15 Things You Didn't Know About 'This Is Us' Star Mandy Moore
The hot new show this fall season is definitely This Is Us and right at the center of this show is none other than Mandy Moore. You've loved this actress and singer since back in the 2000s and chances are, you probably grew up listening to her pop hits like "Candy" and watching her in movies like The Princess Diaries. Remember when she was blonde?! Talk about the good old days of pop culture. In other words, you're a pretty big fan, and you love that now you can watch Mandy Moore on a regular basis on this new family drama. It's pretty awesome. Plus there's the fact that she's a pretty talented actress and she brings her dramatic range to this series… and that her TV husband is Milo Ventimiglia. Yup, that's pretty awesome and you're into it. But how much do you really know about Mandy? Probably a lot less than you think.
Here are 15 things you don't know about This Is Us star Mandy Moore.
15 She Opened For Boy Bands
Back in the late 90s, when Mandy Moore was focusing on trying to be a pop star and make that happen, she actually opened for boy bands like *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys. As in your all-time favorite boy bands and a real piece of your childhood and teenage years. Just think how cool those tours must have been. There are just so many questions that come to mind after learning some super cool fun facts like this one. Did Mandy hang out with the band members? Did she grab drinks or even dinner with Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass? What about how she was feeling? Was she totally nervous and freaked out, or did she feel totally and completely ready? It's just pretty awesome to think that Mandy had such success and something so cool so early on in her career. She's definitely done even better since then, but it was a really awesome start.
14 She Dated Matthew Perry
Yup. She really did. You probably didn't know about this but it wasn't a super publicized relationship. Well, let's just say that she reportedly dated the Friends star. Like many things in Hollywood, this is one of those things that could be a total rumor or could be totally true. It's really impossible to know either way, but it's most likely more true than not, let's put it that way. It's funny (pun intended) to think about this. But the thing is that Mandy has dated tons of famous guys, from Wilmer Valderrama to Andy Roddick. It's pretty fun to think about what celebrities have dated each other because every mere human out there is dying to know the dirt and the gossip. But since things clearly didn't work out since they're not still together, maybe it's better that you never really knew about this in the first place. It would be too depressing to think about two of your favorite actors not getting along.
13 She's A Classy Lady
Okay, so you probably already knew this since she always seems to be the picture of beauty and elegance. But it can be hard to know where a star's public persona and their real self merge and what's real and what's false. What if she's only pretending to be classy for the media and the cameras? But in reality, Mandy is a super classy lady, and that's evident by the fact that she has never appeared in any nude scenes. She has often spoken about this decision and has said that she just doesn't think that she could do that and it wouldn't make her super comfortable. She has also said that unlike other pop stars of her time and era and generation, she wouldn't want to wear super revealing clothes and use her body to sell albums. That is something to respect since not everyone feels the same way as she does.
12 She Sang The National Anthem As A Kid
Mandy is one of those stars who definitely got an early start on fame and success. She started her professional singing career at the young age of fifteen, and it turns out that she started signing even earlier than that. Mandy grew up in Florida and it sounds like she was totally always destined for stardom. She was always performing as a kid and even attended a performing arts school, like a lot of celebrities. It's always cool to think about how artists became who they are today and who they ended up where they are, and for Mandy, singing the national anthem is a big part of her history. She apparently sang this song at a lot of sports games in Orlando, Florida. That must have been super adorable. Now you're wishing that you could find footage of this, right? Just think about how fun it would be to watch that.
11 She's A Hopeless Romantic
Sure, you might think that Mandy's character in A Walk To Remember was a total hopeless romantic, but it turns out that Mandy is in real life as well. In an interview with PBS Kids around the time of that show, Mandy said, " I have always considered myself to be a fairly romantic person. I love the illusion of true love and soul mates and love at first sight and marriage, and all of that." Well, then it sounds like her divorce from Ryan Adams must have been a really devastating time in her life if she is such a hopeless romantic. Hopefully, Mandy can find true love and marriage and the whole deal sometime soon. You really want that to happen for her because you feel like Mandy is your BFF or something. She's just such a sweetheart and she seems like such a good, caring person, and those kinds of person always deserve love.
10 She Was On 'Grey's Anatomy'
Yes, really. It can be hard to remember all the famous guest stars on shows like Grey's Anatomy that have been on the air for so long. You've watched so many episodes of this glorious hospital drama, how can you possibly recall all of the famous faces that have graced the small screen? Well, now you know that Mandy was on this show and she was in a total of four episodes. She played a character named Mary Portman who ended up being at the hospital at the same time that there was a lockdown because of a shooting. Miranda Bailey had the most scenes with Mary since she was the one dealing with her and treating her. Now you want to watch those episodes ASAP, right? Right there with you. Of course, Mandy did an awesome job since she's a really stellar actress, and she brings a certain kind of grace and calm to whatever role she's currently portraying.
9 She's A Snapchat Fiend
Yup, like a lot of other celebrities, Mandy has totally and completely embraced the wonderful world of Snapchat. Not only that, but she uses this social media platform to let fans in on some secrets about the set of This Is Us. Along with some Instagram stories, Mandy is often posting snaps of her being driven around the set in a golf cart… often with Jess. Or, um, Milo. But he will always be Jess to you. If you love this show (which of course you do since it's absolutely amazing) and you love Mandy and Milo (ditto), then you should be following her on Snapchat if you're not already. You are seriously missing out. It's a rare star that is willing to put so much time, effort and love and attention into making sure that fans feel like they are being heard and respected, and that's what Mandy does. But you already knew that she was pretty awesome.
