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Former Child Star (view source)

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== Real Life ==
==== Real Life instances ====
* As a musical example, [[Britney Spears]] has fallen on this ''hard''. Though her musical career has rebounded, her personal life and reputation arebecame a massive train wreck, with her remaining in the conservatorship of her father.
* [[Lindsay Lohan]]... Oh dear. It was a mix of [[The Prima Donna|her personality]] (even as a child) and [[Stage Mom|her parents]] that eventually demolished anything she had left resembling a professional career.
* The famous child acting duo Corey Feldman and Corey Haim both had meltdowns for adult lives. Eventually it claimed Corey Haim's life. Corey Feldman has survived fairly well, but unfortunately that's all we ever hear of him doing anymore.
* Brian Bonsall, who played baby brother Andy Keaton on ''[[Family Ties]]'' and Worf's son Alexander on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' has been arrested several times for assault and drug possession.
* Macaulay Culkin became a star after ''[[Home Alone]]''. TwentyNearly thirty years later, it still is his most important role. While still having work in the indie scenes and being a band vocalist on the side, the sequels of living under his [[Stage Dad]] are well known.
* [[Edward Furlong]], despite solid performances in ''[[American History X]]'' and a couple of other movies, is still remembered as [[Terminator|a juvenile John Connor]].
* Jake Lloyd today seems to be very bitter and cynical about his role as Anakin Skywalker in ''[[The Phantom Menace]]'', but when you have gone through high-school and college with people [[Never Live It Down|constantly accusing]] you of ruining ''[[Star Wars]]'', it is pretty hard to not to.
* [[Michael Jackson]] was ultimately a bigger star as an adult solo act, but didn't completely subvert this trope. The abuse he suffered under [[Stage Mom|his dad's]] thumb as a child star warped him so badly that once he was able to stand on his own, he became obsessed with finally having a happy childhood in his private life. Thus, most of his adult pursuits and hobbies were juvenile and a way for him to "live as a kid" (i.e., the whole Neverland Ranch), and were a big reason he wound up with the [[Memetic Molester]] reputation that ruined his career.
* Brad Renfro was 12 when he made his film debut in the critically-acclaimed film ''[[The Client]]'', co-starring with Susan Sarandon and [[Tommy Lee Jones]]. He won ''The Hollywood Reporter'''s Young Star Award in 1995 went on to appear in ''Apt Pupil'' and ''[[Ghost World]]''. Sadly, he spiraled into drug and alcohol abuse and died from a heroin overdose at the age of 25.
* The three lead kid actors on ''[[Diff'rent Strokes]]'' -- Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Dana Plato -- became infamous for brushes with the law as adults. Plato ultimately died at 34 of a drug overdose which was ruled a suicide. Gary Coleman, meanwhile, <s>[[Avenue Q|turned into a crossdressing woman and became the super for an apartment building somewhere in Upper Manhattan]]</s> [[Funny Aneurysm Moment|struggled to recover before tragically dying at 42 from head trauma]]. Bridges, meanwhile, is a regular on TruTV's ''The Smoking Gun Presents'', along with former ''Partridge Family'' cast member Danny Bonaduce, another example of a Former Child Star who fell into serious problems as an adult (both Bridges and Bonaduce appear to be getting their lives on track at this point).
* Played tragically straight with River Phoenix. He had a skill for acting far beyond anyone else in his generation, but couldn't cope with the pressures of fame and hated that he was part of a system he despised. in which he was the focus of attention that should have been devoted to causes such as Humanitarian or Animal Rights which he felt strongly about. He turned to drugs and wound up dying of an overdose.
** Averted with his brother Joaquin, who's got a pretty good career as an adult, but played up to the trope with his extended breakdown in the fake-autobiographical ''I'm Still Here''.
*** Although Joaquin played up to the trope with his extended breakdown in the fake-autobiographical ''I'm Still Here''.
* The rather sad case of Bobby Driscoll who was Disney's golden boy during the 1940s. Famous for his roles in ''Song Of The South'' and ''Peter Pan'' he was in several movies but was abruptly let go in the middle of the 1950s. He was ridiculed in school for being a child star and lapsed into obscurity through drugs. He was found dead and the body wasn't identified until a year later.
* Other than the [[Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen|Olsen Twins]] (who have also fallen out in recent times), just about all of the child/teenage actors who starred in ''[[Full House]]'' have fallenfell out of the limelight for quite a long time. It says something that the [[Career Resurrection]] move for the three main non-Olsen girls that stuc was ''[[Fuller House]]'', a sequel of the series that brought them fame in the first place.
