From adorable babies to precocious kids to teenage heartthrobs, there are so many child stars who have played major roles in some of our favorite TV shows and movies. We still have major nostalgia for shows like Full House, Modern Family, and even Malcolm in the Middle, which all would have been completely boring without the amazing child stars who grew up on screen in front of our eyes. (And let's be real, we moms of a certain age all kind of wanted to be DJ Tanner.)
We've heard the horror stories of how hard the transition from child star to adult can be for some former actors. There have been really sad stories about drug addiction and manipulative parents and even some child stars whose lives have ended tragically. But there are also child stars who grew up and found meaningful careers (sometimes in fields that made them famous and sometimes in normal jobs), and are out there thriving as adults.
We've decided to turn on the nostalgia machine and remember 15 child stars who made a big splash before they were even able to vote. From actors whom we forgot started their careers as child stars to a former child star whose life is a real mystery now, here are 15 stories of child stars who turned out OK.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
Jonathan Taylor Thomas played one of the three sons on the popular sitcom Home Improvement and was the first celebrity crush for a generation of preteen girls. He largely stopped acting in the early 2000s, with the exception of a few guest starring sitcome roles. He lives very off the radar now, with no public social media accounts and no public information available about his relationship status or current employment. He seems to have made a choice to live totally outside the fame bubble, so fans looking for him will have to find Home Improvement reruns on cable.
Soleil Moon Frye
Though Soleil Moon Frye has worked consistently as an actress since the late 1980s, and as a producer and voiceover actress in more recent years, she'll forever be associated with her character Punky Brewster. We'll always be grateful to Punky for showing us the power of a rainbow-colored wardrobe!
Bonnie Wright
With her gorgeous red hair, it's clear that Bonnie Wright found fame as a child star playing a Weasley sibling. Bonnie, who played Ginny Weasley, was in all of the Harry Potter movies but largely pulled back from acting afterwards. Since then, she's done some directing but mostly focuses on environmental activism.
Jeff Cohen
It's been more than 30 years since The Goonies introduced us to the concept of "the truffle shuffle" and the young actor Jeff Cohen. Jeff is all grown up now and works as an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles and posts plenty of throwback pictures on Instgram for Goonies fans who track him down online.
Isabelle Fuhrman
There are some child stars who are best known for playing sweet, funny, or adorable kids. And then there is Isabelle Furham. Isabelle, who still acts in some indie films, was scary as hell in her breakout role in the horror film Orphan. She played — well, we won't spoil it — but there was nothing sweet about her character!
Olivia Olson
Olivia Olson wowed us in just a few scenes in the holiday classic Love Actually. Her powerhouse performance of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was a major joyful moment, and she had such an amazing voice, so we're pleased to see that she is still working as a voice actor and has released two albums.
Kellie Shanygne Williams
Steve Urkel might have been the most memorable character from the series Family Matters, but who can forget Kellie Shanygne Williams' character of Laura Winslow? She was the object of Urkel's crush and grew from a kid to almost an adult during the nine years the show was on TV. She's now a mother of two and lives in Washington, D.C.
Atticus Shaffer
Another former child star who now primarily makes his living through voice acting is Atticus Shaffer. Atticus, who played the highly intelligent but socially awkward character of Brick on The Middle, is now 23 and appears to be living a life devoted to voice acting, video games, and nerding out over Lego. We think Brick would approve!
Josh Saviano
A child star who seems to have grown up with his head firmly on his shoulders is Josh Saviano, who played Paul Pfeiffer (best friend of main character Kevin) on The Wonder Years. After the show, he ended up going to Yale University and becoming a lawyer. Given that one of the other stars of the show, Danica McKellar, went to UCLA and emerged as a total math whiz, we feel like we should be giving a shout-out to whoever was the on-set tutor for the cast! Those kids all turned out alright.
Alisan Porter
Most people might not recognize the name Alisan Porter, but her most famous role as a child actor was the movie Curly Sue, and many of us can probably instantly remember her iconic curly hair on the movie poster. Alisan worked steadily for a number of years and then had some struggles with addiction. She's proudly sober now and went on to be the winning contestant on season 10 of The Voice.
Noah Hathaway
There are plenty of movies starring kids or made for kids that are totally forgettable. And then there is The NeverEnding Story, which packed such an emotional punch that all of us who saw it as kids can instantly remember the utterly heartbreaking scene between Artax the horse and the main character, Atreyu, played by Noah Hathaway. Noah, who enjoyed fame in both the US and especially in Europe in the mid-1980s, is now 50 years old and working as a tattoo artist. From the photos on his social media, he's virtually unrecognizable now!
Justin Henry
Justin Henry made history in 1979 for becoming the youngest actor to ever be nominated for an Academy Award in any category. He was recognized for his work in the heartwrenching film Kramer vs. Kramer, though he lost out to actor Melvyn Douglas. His acting career slowed down in the 1980s and beyond, though he's done an episode of a TV show here and there. He appears to mostly work in IT-related fields now.
Oliver Robins
Oliver Robins has the sad distinction of being the only one of the three child stars from the classic horror movie Poltergiest who is still alive. The actress who played younger sister Carole Anne died from a sudden illness when she was only 12, and the actress who played older sister Dana was murdered when she was 22. Oliver dodged the so-called "Poltergiest curse" and is now 50 and working as a director and writer.
Madeline Zima
Madeline Zima started her acting career like many child stars do, with commercials. She appeared in some laundry detergent ads before getting cast as Grace Sheffield — the youngest of the Sheffield children and Fran's favorite — on The Nanny. Since then, she has acted steadily in smaller roles in both indie films and TV shows such as Heros and Californication. Though she isn't a household name, she has more than 25 movie credits on her résumé.
Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson has been making us laugh for so long on Saturday Night Live (he's been on the show longer than any other cast member, now in his 19th season!) that is easy to forget that he actually got his start as a child star. He starred in the kids' show All That and had roles in films including D2: The Mighty Ducks, Heavyweights, and Good Burger before he was out of his teens.
