11 Things to Know About Dove Cameron, the Disney Star with 12.5 Million Instagram Followers

You know Dove Cameron as Mal, the daughter of Maleficent, in the movie Descendants. The second film debuts Friday and continues the tale of the teen daughters and sons of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil.

“Mal and I both have intensity and ferocity,” she tells Yahoo Style. “Mal is the character most similar to myself.”

dear diary,

A post shared by ♡DOVE♡ (@dovecameron) on Jul 20, 2017 at 7:02pm PDT

Here’s what you need to know about the upbeat, outgoing actress, 21, who, with an Instagram following of 12.5 million, is fairly irresistible and superstylish in person.

On being a body-positive role model: “People are very quick to demonize and misunderstand intention. When people don’t know what’s going on, fear kicks in. It has nothing to do with you. It’s their response to something. You can’t create negativity in someone else.

“It’s not your fault that they feel that way about you. What we’ve decided is attractive ebbs and flows. For you to feel badly about something that’s so temporary — it doesn’t matter. No one is born not beautiful.”

On dealing with pressure to look a certain way in Hollywood: “Dressing up and wearing makeup are fun. There’s nothing wrong with that. It gets dangerous when you’re defining your beauty by other people’s standards. For a long time I struggled with weight. It was about me falling in love with myself.”

duh,

A post shared by ♡DOVE♡ (@dovecameron) on Jun 26, 2017 at 10:45am PDT

On when she’s feeling the most beautiful: “I genuinely feel that way when I have wet hair and no makeup on. It shocks me. I would never have believed that because I have gone through my own personal journeys through self-love.”

thank you for having me last night @beccacosmetics #chasethelight

A post shared by ♡DOVE♡ (@dovecameron) on Jun 8, 2017 at 1:18pm PDT

On performing in Mamma Mia! at the Hollywood Bowl: “When I’m performing I can access the most tender and emotionally open parts of myself.”

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