** Jodie Sweetin in particular stands out as an example of this trope played straight. Facing an inability to find further work and a traumatic social life due to being typecast as Stephanie Tanner, she became an alcoholic and a habitual user of marijuana, cocaine, LSD and most famously, meth. However, she seems to have gotten her life back on track recently, has published a memoir about her drug addiction, and isfinally now seekinggot a [[Career Resurrection]] of sorts with ''Fuller House''.
** Before starring in ''Fuller House'', Candace Cameron has sincehad boucedbounced back a bit, now appearing on ''[[Make It or Break It]]''. Not as well-known or massive as ''Full House'' was in its time, but still a noteworthy performance. She also was a host on talk show ''[[The View]]''
* [[Leif Garrett]] is an example of this, a child pop star who got embroiled with drugs and scandals. Currently a commentator on [[Tru TV]]'s ''[[Worlds Dumbest]]'' alongside fellow Former Child Stars Danny Bonaduce and Todd Bridges.
* There is an interesting contrast between the two stars of ''[[Guest From the Future]]''. [[Natalia Guseva]] acted in a few more movies, but decided to become a scientist instead. Now, she not only works as a biochemist, but also is still involved with the fan community, and is raising a daughter. Meanwhile, [[Alexei Fomkin]] had a few more roles, but got into drug problems, which caused him to lose roles and spiral further downward. He quit acting and moved to a village, which seemed to be straightening him out. Sadly, he died in 1996 when his apartment burned.
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* [[Elizabeth Taylor]], going from a child star in movies like ''[[Lassie Come Home]]'' to one of the most famous film actresses '''ever'''. Her private life, however, was notably less successful: she was notorious for her large number of weddings and divorces, and was treated for alcoholism and prescription drug addiction.
* [[Jodie Foster]]. First major role was in ''[[Taxi Driver]]'' as a twelve-year-old child prostitute. Even after the scandal over [[Stalker with a Crush|John Hinckley]], she went on to have a very successful career which includes ''two'' acting Oscars.
* [[Shirley Temple]]. SheWhile she has a brief period where it appeared she was going this route (namely, a scandalous marriage at 17 that ended in a notorious divorce nerly 5 years later), she then went to be happily married for 50 years until her second husband's death, and was an Ambassador for the United States to Czechoslovakia, during the Velvet Revolution. Also, during the 1968 Soviet Crackdown on Czechoslovakia, she led over 700 people to the border and got them through because the guards were fans of her.
* Jackie Cooper starred in some ''[[The Little Rascals|Our Gang]]'' comedies and was still a successful actor, director, and producer, most famous on screen as Perry White in the ''[[Superman (film)|Superman]]'' film series starring Christopher Reeve.
* Bill Mumy of ''[[Lost in Space]]''. His parents took care that he grew up properly during his career as a child, including carefully investing his pay, and he became a successful musician (his comedy pop band Barnes & Barnes is responsible for that "Fish Heads" song) and a reasonably busy actor who even got another juicy sci-fi TV role as Lennier in ''[[Babylon 5]]''.
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** Although Saviano has been the subject of the famous myth that he became Marilyn Manson when he grew up which he has found very amusing
* [[Christian Bale]]. He rose to fame as a child actor in films like ''[[Empire of the Sun (film)|Empire of the Sun]]'' and his [[Old Shame]] ''[[Newsies]]'', but truly came into his own in ''[[American Psycho]]'' and is now best known as [[Batman]] from ''[[The Dark Knight Saga]]'', and won a Best Supporting Actor [[Oscar]] for his work in ''[[The Fighter]]''.
* [[The Partridge Family|Danny Bonaduce]] has [[Adam Westing|made an entire ''career'']] out of being a washed-up ex-child-star. On interviws and on his comedy routines, he makes a point of stating that he would have turned into a drug-addicted [[Jerkass]] with or without his role on ''[[The Partridge Family]]''.
** Averted, as he makes a point of stating that he would have turned into a drug-addicted [[Jerkass]] with or without his role on [[The Partridge Family]].
* [[Natalie Wood]]. Starred in [[Miracle on 34th Street]] aged 8, but successfully adapted to 'grown-up' parts in her teens with ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' and ''[[The Searchers]]'' and is barely remembered as a child star at all.
* [[Natalie Portman]]. Her first big role was at the age of 11/12 in ''[[Léon: The Professional]]'', and she has been <s>equally</s> ''far'' more successful as an adult, starring in the [[Star Wars]] prequel films, ''[[V for Vendetta]]'', ''[[Black Swan]]'' (which won her an Oscar) and ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]''. Like Emma Watson below, Portman's taking a career break to go to college (and [[Ivy League|Harvard]], [[Teen Genius|no less]]) may have had something to do with it. Like Christian Bale, she also won an Oscar, for Best Actress, for her role in ''[[Black Swan]]''.
