Annelise Van Der Pol

Anneliese Louise van der Pol was born on September 23, 1984, in Naaldwijk, Netherlands. She relocated to the United States as a young child and embraced a career in performing arts at an early age. Van der Pol attended The Orange County High School of the Arts, specializing in Musical Theater. Her early theater work included playing Sandy Dumbrowsky in a 1999 Huntington Beach Playhouse production of “Grease,” for which she received a Bobbi Award for “Best Actress in a Musical.” In the same year, she notably played Eva Péron in the Buena Park Civic Theatre’s “Evita,” becoming the youngest actress at 15 to perform the role professionally, and garnered positive reviews from the Los Angeles Times. Between 2000 and 2001, she portrayed Laurey in an Austin Musical Theater production of “Oklahoma!,” earning nominations for an Austin Critics Table Award and a B. Iden Payne Award.

Van der Pol gained wider recognition for her role as Chelsea Daniels, Raven Baxter’s best friend, in the Disney Channel comedy series “That’s So Raven” from 2003 to 2007, a show that achieved significant success. She also contributed to the show’s musical aspect, performing part of the theme song. Her film credits include “Divorce: The Musical” (2001) and Avery in “Bratz” (2007). Her vocal talent led to involvement in various Disney musical projects, including recording “Over It” for the “Stuck in the Suburbs” soundtrack (2004) and “A Day in the Sun” for the “That’s So Raven Too!” soundtrack.

In 2007, Van der Pol made her Broadway debut as Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” becoming the 17th and final actress to play the role in the show’s 13-year run. She continued her theatrical career originating the role of Kathy in the Off-Broadway production of “Vanities, A New Musical” in 2009, also recording its Original Cast Recording. She reprised her role as Chelsea Daniels in the Disney Channel spin-off series “Raven’s Home,” which premiered in 2017, remaining a main cast member for four seasons.