Debby Ryan leads the talented Jessie cast as the titular protagonist, an idealistic girl who moves from Texas to New York to pursue her dreams. However, to make ends meet, she becomes a nanny for a wealthy family’s four boisterous children. The life-changing experience puts her into several misadventures of her own. Jessie made use of quintessential Disney sitcom tropes, thanks to showrunner Pamela Eells O’Connell who previously wrote and executive produced The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and its spin-off The Suite Life on Deck. Thanks to its cast of then-emerging stars, Jessie stood out on its own as one of the best Disney Channel TV shows.
While Jessie established its lead actor as a mainstream Disney star, it also proved to be a major opportunity for the actors playing the children of the uber-rich Ross family. As for the actors playing their parents and the performers playing the supporting characters, most of them had already established themselves with cult sitcoms like Cougar Town and That ‘70s Show. Still, a stint in the four seasons and 98 episodes of Jessie allowed these actors to reach a new audience in the early 2010s. With the entirety of Jessie now streaming on Disney+, the coming-of-age comedy series is still as timeless and chuckle-inducing as it used to be.
Debby Ryan As Jessie Prescott
The Jessie cast kicks off with Debby Ryan as the eponymous lead. Leaving her strict father in a Texas military base, Jessie shifts to New York with hopes of becoming an actor. Even though her acting prowess isn’t exactly exceptional, she still proves her worth as a dutiful nanny to a wealthy family’s children. Surviving on her own with an optimistic attitude, Jessie definitely ranks among the strongest female characters in Disney Channel shows. In fact, Ryan’s character was so popular that she reprised the role of Jessie Prescott in special appearances in Austin & Ally, Good Luck Charlie, and Ultimate Spider-Man.
Starting her acting career at the age of 7, Debby Ryan is a Disney veteran, having played the intelligent teenager Bailey Pickett in The Suite Life on Deck, sweet sixteen-planning high-schooler Abigail Jensen in 16 Wishes and schoolgirl-turned-radio personality Tara Adams in Radio Rebel. Apart from her numerous appearances in Disney Channel movies and TV shows, Ryan also ventured towards other projects such as Jeff Baena’s 2020 psychological drama Horse Girl in which she played Nikki, the caring roommate to Alison Brie’s protagonist Sarah. Ryan reunited with Brie and Baena when she joined the cast of Spin Me Round. She played the bumbling traveler Susie in the 2022 dark comedy.
Peyton List As Emma Ross
The eldest child in the Ross family, Emma is a fashionable teenager with a cynical and sassy personality. While she is highly intelligent and outspoken at times, she can also be introverted as can be deduced from her anonymous fashion vlogger persona Kitty Couture. The character is played by Peyton List who reprised the role in the Jessie spin-off Bunk’d. She is also known for playing the friendly middle-schooler Holly Hills in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films and martial artist Tory Nichols in Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid spin-off series. She also starred alongside Logan Paul in YouTube Premium’s The Thinning film series as genius high-schooler Laina Michaels.
Cameron Boyce As Luke Ross
The second-eldest Ross sibling on the Jesse cast is Luke, a laidback teen who considers himself a “ladies’ man”. In fact, he also harbors feelings toward Jessie and tries to date her in a few episodes. The fun-loving character is played by Cameron Boyce who started his career as a child actor, appearing in both Grown Ups films as Adam Sandler’s on-screen son Keithie Feder. The late actor also played Cruella de Vil’s son Carlos in Disney Channel’s Descendants films and its associated tie-ins. Boyce also voiced the pirate Jake in the second and third seasons of Jake and the Neverland Pirates.
Karan Brar As Ravi Ross
Ravi is a well-mannered and kind-hearted member of the Ross family. Having spent a decade of his life in India, he respects his homeland’s values while also adjusting to his new life in America. The Indian-origin actor Karan Brar plays Ravi in both Jessie and its spin-off Bunk’d. Brar had initially gained fame for appearing in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid trilogy as Chirag Gupta, a naive middle-schooler who is invisibilized by his classmates. Brar also appeared in Pacific Rim: Uprising as a cadet and Jaeger pilot, Suresh Khuran. He also voiced Sanjay Tawde, an alternate universe version of Jason Todd in Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham.
