Bella Thorne’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

Bella Thorne actually began working in commercials as a child to help her family pay the bills, but her best movies and TV shows demonstrate her growth as an actor. Thorne was born and raised in Florida at a time when there were quite a few projects filming there, but her big break would be the Disney Channel’s Shake It Up, which filmed in California.

Thorne has since explained that her big break with Disney was because “We were about to live physically on the street if I didn’t have that role,” though she did not have any dance or vocal training before getting the part (via Refinery29). Since then, as is common for actors who break big on the Disney Channel, Thorne has had a hard time getting people to take her seriously as an actor. She has moved away from Disney to take on grittier and more adult projects, forging a very purposeful career path for herself. Bella Thorne’s best movies and TV shows are a combination of her Disney days and her more mature work.

10

Blended (2014)

Bella Thorne As Hilary ‘Larry’ Friedman

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Blended

PG-13

Comedy

Romance

9.3/10

Release Date

May 23, 2014

Runtime

117 Minutes

Cast

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    Adam Sandler

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    Drew Barrymore

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Critics by and large did not love Blended, but rom-com audiences did.

Adam Sandler has starred in several romantic comedies opposite Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore. These comedies have managed to blend his signature style of humor with the softer approach of a rom-com. Some of those have featured him as a parent, like Blended.

Here, Sandler and Barrymore play two single parents who once went on a horrible blind date and never wanted to see one another again. Their separate family vacations on an African safari see their families booked in the same area and sharing accommodations.

Thorne plays Sandler’s oldest daughter, who has been having a difficult time without a mom in the house. Her father does not understand her sudden desire to want to have a feminine look since she has always been a tomboy. Thorne gets to share some scenes with Barrymore as the latter helps her, and she gets to distinguish herself from her Disney characters at the time.

Critics by and large did not love Blended, but rom-com audiences did. The movie is heartfelt and a great snapshot of the kinds of rom-coms Sandler would make over the next decade.

Drew Barrymore in ET, Santa Clarita Diet and Scream

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9

Girl (2020)

Bella Thorne As Girl

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Girl

Thriller

Release Date

December 11, 2020

Runtime

90 minutes

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    Mickey Rourke

    Sheriff

  • Headshot Of Bella Thorne

    Bella Thorne

    Girl

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    Glen Gould

    Barkeep

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    Chad Faust

    Charmer

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Bella Thorne has been in a lot of horror and thrillers as an adult. Girl is one of her more underrated thrillers. Critics did not love the movie as a whole, but they did praise Thorne’s performance.

The movie kicks off with a young woman whose name is never revealed beyond calling her “Girl” who takes a bus back to her small hometown and plans to kill her abusive father. She, however, does not get the chance because someone else has beaten her to it. When she suspects she has found the murderer, she decides to try to kill them too, but she ends up in the middle of the murderer’s search for money her father hid.

There is a lot going on in this movie, which is part of the reason critics did not love it. To Thorne’s credit, she never wavers in her portrayal of Girl as an angry woman needing closure. She does not get bogged down in the details as she brings Girl to life. It might not be the best revenge-thriller out there, but it is a great showcase for Thorne as a dramatic actor.

8

Shake It Up (2010-2013)

Bella Thorne As CeCe Jones

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Shake It Up

TV-G

Comedy

Family

Kids

Drama

5.5/10

Release Date

2010 – 2012

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    Bella Thorne

    CeCe Jones

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    Zendaya

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Though Bella Thorne began working professionally long before she landed the role of CeCe on Shake It Up, the Disney Channel series is undoubtedly her breakout role. It might not be the best Disney Channel show of all time, but it really helped to launch firm careers for Thorne and Zendaya. In the series, the two star as a pair of teenage best friends who also happen to be great dancers. They audition to be part of a local dance show, and the series follows their antics from there, which combine some great dance routines with typical young adult shenanigans.

As an adult, Thorne has gravitated toward grittier work as an actor. It’s rare for her to go for more comedic roles now, but she showcased a great ability to lean into comedy in this show. She also did not have a dance background before auditioning, but trained simultaneously while filming the show, which had to be exhausting for a child in the business. Her work ethic and impressive talent make Shake It Up one of Thorne’s best TV shows.

