Alex Carson
It’s pretty common for child stars to grow tired of Hollywood once they’ve reached adulthood and retire from the public eye to a simpler life of virtual anonymity. Others might attempt to extend their youthful success into continued stardom in adulthood with very little success. Yes, we’re looking at you, Lindsay Lohan.
Some child actors, however, go on to have thriving careers in Tinseltown, earning themselves prestigious awards and accolades, amassing legions of devoted fans, and dominating the box office for years to come.
Today, we’re going to look at 12 former child stars who are now stupid rich and uber-famous. They’re all grown up now and show no signs of slowing down. Some of you might not even remember what celebs like Natalie Portman and Jodi Foster were up to when they were kids but we’ll get to them in a second. First up we got an actress that helped a certain little alien phone home.
Drew Barrymore was only 6 when she starred in E.T.
And she was just 7 when the Blockbuster film hit theaters in 1982. She came from a family well versed in the entertainment industry. Both of her parents and grandparents were actors as well.
Despite being just a pip-squeak when she got her start in film, she went on to star in a number of iconic movies including The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates, and Charlies Angels.
Recently she served as the executive producer and lead star for Santa Clarita Diet on Netflix and she now hosts her own eponymous talk show on CBS. Although it’s unclear if the latter will be renewed for a second season following declining ratings. Either way, Barrymore doesn’t show any signs of running out of steam.
Mayim Bialik Attained Fame By Playing Blossom Russo In The Hit 90s Show ‘Blossom’
Bialik was just a teenager when she landed the role of Blossom. The series went on to have an impressive six-season run. Today, Bialik is a four-time Emmy nominated actress. In 2016 and 2018 she won the Critics Choice award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Bialik played Amy Farrah Fowler in the massively popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory for nine seasons until the series finale in May of 2019. She’s also an outspoken advocate for parenting issues focusing the brunt of her message on the pressure that new mothers face.
Bialik made her directorial debut in 2020s As Sick as They Made Us starring Dustin Hoffman and Candice Bergen.
Dakota Fanning Was The Youngest Actress To Ever Be Nominated For A Screen Actors Guild Award When She Was Just 8
Her career was launched when she played Lucy Diamond Dawson in 2001s I Am Sam alongside Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Since then her career has never taken a pause. In 2021 she is set to star in the historical fiction film, The Nightingale. Her sister Elle Fanning, is also a member of the cast.
Additionally, she’s starred in the Twilight saga and Oceans 8. In 2019, she appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.
Natalie Portman’s First Film Was Was Mathilda in Leon; The Professional Back In 1994
Her career really started to come together when she played Padme Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. She also had notable roles in Garden State, Closer, V For Vendetta, Black Swan, and The Other Boleyn Girl.
More recently she played Jacqueline Kennedy in the 2016 biopic Jackie, Celeste in 2018s Vox lux – a film which she also served as executive producer for – and Jane Foster in the Thor series of films. Thor: Love and Thunder is currently in production with a projected 2022 release date.
Jodi Foster Starred In Taxi Driver Alongside Robert De Niro When She Was Just 12
Before she scored that career-changing opportunity, she had small roles in TV shows such as The Courtship of Eddie’s Father and The Doris Day Show.
Foster’s has found a lot of success in her adult Hollywood career. She has received four Oscar nods and won two of those for Best Actress. She received two Best Actress Academy Awards for her respective roles in 1989s The Accused and 1992s Silence of the Lambs.
Foster has recently taken an interest in trying her hand out as a director as well. She’s directed episodes of Black Mirror as well as Orange Is the New Black. She’s also set to star in the upcoming thriller The Mauritanian, set for release in 2021.
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And keep watching to find out what several of the Harry Potter kids wound up doing with their lives.
Kristen Stewart Starred Alongside Jodi Foster in 2002s Panic Room
She even earned herself a Young Artist Award nomination for that early role. After starring in the Twilight saga as Bella Swan, she’s moved on to star in numerous critically acclaimed blockbuster flicks.
In 2012, she was actually the highest-paid actress in Hollywood. In 2016, she starred in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and followed with 2018s Lizzie – where she played Bridget Sulivan.