Skai Jackson As Zuri Ross
The youngest of the Ross children is Zuri, a talkative girl with a lot of imaginary friends. Born in Uganda, Zuri adjusts well to her new life and is depicted as a highly creative child. Skai Jackson joins the Jessie cast to play Zuri, one of the first main roles in her career. Before Jessie, Jackson voiced Little Fish in the children’s animated series Bubble Guppies. Since then, she has voiced the iguana Isa in Dora the Explorer and even participated in the 29th season of Dancing with the Stars. Other roles include Roadblock’s daughter in G.I. Joe: Retaliation and voicing the dragon Summer in DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders.
Kevin Chamberlin As Bertram
Bertram is the grumpy and lethargic butler of the Ross family. Despite his unlikeable personality traits, he plays a major role in helping Jessie explore her duties as a nanny to the Ross children. He is portrayed by three-time Tony nominee Kevin Chamberlin, who played Uncle Fester in the Broadway adaptation of The Addams Family. His TV credits include the antagonistic villager Mr. Lesko in A Series of Unfortunate Events and the mobster associate Aron Malfsky in Heroes. Chamberlin also made his film debut as the smart NYPD bomb squad officer, Charles Weiss, in Die Hard with a Vengeance and also voiced the Gavel emoji in The Emoji Movie.
Jessie Supporting Cast & Characters
Christina Moore As Christina Ross – Supermodel-turned-business magnate Christina Ross is the mother of the four Ross children in Jessie. She is played by actor, model, fashion designer, and comedian Christina Moore. An original cast member of the sketch comedy series MADtv, Moore found further fame as Laurie Forman in the sitcom That ‘70s Show and Candy Sullivan in the medical drama Hawthorne.
Chris Galya As Tony Chiccolini – Tony is the doorman at the Ross’ building and helps Jessie navigate her life in the big city. The supporting character is played by Chris Gayla. The Jessie cast member has previously voiced Daniel LaRusso on Family Guy and played Hunter Lee in the satirical zombie comedy series Acting Dead.
Charles Esten As Morgan Ross – A famous film director, Morgan Ross is the father of the Ross children and serves as a recurring character on Jessie. Actor, musician, and comedian Charles Esten plays the character on the sitcom. Esten is best known for playing country singer Deacon Claybourne in Nashville, Ward Cameron in Netflix’s teen drama Outer Banks and also served as a series regular on the improvisational comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway.
Carolyn Hennesy As Rhoda Chesterfield – The mean-spirited leader of the city condominium board, Rhonda often clashes with Jessie and the Ross family. She is played by actor, author and animal rights advocate Carolyn Hennesy, who is best known for playing the attorney Diane Miller in General Hospital and Barb Coman in Cougar Town.
Josie Totah As Stuart Wooten – The Jessie cast included actor Josie Totah who played Stuart Wooten, a kid hopelessly in love with Zuri. Totah earned critical acclaim for playing Justin in the comedy-drama Other People and Lexi in the 2020 revival of Saved by the Bell.
Joey Richter As Officer Petey – Petey is a police officer who has a passion for the performing arts as he always wanted to be an actor. The friendly law enforcer is played by Joey Richter who has appeared as The Time Jerker in Henry Danger and voiced Hong Li in The Legend of Korra.
Kelly Gould As Rosie – Emma’s best friend Rosie is played by Kelly Gould, who is known as Lucy in Lucky Louie, Shannon Clemens in Rita Rocks, and Maddy in Blades of Glory.
Jennifer Veal As Agatha – The arrogant British nanny, Agatha, is one of Jessie’s many enemies. She is played by actor and Internet personality Jennifer Veal who starred in Descendants: Wicked World as Ally, the daughter of Alice (from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland), and also voiced Zhan Tiri in the Tangled animated spin-off Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure.
Sierra McCormick As Connie Thompson – Sierra McCormick is a recurring Jessie cast member playing Connie, a girl with an obsessive crush on Luke. McCormick has played Lilith in Supernatural, Fay Crocker in The Vast of Night and Scarlett in American Horror Stories.
Lombardo Boyar As Boomer – Emma’s boss and Connie’s uncle Boomer is portrayed by Lombardo Boyar who is best known for playing Chuy in The Bernie Mac Show and providing the voice for Lars Rodriguez in Rocket Power.
Pierson Fodé As Brooks Wentworth – The Jessie cast includes Pierson Fodé as the crucial recurring character Brooks Wentworth, who initially becomes Jessie’s boyfriend but then shares a more turbulent relationship in future episodes. Fodé is popular for playing Thomas Forrester in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful and Ely in the romantic comedy Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List.