7

Assassination Nation (2018)

Bella Thorne As Reagan Hall

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Assassination Nation

R

Thriller

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8/10

Release Date

September 21, 2018

Runtime

110 minutes

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  • Headshot Of Bella Thorne

    Bella Thorne

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    Odessa Young

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Assassination Nation provides commentary on just how technology can be used as a weapon when it comes to things like private photos or text messages. The movie sees a small town devolve into chaos as a hacker exposes people’s secrets. Violence becomes the primary method of communication as people became angry at the betrayals of those around them.

The movie’s focus is on a group of young women, and Thorne plays the best friend of one of those women. She is responsible for sharing private photos of her friend with other people, leading to those photos being leaked. Thorne is not in the movie for long as a result, as her friend violently attacks her during cheerleading practice, and she ends up in a comatose state.

While the movie has some fantastic action sequences, critics were hard on the characters of the movie, seeing them as little more than caricatures of the personality types they were meant to portray. Despite that, the stylized violence, the social message, and the thriller tone are all right up Thorne’s alley, and she does a great job with the little screen time she has.

6

Scream (2015)

Bella Thorne As Nina Patterson

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Scream: The TV Series

TV-14

Drama

Crime

Mystery

Horror

8/10

Release Date

2015 – 2018

Network

MTV, VH1

Cast

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  • Headhsot Of Willa Fitzgerald

    Willa Fitzgerald

    Emma Duvall

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    RJ Cyler

    Deion Elliot

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Bella Thorne is not in the Scream television series for long either. She is the Drew Barrymore of the MTV series, and she joins the ranks of iconic horror victims as a result.

The MTV series was not linked to the Scream movies, but it was inspired by them. The series followed a group of teens in a small town who were stalked by a masked figure who liked to intimidate them with phone calls. The group of friends had increasingly gruesome deaths in the first and second seasons.

Scream Drew Barrymore as Casey Becker and Ghostface

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Thorne’s Nina appears in the first episode of the show as a wealthy teen who is mostly left to her own devices by her parents. She is a mean girl and somehow, also, one of the most popular girls in school. Though Thorne might not be a main cast member of the show, her portrayal of the entitled and mean-spirited Nina is felt throughout the first season as her murder kicks off the events of the series. Her presence definitely lingers in the show.

Thorne was actually offered a leading role in the show, but turned it down to play the murder victim.

5

Big Love (2010)

Bella Thorne As Tancy ‘Teenie’ Henrickson

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Big Love

TV-MA

Drama

Release Date

2006 – 2010

Network

HBO Max

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Bill Paxton

    Bill Paxton

    Bill Henrickson

  • Headshot Of Jeanne Tripplehorn

    Jeanne Tripplehorn

    Barbara Henrickson

  • Headshot Of Chloe Sevigny

    Chloe Sevigny

    Uncredited

  • Headshot Of Ginnifer Goodwin

    Ginnifer Goodwin

    Marilyn Densham

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Big Love is a series that explores the lives of the wives in a multiple-wife household. Much of the focus of the show is on the dynamics among the women – both with their husband and one another – as well as the children they are raising. It is a great television vehicle for Ginnifer Goodwin and Amanda Seyfried and was also a critical favorite.

Thorne is not a main cast member during the entire run of the show. Instead, she joins the series in season four, replacing another child actor when the character of Teenie becomes a more prominent member of the ensemble, but the previous actor had started to look older than the role she was playing. Thorne was cast in the role just in time for Teenie to begin exploring her own ideas about religion and trying to make friends outside of the family.

Thorne plays her as a little unsure of herself and a little awkward, perfect for someone who was just starting to explore the world.

Big Love was nominated for eight Emmys and six Golden Globes, winning one.

4

Infamous (2020)

Bella Thorne As Arielle Summers

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Infamous (2020) - Poster - Bella Thorne & Jake Manley Holding A Gun

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Infamous

Crime

ScreenRant logo

6/10

Release Date

June 12, 2020

Runtime

100 Minutes

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  • Headshot Of Bella Thorne

    Bella Thorne

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    Jake Manley

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Though the movie received mostly mixed reviews, it proves that Thorne was born to immerse herself into on-screen stories.

Infamous is as though Bonnie and Clyde were a modern-day pair of romantic criminals. The crime drama follows a teenager, played by Thorne, who finds herself gaining attention on social media after her fight with another girl at a party goes viral. Wanting to be famous, she livestreams her new boyfriend’s robbery and finds herself becoming a social media powerhouse.

