Madison De La Garza Bio
Madison Lee De La Garza (born December 28, 2001) is an American actress and filmmaker known for her early work as a child actor and for writing and directing short projects. She first gained public recognition for portraying Juanita Solis on the ABC series Desperate Housewives and has since expanded her resume to include producing, writing and directing for short film and digital platforms.
De La Garza has balanced performance work with creative development off camera, continuing formal study in screenwriting while building a presence on YouTube and directing short films that have screened and premiered online.
Early Life and Background
Madison Lee De La Garza was born in Dallas, Texas, to Eddie De La Garza and Dianna De La Garza. Her father worked in the auto business and is of Mexican descent, and her mother performed as a country singer and once worked as a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.
De La Garza is the younger half-sister of singer and actress Demi Lovato and has an older half sibling, Dallas Lovato. She grew up in a family connected to entertainment through her mother and older siblings, and she began pursuing acting as a child.
She graduated from high school in June 2019 and enrolled in screenwriting studies at Chapman University to formalize her training in storytelling and to support a transition into writing and directing projects of her own.
Path to Celebrity
De La Garza began acting in 2008 as a child performer and won early attention for television roles that placed her within mainstream network programming. Her most prominent early role was Juanita Solis on the ABC drama Desperate Housewives, a recurring part that introduced her to a wide audience while she was still a minor performer.
She also appeared as a younger version of her half-sister Demi Lovato’s character Sonny Munroe in an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance and took a recurring role as Kelsey on the series Bad Teacher. Those appearances on family- and youth-oriented television kept her visible to both television and digital audiences during her teens.
Alongside scripted television work, De La Garza developed a digital footprint through a YouTube channel and short-form projects, using those platforms to explore creative roles beyond acting, including writing and directing. Her early exposure to television production and her family connections provided opportunities to observe and learn about storytelling for camera and screen.
Madison De La Garza Career
Early Career (2008–early 2010s)
Madison De La Garza entered professional acting in 2008 and built her early career on television guest and recurring roles. Her portrayal of Juanita Solis on Desperate Housewives is the most widely recognized credit from this period and was a cornerstone of her public profile as a child actor.
During these years she added guest work that included playing a younger version of an established character on a Disney Channel show and a recurring turn on Bad Teacher. Those projects helped her maintain steady acting work while she completed her formal education and considered longer-term creative goals.
Breakthrough (mid 2010s–present)
As De La Garza moved into her late teens, she broadened her creative focus from acting to include writing, producing and directing short films. She co-directed the short Pink Elephant and wrote, produced and acted in the short Subject 16, projects that marked a clear expansion of her role in production and creative authorship.
De La Garza also explored digital-first release strategies. In 2021 it was reported that she was slated to direct the mystery thriller Surprise, a scripted short about a tenuous Zoom party; that film premiered on YouTube on April 1, 2023. The project assembled other digital creators and reflected De La Garza’s interest in storytelling that intersects with online platforms and influencer networks.
Her transition into directing and screenwriting has been supported by formal study in a university screenwriting program and by practical work on short projects that she has written, produced and directed. She has discussed Subject 16 and related efforts on industry and creator-focused podcasts, underscoring a commitment to developing a behind-the-camera career alongside acting.
Notable Works and Milestones
Madison De La Garza is best known for Juanita Solis on Desperate Housewives, a signature television role that introduced her to mainstream viewers. In the years that followed she wrote and directed short films such as Subject 16 and co-directed Pink Elephant, and she directed the online premiere of Surprise in 2023, demonstrating a continued shift into multi-hyphenate creative work.
Madison De La Garza Family
De La Garza is the daughter of Eddie De La Garza and Dianna De La Garza. She is the younger half-sister of Demi Lovato and also has an older half sibling, Dallas Lovato. Her family background includes music and performance through her mother and older siblings, and those ties shaped early exposure to the entertainment industry.
Personal Life
Madison De La Garza has maintained a relatively private personal life while sharing public milestones through social media and public statements. In 2024 she confirmed a relationship with actor Ryan Mitchell, described publicly as beginning in 2024.
In September 2024 De La Garza announced that she was expecting her first child with her partner. Later that month she disclosed that she underwent an emergency Caesarean section on September 27, 2024, and that their daughter, named Xiomara, did not survive. Those announcements were made publicly by De La Garza.
Professionally, De La Garza continues to combine acting with creative development in writing and directing, and she remains active on digital platforms where she distributes and discusses her short film work.