Where Is Ashlie Brillault Now? The Mean Girl Who Became a Lawyer
She was the mean girl — the ex-best-friend turned popular tormentor, the one Lizzie McGuire loved to hate. Ashlie Brillault played Kate Sanders in Lizzie McGuire (2001–04) and The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), and she played her so well that a generation assumed she was like that in real life. She wasn't. In real life, she was the kid who'd grow up to defend the accused.
Brillault quit acting in 2004 and went to law school. She is now a criminal defense attorney — reportedly a partner at her firm — in Southern California. This is the verified story of where Ashlie Brillault is now.
The Peak: Kate Sanders, Mean Girl (2001–2004)
Born Ashlie Theresa Brillault on May 21, 1987, in San Francisco (raised in Long Beach), she modeled from age three — print ads, fashion shows, Kmart national campaigns — and took acting classes at six at the Beverly Hills Acting School. She landed Kate on her first TV audition: Katherine "Kate" Sanders, Lizzie's former best friend turned rival, the show's designated antagonist with a secret soft side.
The role was the show's necessary friction — every teen comedy needs its mean girl, and Brillault's Kate had layers: the episode "Lizzie and Kate's Big Adventure" (her reported favorite) showed the vulnerability underneath. She reprised Kate in The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003) and did one One on One episode (2003). Then, when the show ended in 2004, she walked away from acting entirely. As TheList put it: "It seems that after her years as a child actress, she decided to pursue a different career path." The understatement of the decade.
The Education: From TGIFridays to a J.D.
The academic climb is genuinely impressive. Community college first, then transfer to Cal State Long Beach — B.A. in Political Science and Government, 3.5 GPA — then grad school at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law, graduating with a J.D. in 2014 (focus: Constitutional Rights and Remedies). In between: serving tables at TGIFridays and Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ in Cerritos — the future lawyer paying tuition one appetizer platter at a time.
The legal training was hands-on: Legal Extern at the Medical Marijuana Industry Group and the Colorado State Public Defender in Denver, Student Attorney at the University of Denver Civil Rights Clinic, volunteer at the ACLU in Los Angeles. This wasn't a celebrity vanity degree — it was the full grind, clinics and externships included, the same path as any public-interest lawyer. "Looks like Kate wasn't just another dumb blonde after all," as one fan blog marveled.
The Lawyer: Criminal Defense in Southern California
Brillault is now a criminal defense attorney in Southern California — with the Law Offices of David Givot (and David Borsari in Long Beach), where TheList reports she became a partner, specializing in criminal defense. The mean girl defends the accused: there's a screenplay in that logline, but the reality is better — it's a career.
Think about what criminal defense actually is: standing between the individual and the state, the least glamorous and most essential work in the legal system. The teenager who played the girl everyone loved to hate grew up to be the adult who stands up for people everyone loves to condemn. If that's not character development, nothing is.
She's also kept the service ethos from her youth: board member for Kids with a Cause, work with the Long Beach Child Cancer Center, DARE school talks, Ronald McDonald House involvement. The through-line from the Kmart kid to the lawyer: showing up for people.
The Person: Married, Mother, Private
Brillault is married to her husband Joe, with whom she welcomed a daughter in February 2015 (some outlets report two children — this article confirms only what's consistently sourced). She has no active public social media — the anti-influencer, the lawyer who doesn't perform her life online. One 2016 Instagram post: "It's been 15 years and Kate Sanders is still part of my heart."
She's reportedly friends with Hilary Duff in real life — "in real life Ashlie is nothing like Kate," per the fan wiki, which is both obvious and worth saying. The mean girl was a performance; the lawyer is the person. And the person chose the courtroom over the camera, the brief over the script, the client over the audience.
Seal Beach, California. The Law Offices. The family. The bar card instead of the SAG card. Of all the second acts in this series, Brillault's is the most credentialed — and the most quietly subversive. She didn't just leave Hollywood; she joined the profession Hollywood loves to villainize, on the side Hollywood never shows.