8 She's A Method Actor
In an interview with The Cut, Mandy said that she did a ton of research in order to play wife and mom Rebecca Person on her current hit show This Is Us. She did everything from watch tons of videos of women giving birth on YouTube to spending time with a nurse -- so it's safe to say that even though she hasn't had a child of her own yet, she is definitely an expert when it comes to all things labor and baby related. Think about how tough it must have been to learn all of that stuff. Sure, it was for her role, so it makes sense that she would want to know all this, but it must have been a whole lot to handle and take in. She must have needed a stiff drink or something like that after learning all that information. We think that all that work has paid off since she is doing such an amazing job on the show. She seems like she's totally and completely in control.
7 She's Got A Musician Boyfriend
Did you know that Mandy has found love again? She has supposedly been in a relationship with a musician since the end of 2015/beginning of 2016 (the exact time period is a bit fuzzy but that's the general date that most people believe). The guy is none other than Taylor Goldsmith who is in a band called Dawes. And he's super cute and the two of them are nothing other than adorable, which is nothing new since Mandy is always pretty adorable. You're definitely happy to know that Mandy is once again in a happy relationship since her divorce hit her really hard. And since she and Ryan were apparently separated for at least six months before their divorce was officially announced, she was definitely on her own for a long time, so the time is definitely right for new love. Will they be walking down the aisle sometime soon?!
6 She Comes From A Divorced Family
Since she's someone who seems so cookie cutter and like somewhat of a goody two shoes, it might be surprising to learn that Mandy Moore's parents are divorced. But she has said this in an interview with Byrdie.com while explaining that she hasn't really discussed this before. She said, “I've never really talked about this but my parents are divorced. My mother left my father for a woman. And both of my two brothers are gay.” She then said that she had a very good childhood and comes from a positive family unit, so don't feel sorry for her. It definitely sounds like she had an idyllic childhood since she was able to pursue her love of singing and dancing and acting, and now, of course, she's living out her dream in Hollywood. But it's something that you probably don't know about her since she has mostly kept it on the down low.
5 Her First Role Was In 'Dr Doolittle 2'
It's always fun to take a walk down memory lane and think about a celebrity's first foray into Hollywood. Was it a starring role in a blockbuster that truly put them on the map? Or was it a blink-and-you-will-miss-it type deal that will leave you scratching your head because you just can't recall? It may sound pretty random that Mandy's first ever movie role was in this sequel, but it's the honest truth. Back in 2001, Mandy ventured into the world of movies with a small role in this movie. But even though it was a super tiny part, it definitely made her want to do more and it seems like she had always been bitten by the acting bug since she has been in a ton of movies and TV shows since then. Maybe you saw this movie, maybe you didn't, but even if you did it was such a long time ago you probably wouldn't remember seeing Mandy in the film. And no one could really blame you.
4 She's A Cat Person
You're only one of two people in life: you're a cat person or you're a dog person. There's really no way around this, this is just the way that it goes. Mandy is definitely a cat person and she has said in several interviews that she owns a ton of cats. Back when she was married to Ryan Adams, they had four cats (and, okay, they had two dogs, but she still seems to be primarily a cat person). She's also considered an animal activist since animals are something that she really and truly cares about. That's not so shocking, though, since of course, Mandy is a really caring and compassionate person, right? If you could pick one actress or singer who you would think would be an animal rights person, you would probably choose Mandy. It's not that much of a stretch. But in her case, it seems super genuine and not like something she's doing just for the positive press.
3 She Has A Cover Album
You might have missed it because it happened a while ago, but Mandy released an album of covers called Coverage back in October of 2003. Mandy covered a bunch of classic songs like "I Feel The Earth Move" and "Have A Little Faith In Me" and it's honestly a pretty great work of art. She's got the pipes to sing a whole range of songs from fast-paced, upbeat pop songs to rock songs to slower ballads. It's pretty cool when you learn that one of your fave celebs has a body of work that you never knew about, whether it's learning that your new fave actress was in two TV shows that you want to binge ASAP or that one of your fave singers has a whole album you never knew about. Go ahead and give this one a listen. You won't regret it and it might just become your go-to album when you want to get into a good mood and fast.
2 She Loves 'RHONJ'
Okay, stop the presses. It turns out that Mandy is a fan of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. No way?! Now you wish that you two were best friends even more than you already did. You can just see the two of you hanging out on a Sunday night, ordering pizza and drinking red wine and watching the latest episodes of this glorious piece of reality television. It's super cool when you learn that one of your favorite celebs is super into something that you're into. You feel super validated even though, of course, you should feel proud of whoever you love and not even worry about it. Apparently, Mandy started to watch the show back when she was married and that was part of her married couple home life. So maybe she's not watching the show or any of the other cities in the franchise anymore since it might bring back some painful memories. But you hope not since it's such a great show.
1 She's Super Real
You may not be able to tell if Mandy Moore is real or not. After all, it's impossible to figure out what is for the benefit of the cameras and what is someone's real personality, and celebrities are notorious for sound bites and pretty smiles. But Mandy keeps it real every step of the way and it's yet another reason why you love her so much. She has been pretty outspoken about the pain she experienced when several TV pilots that she starred in just didn't get picked up, and she has said in several interviews that it was really rough when she realized that those series weren't going to come to fruition. She was frustrated and sad and felt like it was a really dark time in her life. There aren't a lot of actresses or actors who are going to admit to that since a lot of Hollywood is all about looking good and keeping up appearances. But Mandy's 100 percent real and if you didn't know that about her, well, now you do.