Most recently she’s starred in 2019s Charlie’s Angels reboot and 2020’s romantic comedy Happiest Season.
She too has plans on showing off her directorial skills in the near future. Her upcoming film The Chronology of Water, based upon the memoir of Lidia Yuknavitch, has yet to receive a release date.
Daniel Radcliffe Was Only 11 When He Was Cast As Harry Potter
And that was pretty appropriate as he was the same age as the titular character when he discovered that he was a wizard in The Sorcerers Stone.
Radcliffe has also shown off his thespian skills on Broadway in 2011s How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, 2013s The Cripple of Irishmaan, and The Lifespan of a Fact in 2018.
Most recently, Radcliffe has appeared in the 2019 mini-series Miracle Workers, 2020s Netflix interactive film Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and the Francis Annan directed 2020 thriller film Escape From Pretoria.
Rupert Grint Played Harry’s Best Bud, Ron Weasley
And he was also just 11 years old when he was added to the cast of the iconic film series. Since then Grint has moved on to play a number of roles in television series such as Sick Note, Snatch, and Servant. He’s also contributed to a number of independent films such as The Unbeatables in 2013 and Moonwalkers in 2015.
Like his former Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe, he’s also given stage acting a go. In 2013 he starred in Mojo at the historic Harold Pinter Theatre in London and followed that up by appearing in the Broadway production of It’s Only a Play in 2014.
Emma Watson Played Hermione Granger In The Harry Potter Films
Before being cast into the Potter films, she had only ever acted in school plays. After the Harry Potter films wrapped up in 2011, she went on to star in films such as The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, This Is The End, and Disney’s live-action Beauty and The Beast reboot as Belle. Most recently she’s played Margaret in 2019s Little Women.
She’s also quite a bit like her Hermione character in real life. She leads a feminist book club and a UN partnered gender equality advocacy ground called HeForShe.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Career Started in 1988 on The Shows Family Ties and Stranger On My Land
He was just 7 years old when he got his first Hollywood role. His breakout role however came in 1999 when he played Cameron James in 10 Things I hate About You. He took a brief break from his acting career after finishing up High School to attend Columbia University but after earning his degree he jumped right back into show business.
Gordon-Levitt wrote, directed, and starred in the 2013 film Don Jon. In 2016, he played Edward Snowden in the biopic film Snowden. Most recently he made an appearance in The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Knives Out.
Abigail Breslin’s Been Acting Since She Was Three
She began acting in television commercials when she was still in diapers. She appeared in her first film in 2002 in M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs when she was 5. Her big break, however, came in 2006 when she played Olive Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine – a role that earned her substantial critical acclaim including an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance By a Cast in a Motion Picture.
She went on to star in several films like Raising Helen, The Princess Diaries 2, and The Santa Clause 3 – thus establishing herself as one of Hollywood’s leading child actors.
In 2017, Breslin starred in the remake of Dirty Dancing and she was a main cast member on the Fox Series Scream Queens from 2015 to 2016. Her most recent credit was in 2019s Zombieland: Double-tap as the character Little Rock and she has three films slated for release in the near future.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster Got His Start In 2003s Love Actually
He’d reprise that role in 2017 in the BBC aired mini-sequel Red Nose Day Actually which raised funds for the British Charitable Organization Comic Relief.
Brodie-Sangster has also found success with roles in Game Of Thrones and The Maze Runner film series. He also provided the voice for Ferb Fletcher in the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb. Most recently he starred in the insanely popular Netflix mini-series The Queen’s Gambit as cocky chess-prodigy Benny Watts.
Ever wonder what Hillary Duff, Amanda Bynes, and Lindsay Lohan are up to these days? Maybe they’re watching this video imagining how their lives might have gone differently.
Either way, we got to give all of the actors and actresses featured in this video a little bit of credit where it’s due. It’s not easy to grow up on screen and stage and then transition into a successful adult career in the entertainment industry. Even more so is it difficult to come out on the other side of that journey as a well-adjusted person. So kudos to all of these success stories.
Would you have wanted to be a star when you were a kid or are you perfectly satisfied with growing up in a relatively low-kay environment? Post your opinion in the comments section below.
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