At the age of six weeks old, Bella shot her first pictorial for "Parents Magazine." She has continued to grace the covers of many national and international magazine and catalog covers since, She has appeared in more than 40 commercials.

Bella was the spokesperson for Texas Instruments for 2 years. She relocated to California and has begun pursuing her dream of an acting career, She also spends time in New York. In April 2010, Thorne shared with American Cheerleader Magazine that she has dyslexia. Bella loves to hike, swim, snorkel, dance, and paint.

Bella Thorne's first film appearance was an uncredited role as a sidelines fan in the 2003 film Stuck on You. She has since appeared in film and television projects including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Entourage, The O.C. (as a younger version of Taylor Townsend), October Road, and portrayed Margaux Darling in five episodes of Dirty Sexy Money.

In 2008, Thorne starred alongside Christian Slater in the short-lived drama series My Own Worst Enemy. She also appeared in the ten-episode web series Little Monk, which depicted characters from the series Monk as children. Thorne joined the cast of HBO's Big Love in its fourth season, replacing Jolean Wejbe in the role of Bill Henrickson's daughter Tancy 'Teeny' Henrickson. She has also guest starred on Wizards of Waverly Place, as Max's girlfriend Nancy.

Thorne has starred in a television ad campaign for Digital Light Processing and has appeared in print ads for brands including Barbie, ALDO K!DS, JLO by Jennifer Lopez, Kaiya Eve Couture, LaSenza Girl, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Guess, Target and Justice. She was also modeling for Sears back to school.

Thorne currently has the lead role on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up!, (previously titled Dance, Dance Chicago); according to Variety. Thorne plays Cece Jones, a dancer with heavy ambitions for a career in the spotlight.

The show is a buddy comedy centered around a teen dance show, starring Bella Thorne and 14-year-old Zendaya Coleman. The multi-camera series began production in Hollywood, California, in July 2010 and premiered on November 7, 2010 on Disney Channel.