Ryan began appearing in various television commercials in her early teenage years. She appeared in several commercials of iDog and various board games, her latest commercial was in an iDog Dance commercial in 2008.[3] Ryan's first film role was in 2007 as a guest character in Barney: Let's Go to the Firehouse, she played the role of a teenager. Ryan also had a supporting role in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film, The Longshots, alongside teen actress Keke Palmer and Ice Cube. Ryan played Edith, a teenage mean girl, in the feature film.
Ryan plays one of the main characters, Bailey Pickett in Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life on Deck. The series is a sequel/spin-off to the hit Disney Channel series, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. The series' pilot aired on September 26, 2008 in the US.[7] The series premiere on the Disney Channel in the US drew 5.7 million viewers,[8] and it became the most-watched series premiere in Canada on the Family channel.[9]
The series was 2008's #1 top scripted television series for children between the ages 6 to 11 and pre-teenagers between the ages 9 to 14, beating the veteran series Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place in the ratings.[10] The series is also 2009's top rated scripted series in the children and tween demographic (6-14), outpacing Hannah Montana and several other teenage shows.[11]
Following the success of The Suite Life on Deck, she appeared on the first show of Studio DC: Almost Live, a special half-hour variety show that features The Muppets as well as Disney Channel stars. She also made a small appearance on Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream
In 2009, it was announced that Ryan landed a starring role in the independent feature film, What If... alongside Kevin Sorbo and Kristy Swanson. The film is a straight to DVD film which is set to be released on Valentine's Day in 2010, the film was shot in Manistee, Michigan in July 2009. The film is produced by Pure Flix Entertainment and centers a Christian family.[12][13][14] In October 2009, Ryan hosted the first Tween Girl Summit in which she hosted the event and its concerts.[15] "Tween girls are drawn to talented performers who emanate the joy of life, and we are so happy to have teen favorite Debby Ryan as the first host of The Tween Summit Music Festival," said Denise Restauri, founder of The Tween Summit,
AllyKatzz.com and AK Tweens.[15] "The Tween Summit is a day of celebrating the excitement of youth and hope for the future. As my tween friends say, 'This concert is going to Rock!'"[15]
