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
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!