Where Is Ashlie Brillault Now?
As of 2026, Ashlie Brillault is a criminal defense attorney (partner) in Southern California, married to Joe, mother of a daughter, with no public social media and no interest in returning to acting. Retired from the business since 2004.
Kate Sanders grew up to defend the accused. Objection overruled — this is the best ending. From the Kmart campaigns at three to the courtroom at thirty-nine: the mean girl was a role, the lawyer is the life, and the life is the argument she was always meant to make — for the accused, the at-risk, and everyone the system is quickest to discard. The gavel falls; the mean girl rests her case — and wins it, daily, for people who need winning for.
The Service Record: DARE, Kids with a Cause, and Showing Up
Brillault's charity work deserves its own section, because it's the connective tissue between Kate Sanders and the courtroom. Board member for Kids with a Cause. Work with the Long Beach Child Cancer Center. Talks at local high schools for DARE. Ronald McDonald House involvement. This isn't celebrity charity — the gala-and-photo-op kind — it's the local, unglamorous, show-up-every-week kind.
The DARE talks are the most interesting: the former Disney star, now a law student and then a lawyer, standing in front of high schoolers talking about choices. She knows what those rooms look like from both sides — the kid watching the assembly, the adult giving it. The authority she brings isn't the badge; it's the biography. She was on TV at fourteen; she's in court at thirty. The kids listen because she's lived both.
And the through-line to criminal defense is direct. DARE is prevention; defense is the aftermath — the same population, the same stakes, the same belief that people are more than their worst moment. The lawyer who talks to high schoolers about choices is the lawyer who stands next to the client who made the wrong one. It's one career, not two: the service of the accused and the at-risk, the people the system is quickest to discard.
Kate Sanders, the mean girl, grew up to serve on the board of Kids with a Cause. The character tormented the vulnerable; the actress protects them. If you want the measure of the transformation, that's it — not the degree, not the partnership, but the choice of whom to stand beside.
Then vs Now: Two Chapters
| Then (2001–2004) | Now (2020s) |
|---|---|
| Kate Sanders in Lizzie McGuire (2001–04) + movie (2003) | Criminal defense attorney (partner), Southern California |
| First TV audition; Kmart model from age 3 | Cal State Long Beach PoliSci; Denver Sturm College of Law J.D. (2014) |
| One on One (2003); quit acting 2004 | TGIFridays server → public defender extern → ACLU volunteer |
| The mean girl everyone loved to hate | Married to Joe; daughter (2015); Kids with a Cause board |
Ashlie Brillault played the villain at fourteen and became the defense attorney at twenty-seven. The arc is perfect.
Frequently asked questions
Who played Kate in Lizzie McGuire?
Ashlie Brillault played Katherine "Kate" Sanders — Lizzie's ex-best-friend turned rival — in Lizzie McGuire (2001-04) and The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003). It was her first TV audition.
Why did Ashlie Brillault quit acting?
She retired when Lizzie McGuire ended in 2004 to pursue education — and never returned. No drama, just a different plan.
Is Ashlie Brillault really a lawyer?
Yes. B.A. in Political Science from Cal State Long Beach, J.D. from the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law (2014), and now a criminal defense attorney (partner) in Southern California.
Where does Ashlie Brillault practice law?
Southern California — with the Law Offices of David Givot (and David Borsari in Long Beach), specializing in criminal defense.
Is Ashlie Brillault married?
Yes, to her husband Joe. They welcomed a daughter in February 2015. (Some outlets report two children; only one is consistently sourced.)
Is Ashlie Brillault like Kate in real life?
No — "in real life Ashlie is nothing like Kate," per fan sources. She is reportedly friends with Hilary Duff and serves on the board of Kids with a Cause.
How old is Ashlie Brillault?
She was born May 21, 1987, in San Francisco — 38-39 in 2026.
Where is Ashlie Brillault now?
As of 2026, she is a criminal defense attorney in Southern California, married with a daughter, no public social media — retired from acting since 2004.