I was in one of Disney’s biggest shows of the noughties but I quit fame to be a nurse and I love it

LIFE has changed a lot for one star of Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place, who has ditched acting for a more selfless job.

Jennifer Stone is best known for playing Harper Finkle on the show, starring alongside pop superstar Selena Gomez.

The actress has since swapped acting for a very different career as a nurse.

But often keeps her life away from the spotlight but does keep her fans updated, letting fans get a small glimpse into her private life.

The 30-year-old quit Hollywood to go to college, where she first studied psychology and then switched over to nursing.

Since starring in all four seasons of Wizard of Waverly Place as Harper, Alex Russo’s (Selena Gomez) best friend who wore eccentric clothing, Jennifer has only starred in a few roles since.

Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, Wizards of Waverly Place: Alex Vs. Alex, Mean Girls 2, Dadnapped, Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars, and Deadtime Stories are only a few of the roles Jennifer took on.

Her family highly valued getting a degree and she didn’t want to be the only one without one, so she turned her focus to school.

But during her early 20s Jennifer was diagnosed with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), which is sometimes referred to as 1.5 type Diabetes.

She left acting shortly after getting her diagnosis.

That same year, she shared her story on the Diabetes Connections podcast and how her diagnosis affected her life and career.

On top of dealing with her diagnosis and trying to keep her life private, Jennifer got thrown with another crisis- COVID-19.

She graduated from nursing school and is now working in the ER at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, as of 2020, according to Deadline.

Jennifer landed her job at the ER just as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking off.

Jennifer said: “I can only speak for myself because I think every nurse and person has their own way of processing life. I think, as a nurse, you’re just hit with it a lot more upfront and to be honest, I look at it this way: During a 12-hour shift, it’s not about me. It’s about putting myself aside to help somebody else.”

“I try to stay really focused during those 12 hours to be as effective and helpful as I can and then just decompress when I get home. I’m a big fan of bubble baths, Drag Race, and watching medical shows, so I could watch somebody else do it,” she continued.

Jennifer added that she has really supportive family and friends that she can talk to at any time.

Jennifer revealed to Beyond Type 1 in 2018 that she wanted to study nursing to “better understand her disease.”

Last year she filmed The Perfect Night and was involved in other projects while working 12-hour shifts at the ER.