Mistakes made on their crime spree, however, lead to law enforcement coming after them even as their popularity grows.

Thorne’s Arielle is someone enthralled by fame. She does not care how she becomes famous, just that she does. Thorne does an excellent job at making her giddy at the idea of attention, scared of getting hurt, but also morally reprehensible because she is okay with doing absolutely anything to get what she wants. Though the movie received mostly mixed reviews, it proves that Thorne was born to immerse herself into on-screen stories.

3

Midnight Sun (2018)

Bella Thorne As Katie Price

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Midnight Sun

PG-13

Romance

Drama

Release Date

March 23, 2018

Runtime

91 Minutes

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Bella Thorne

    Bella Thorne

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    Patrick Schwarzenegger

  • Headshot of Rob Riggle

    Rob Riggle

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    Quinn Shephard

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Midnight Sun is a movie about a young woman with xeroderma pigmentosum, though it has been heavily criticized for not completely presenting the disease accurately. Despite the movie’s inaccuracies, Thorne’s performance in the movie is great. It’s the rare romantic drama in her resume and is a remake of the 2006 Japanese movie A Song To The Sun.

The movie sees Thorne’s Katie, who goes out on nightly excursions because she cannot be out in sunlight during the day. When she comes face-to-face with a longtime crush on one of her nights out, she debates whether or not she should really get to know him or even tell him about her condition. Though she initially hides it from him, they fall for one another, and her illness complicates their time together.

Thorne does not often take on roles that show her softer side. Instead, she seems to gravitate toward women who are straightforward, even downright mean, in the way they approach others. Katie is one of the softest roles she has played in her career, but that does not make the character any less strong than the ones Thorne has played in action movies. Katie faces the reality of her situation head-on, knows the risks of the choices she makes, and ultimately, does not allow fear to rule her life.

She is one of Thorne’s best characters, even if the movie plays fast and loose with the reality of her illness.

2

The Babysitter (2017)

Bella Thorne As Allison

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The Babysitter (20170

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The Babysitter

TV-MA

Horror

Release Date

October 13, 2017

Runtime

85minutes

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Robbie Amell

    Robbie Amell

  • Headhsot Of Hana Mae Lee

    Hana Mae Lee

  • Headshot Of Bella Thorne

    Bella Thorne

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    Judah Lewis

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Bella Thorne gets to play another cheerleader in The Babysitter, though this time, with a bit of a twist. The movie is a horror comedy that explores what it means to grow up through the eyes of a kid targeted by a cult of teenagers.

A child who has been bullied discovers that his babysitter and her friends are all members of a cult that need the “blood of an innocent” in order to survive. He is their latest target, and he spends the night fighting them off one-by-one until his parents get home, eventually confronting the babysitter herself. The horror comedy divided critics, but acted as a great blending of genres with a coming-of-age story.

The Babysitter More Brutal Original Script McG Netflix Original Bee Samara Weaving

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Thorne is one of the friends of the babysitter. Each of her friends adheres to a typical teen stereotype that is found in movies, but they’re united in their desire to sacrifice this kid. Thorne still plays the role like a typical mean girl, but she has a lot of fun with it, which is why it’s great to see her return in the sequel as well, even if she does not get as much screen time there.

The sequel, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, premiered in 2020 and a third movie has been in development ever since.

1

The DUFF (2015)

Bella Thorne As Madison Morgan

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The DUFF

PG-13

Comedy

Romance

ScreenRant logo

6/10

9/10

Release Date

February 20, 2015

Runtime

101 minutes

Cast

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    Robbie Amell

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Several of the projects that account for teenage roles in Thorne’s career involve her playing high school mean girls. It’s likely those roles helped to distance her from her Disney Channel roles, but they also helped to show casting directors she was capable of playing more than the best friend or the comic relief.

The DUFF centers on Mae Whitman’s character, who discovers she is what others would refer to as the “designated, ugly, fat friend” in her friend group. She is hurt by the moniker, and ends up in a friends-with-benefits relationship with a frenemy that turns out to be more.

Thorne is one of the characters who brings the designation to her attention. Her quips are biting, her hair flips are on point, and she thoroughly embraces the stereotype of the high school girl who is there to use the misery of others to lift herself up. Thorne is fantastic in the movie, and it just so happens to be one of the best teen romances and coming-of-age stories to boot that is often underrated among teen movies.