Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus have made a big splash in awards season

A number of cable television stars from the early 21st century put the latest additions to their resumes on Dec. 9 when the 2025 Golden Globe nominations were announced. Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Zendaya have all been recognized for their work on some of this year’s biggest awards contenders. It was a full-circle moment for the Disney Channel veterans (Gomez and Cyrus) and Nickelodeon Alum (Grande), all three of whom became pop stars after breaking through to the small screen. And while we may not always think of her this way, Zendaya (Challengers) began airing on the Disney Channel Shake It Up and he also wrote and recorded music.

“Surreal,” said Grande, shortly after learning of the honor.

A performer who rose to fame after playing Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon Victoriousshe was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Glinda in Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation Wicked. She dreamed of playing the good witch for more than two decades – she even met the original Broadway Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth, when she was around 10 years old.

Wicked took the movie world by storm, and fans loved Grande’s iteration of the character. In the film, Glinda sometimes provides comic relief amid heavier themes such as discrimination, representation and acceptance.

“People tend to forget that often one of the guiding rules of comedy is not to joke, but to play the truth, and that’s what’s going to make it happen,” Grande told THR in an interview after the nomination. “There are many dimensions to Glinda and there are many fears and insecurities beneath the surface that you try to bring to the comedy. And of course the layers of sadness he experiences during ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’, the opening part of the musical.

She adds, “There’s guilt because of the way (Glinda) feels guilty about what happened to Elphaba. There is disappointment because what would have happened if she had stayed?”

Gomez, who became a teen idol starring on the Disney Channel Wizards of Waverly Placeshe received two nominations, one for her work on the Hulu comedy Just the murders in the building and another for her performance as the wife of a cartel kingpin who manages an unusual situation in the Netflix musical drama Emilia Perez.

Gomez has already had a stellar year in terms of awards recognition: The Emilia Perez the actors accepted the best actress award together at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and Gomez received an Emmy nomination for lead actress earlier this year for her role in Only murders (Jean Smart ended up winning for Hacks). THRScott Feinberg has Gomez in his top five predicted Oscar nominations in the supporting actress race (he also has Grande on the list).

Cyrus, who became a household name playing the title character in the Disney Channel signature Hannah Montanait was nominated for a Globes for original song. She wrote “Beautiful That Way” with Andrew Wyatt and Lykke Zachrisson for The last showgirlGio Coppola’s film about a veteran Vegas performer.

The drama stars Pamela Anderson (57), who received her first Golden Globe nomination after more than three decades in the business.

Cyrus was eager to pay tribute to the breakout TV star of yesteryear. In a statement after the nomination, she said: “It’s an honor to be nominated for Best Original Song alongside my friends Andrew Wyatt and Lykke Li. Pamela kindly shares her moment with us. I continue to root for her. It’s so fun to watch her shine.”

This story appeared in the Dec. 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.