-looking bond seems to have leveled out into a more professional distance. Maddie is carving out a space that belongs to her and her alone.

Moving Beyond the Leotard: The Movie Star Pivot

If you think she's still just "a dancer," you haven't been paying attention to her IMDb page. Maddie has pivoted to acting with a ferocity that caught a lot of people off guard. She didn't just do the "influencer movie" route. She went for the gritty stuff.

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1. The Fallout (2021): She played Mia, a popular girl navigating the trauma of a school shooting. It was raw. It was quiet. It proved she could hold her own next to Jenna Ortega.
2. West Side Story: Steven Spielberg himself cast her as Velma. You don't get that gig just because you were on Lifetime.
3. Fitting In (2023): A heavy, honest look at a teen girl dealing with a rare reproductive condition.
4. My Old Ass (2024): Working alongside Aubrey Plaza, Maddie proved she has comedic timing, too.
5. Shiver (2026): Her latest project, a YA fantasy adaptation of Maggie Stiefvater’s bestseller, has her taking the lead in a major genre film.

She's working. She’s studying. She’s not just "Maddie of Dance Moms" anymore; she’s an actress who happens to know how to do a flawless triple pirouette.

Does She Still Dance?

This is the question that kills the die-hard fans. The short answer? Not like she used to.

Maddie has admitted that the show "sucked the joy" out of competitive dance. When your entire childhood is spent being judged on a 1-to-10 scale by a woman in a plastic crown, you might want to hang up the Capezios for a while too.

She still moves. You’ll see it in her fashion campaigns for Miu Miu or her work as the face of Dior. But the days of "Cry" and "The Woods" are over. She’s traded the competition stage for the front row of Paris Fashion Week. Honestly? Good for her.

The Ziegler Empire in 2026

Maddie isn't just a performer; she’s a brand. Between her Fabletics lines, her Morphe makeup collaborations, and her memoir The Maddie Diaries, she has secured a net worth estimated at over $5 million.

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She and her sister, Kenzie, have managed something very few child stars do: they stayed close. They live in Los Angeles, they support each other’s projects, and they’ve mostly avoided the "troubled child star" tropes that the media loves to feast on.

What Most People Get Wrong About Her

The biggest misconception is that she was "the mean girl" or "the snob" of the group. If you rewatch those early seasons, Maddie was just a kid who was terrified of failing. She was a perfectionist because she was taught that her value was tied to her trophy count.

Today, she’s remarkably grounded. She’s used her platform to talk about mental health and the reality of growing up in the spotlight. She doesn't bash her former castmates. In fact, she’s stayed friendly with several of the OG girls, even if they aren't all "besties" anymore. Life happens. People grow up.

Actionable Takeaways from Maddie’s Journey

If you’re looking at Maddie’s career as a blueprint for success—or just trying to understand how she survived the reality TV meat grinder—here is the reality:

• Pivot Early: She didn't wait for Dance Moms to be canceled. She used the Sia videos as a springboard to a different industry (music/film) while the iron was hot.
• Boundaries are Mandatory: Cutting off a toxic mentor (Abby Lee Miller) was likely the best thing she ever did for her mental health. You don't owe your past self's "sponsors" your future.
• Skills Transfer: She took the "emotional storytelling" she learned in lyrical dance and applied it directly to acting.
• Control the Narrative: By focusing on high-fashion and indie film, she’s successfully rebranded from "reality star" to "artist."

Maddie Ziegler’s story isn't finished. With Shiver hitting theaters and her presence in the fashion world growing, she’s proving that you can outrun your "kid star" origin story if you’re willing to work twice as hard as everyone else.

If you want to keep up with her latest work, check out her recent performance in My Old Ass on streaming platforms—it's probably the best example of how far she's come from the pyramid.