Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera all got their start on the Disney Channel.

Disney has been cranking out stars for the past six decades; from the likes of Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon in the ’50s, to Haley Mills in the ’60s and Kurt Russell in the ’70s. So what is up with Disney channel making stars out of everyday kids?

“The Disney brand is something that is very hallowed and needs to evolve with the times. We’ve made shows that have been a little bit more extreme, and the way we know we haven’t hit a home run is when people say, ‘This could have been on another network.’ It’s evolving our brand to understand where we can go; it’s not all of a sudden putting something on the network where people say: ‘Why’d you do that? Why are you trying to be like Nickelodeon?’” said Rich Ross, president of Disney Channel Worldwide.

Originality has been a home run for the Disney Channel over the years from The Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s to the present day Even Stevens, That’s So Raven and Phil of the Future.

The Disney Channel targets and provides entertainment to children ages of 6 to 11 in daytime hours, as well as their parents during primetime hours, according to Disney demographics.

Recently, the Disney Channel’s target and entertainment has shifted into a 24-hour network, increasing its viewer ages from 2 to 14, most notably by adding the formerly overlooked “tween” demographic.

But the Disney Channel isn’t just for tweens. With its wholesome entertainment, many college students are in-the-closest lovers of the Disney Channel shows, watching when they think no one else is looking. College students and viewers alike can identify with the characters they see on TV.

“What I think Lizzie McGuire did, and Hilary [Duff] as its star, was to create a vulnerable youth — and that’s what connects, whether it’s in Egypt or Moscow or Tokyo. If you live in a diverse world, you have to reflect it. I’m not quite sure why little boys can’t look up to women as superheroes, or to African-Americans or Latinos and [people of] all colors. You have to teach kids early on,” Ross said.

Combined with original ideas boiled down into simple plots along with identifiable characters for people of all ages to connect with, viewing the Disney Channel has propelled unknown actors and actresses to fame within just a few years. For the past 60 years and for many more to come, Disney will continue be a star-making mill.