Sisters Maddie Ziegler and Kenzie Ziegler know what it means to experience growing pains together.
The two spent over a decade as the center of the Lifetime reality series Dance Moms. And in her 2024 New Hollywood interview, Maddie opened up about how those years affected their dynamic, mostly because many people chose to pit the two against each other, constantly comparing Kenzie to Maddie. “It actually caused [Kenzie] to not love dance,” Maddie tells Teen Vogue. “And it's really sad because we're so different. I'm lucky that now she's really found her thing that makes her who she is.”
That thing is music. If you watched the series, you'll know Kenzie has always had an interest in singing. In 2014, she released her debut single “It's a Girl Party," which has over 85 million views and featured her entire dance team. In the years since, she's focused heavily on music, with her 2018 debut album Phases. More recently, Kenzie has dropped a few singles including “comfort zone” and “sickly sweet,” set to be on her upcoming longer project.
Now with Maddie stepping fully into acting and Kenzie taking on the music industry, there's not much left to compare. But that doesn't mean Maddie isn't still passionate about shutting down anyone that might try.
“That's the one thing I will not be chill with is when people comment about me and my sister, still to this day, trying to compare us," Ziegler says. “We are our own people. She's perfect the way she is and I'm doing my own thing."
Both Kenzie and Maddie are based in Los Angeles, so they get to nurture their relationship as adults, which feels quite different from their once camera-filled upbringing. “When we were younger, being together and working together every single day caused us to obviously fight, which all sisters do, but now, we talk about it all the time, we're like, 'oh, it's so weird that we're just friends now,'" she says. "We choose to hang out with each other. I love her so much, and she'll always be my little baby."
And while Kenzie is the younger sister, Maddie admits that Kenzie is just as protective, if not more, of her big sister. “She's always stood up for me,” she adds. "Anytime a friend in the past would ever be mean, she would go off on them. She's always been like that.”
As dancers you're constantly pitted against one another. Whether that be in class, on stage or once the competition scores are tallied. It's a taxing space to exist in, especially as sisters. While that time in their life was difficult, Maddie is grateful to have had her sister with her along for the ride. She cannot imagine doing it without Kenzie by her side.
“I'm so proud of [Kenzie] that she's found her voice and all the things she's doing is just so incredible,” Maddie says. "I'm so lucky that we have each other because obviously, friends come and go when you're younger, but we've always remained a pack. I am so lucky to have had her through it, especially when we were little, even despite us fighting during those times, because I couldn't have gone through it without her."
Read all of our New Hollywood 2024 stories below:
- Maddie Ziegler on Dance Moms, New Movie Fitting In & Embracing Hollywood
- Ariana Greenblatt on Barbie, Borderlands, Billie Eilish & Child Stardom
- Keith Powers on Uglies, SAG Strikes, Issa Rae & Finding His Own Lane
- Christopher Briney on Renée Rapp, Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 & Hollywood Next Moves
- Aida Osman on Rap Shit Cancellation, Black Stories in Hollywood & Facing Acting Fears
- Iñaki Godoy on One Piece, Latinos in Hollywood & Living His Best Life
- Megan Suri on Valentine’s Day, Bollywood & Movie Career Post Never Have I Ever
- The SAG Strike Proved How Unions Help Make Young People’s Dreams Viable
