Australia’s presence in Disney’s live-action renaissance continues to grow.
Fresh off her breakout turn in True Spirit, Teagan Croft has been announced as the new Rapunzel in Walt Disney Pictures’ upcoming live-action Tangled, marking a major milestone in the 21-year-old actor’s rapidly accelerating career.
Who Is Teagan Croft?
Croft’s path into acting began early. At just nine years old, she took to the stage as Scout Finch in a theatrical adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, a performance that quickly drew industry attention.
By 2016, she had secured the title role in the feature film The Osiris Child and a recurring role as Bella Loneragan on Home and Away, signalling the start of a career moving quickly beyond local screens.
Her international breakthrough came with DC’s Titans, where she starred as Raven from 2018 to 2023. The emotionally complex, half-demon superhero became a fan favourite, with Croft’s performance praised for its balance of vulnerability and intensity. The role cemented her status as one of Australia’s most promising young exports.
More recently, she fronted Netflix’s True Spirit, portraying Australian sailor Jessica Watson in the film adaptation of Watson’s solo circumnavigation. Despite the film’s success, Croft has remained strikingly grounded, previously telling marie claire she was balancing auditions with her first year of university.
Born in Sydney, Croft is the niece of Australian actresses Penny and Jessica McNamee, making her part of one of the country’s quietly influential acting dynasties.
What Do We Currently Know About Disney’s Live-Action Tangled?
Croft will step into the role of Rapunzel, the luminous, long-locked heroine originally voiced by Mandy Moore in Disney’s 2010 animated classic.
She stars opposite Milo Manheim, best known for Disney Channel’s Zombies franchise, who has been cast as charming runaway thief Flynn Rider.
Directing duties fall to Michael Gracey, a filmmaker fluent in spectacle and sentiment in equal measure. With The Greatest Showman and Better Man to his name, Gracey brings a distinctly cinematic, music-forward sensibility to the project, signalling a reimagining that leans into both visual grandeur and emotional payoff.
The screenplay comes from Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, with longtime Disney collaborator Kristin Burr producing, ensuring the film is anchored by hands well-versed in balancing nostalgia with reinvention.
Gracey had previously hinted at conversations around the project in late 2024, telling IF in December 2024 that while nothing was locked in, it would be “incredible” to bring Tangled to life. “There are a number of projects that I’m super excited about,” he said. “With those, you don’t know whether you’re one draft away from being able to jump in and make it or six drafts, so you have to wait and see.”
Tangled joins a growing slate of Disney live-action adaptations, following The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Lilo & Stitch and the upcoming Moana.
Is Teagan Croft Also A Singer?
She certainly is. Stepping into Rapunzel’s tower comes with serious musical expectations, and while Croft is best known for her screen work, music has long sat at the centre of her creative orbit. Speaking previously to RUSSH, she reflected, “Music is as close as I’ll get to religion. There’s this universal feeling that music has, like a universal emotive code that we all can inherently crack.”
She has also spoken candidly about music’s grounding role in her everyday life. Telling marie claire australia that her go-to method for calming her nerves is soundtracked, “There’s this ’90s song I play by A Tribe Called Quest that reminds me to relax. It goes, ‘Relax yourself, girl, please settle down.’” Consider it her personal mantra, and now, perhaps, Rapunzel’s too.
And if early signs are anything to go by, Croft’s turn as Rapunzel may be the role that finally shifts her from rising star to household name.
