KayCee Stroh revealed fans wrote to Disney complaining that her casting in High School Musical was “unhealthy.”
In an interview with People, the Disney alum noted that she’d been told from a young age that she didn’t belong in the industry, often facing skepticism from mentors and peers due to not having the “ideal” dancer’s body.
At 19, being cast in HSM as Martha Cox by Kenny Ortega felt like a turning point for Stroh.
“My whole life I was a bigger, muscular, curvy girl,” she recalled. “The one thing I thought would always hold me back was the very thing that made me who I am, and it made me stand out that day.”
She continued, “It all made sense to me. It was like my whole life came into… I was supposed to be this way …”
Despite her dedication, Stroh revealed that fans wrote to Disney Channel, shaming them for casting someone they deemed “unhealthy.”
Stroh has spoken about her dedication to challenging societal views on body image. Now a mother of two, she advocates for body positivity and self-acceptance, emphasizing that talent is not determined by body size.
“If they only had taken the time to get to know me and realize that I grew up dancing five hours a day, and that wasn’t at all the situation,” Stroh said. “It was so devastating to see how people just prejudge others based on something as shallow as their outer appearance while they’re here on this earth.”
Before High School Musical, Stroh said she underwent knee surgery and experienced a blood clot, which resulted in a 50-pound weight gain. She reflected, “I’m glad it happened when I was young and fresh in the industry because I really learned quickly to build empathy for others.”
“Healed people don’t hurt people, and I hope those people can someday find happiness and heal their inner trauma, or the generational body trauma that was passed on to them,” she continued. “I really just look at it like, ‘I’m sorry for you.’ I hope you find happiness and realize someday that there’s so much more to life than that.”
This isn’t the first time Stroh has candidly spoken about the effect the entertainment industry has had on her body image issues. In a 2019 interview with Dance Spirit, Stroh discussed her struggles with body dysmorphia, anorexia, and bulimia, which began early in her dance career.
She recalled, “From a very early age, I remember looking in the mirror and then at the girls next to me and realizing, ‘Oh, wow, they’re all like knees and elbows and really gangling. Is that normal? Is that what I’m supposed to be?’”
These challenges were magnified by the pressure to fit into the rigid standards of the dance and entertainment industries. Despite the criticism and self-doubt, Stroh remained dedicated to her craft, noting she spent countless hours in the studio, often napping on the floor while surrounded by the sound of tap shoes, as she pursued her passion for dance.
Since her High School Musical days, Stroh has advocated for body positivity and self-acceptance, sharing these messages with her children and on social media. She was introduced to TikTok and Instagram during a pre-pandemic master class, where young students encouraged her to try the platforms. With support from her husband, Ben Higginson, she posted her first TikTok video, which went viral.
Today, Stroh has more than 3 million followers on TikTok and 760,000 on Instagram, where she engages with audiences and promotes messages of positivity.