* [[Kirsten Dunst]]. Her first big role was in ''Interview With The Vampire'' at 12 then ''[[Jumanji]]'' when she was 14, but she went on to a string of critically acclaimed as well as commercially successful roles in the ''[[Spider-Man]]'' films, ''[[Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind]]'', ''[[Marie Antoinette (film)|Marie Antoinette]]'', and ''[[Melancholia]]'', which won her the Best Actress award at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] in 2011.
* Speaking of Christmas movies, Peter Billingsley from ''[[A Christmas Story]]'' grew up to be a successful director and producer. [[Bishounen|And he's quite handsome,]] [http://images.buddytv.com/articles/movies/profiles/peter-billingsley.jpg too.]
* [[Ron Howard]]. Starting out as Opie on ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' and ''[[Happy Days]]'' he went on to direct films like ''Apollo13'' and ''[[A Beautiful Mind]]'' (not to mention his involment in ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'').
** Howard is still an [[Acceptable Target]] in comedy for how his ''appearance'' has aged horribly.
* [[Neil Patrick Harris]] is a notable aversion: after spending his teens on ''[[Doogie Howser, M.D.]]'', he worked steadily as a guest star on TV and on Broadway. But his career ''really'' took off after he did a cameo in the first ''[[Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle]]'' movie - ironically enough, playing a lecherous, drug-addled version of himself. He's nowbecame best known to present-day audiences as the womanizing Barney Stimson on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', as well as Dr. Horrible from ''[[Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]''.
* The main cast of the ''[[Harry Potter (film)|Harry Potter]]'' movies seem to have avoided the worst aspects of child acting. Having begun acting at 9-11, they've shown steady development for over a decade and a total of eight films without any major misbehaviors or prima donna-ism. By all reports, all seem genuinely well-adjusted and mature.
** [[Daniel Radcliffe]], apart from his role as the title character, has starred in the stage play ''[[Equus]]'' and was critically acclaimed for his performance. He has since begun slowly branching out into other film and stage productions.
** [[Rupert Grint]]'s major claim to eccentricity is owning an ice cream truck, saying that if his career after the ''Harry Potter'' movies are finished falls through, he can always fall back on a career as an ice cream man. A fairly mild indulgence for a multimillionaire, all things considered.
** As for [[Emma Watson]]... well, let's face it, there's no way anyone as good looking as her won't get at least a few more major roles in her career. Much like her character, she has done very well in school work and has since decided that, after her work with the movie series is done, she'lld take a career break to finish her college degree like [[Natalie Portman]] did. Eventually she went to college while continuing her career, appearing in films like ''My Week with Marilyn'' in 2011, the film version of ''[[The Perks of Being a Wallflower]]'' in 2012, and the live-action version of ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'' inn 2017
*** Film critic Leonard Maltin famously said that Watson was in "the early stages of babehood". Now that she's most certainly an adult and effectively an adult actress, she is considered to have reached that milepost.
** As a side note, [[Chris Columbus]], who directed the first two ''Potter'' films, previously directed ''Home Alone''. As he has discussed in interviews, Columbus is unhappy with how Macaulay Culkin turned out and considers this partly his fault. When casting the ''Potter'' kids, he was determined to avoid the same mistakes and tried to cast children with stable home lives.
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* Back in the 1910s, at the Vitagraph film studio, there was a local kid from Brooklyn named Harry Horowitz who enjoyed hanging out there. Harry was charming and [[Large Ham|a natural ham]], and the Vitagraph people began putting him in films, making him a child star. Young Harry would grow up to be one of the most violent and abusive men in the world: {{spoiler|Moe Howard of [[The Three Stooges]]. [[Mean Character, Nice Actor|But it's an aversion too.]]}}
* Stefan Brogren has come as close as anyone to being a [[Real Life]] version of SCTV's Rusty by playing the role of Archie "Snake" Simpson in every incarnation of the [[Degrassi]] franchise since 1987 while taking on an ever larger role behind the camera. His character, however, has aged and progressed from student to teacher to principal of the titular [[High School]], while the show's hiatus coincides with the period the character would've been getting his degree.
* [[Justin Timberlake]] started off early, as a performer on The New Mickey Mouse Club (other cast members included Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera). After departing from N*Sync, he's gone on to have a successful solo music career, and has appeared in films like ''[[The Social Network]]''.
* Elijah Wood started off as a modestly successful child actor, appearing in such films as ''[[Back to The Future|Back to the Future: Part II]]'', ''[[The Good Son]]'', and ''[[North]]''. It wasn't until starring in Peter Jackson's take on ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' that his adult career really kicked off.
* Blake Foster has been doing alright since his time as [[Power Rangers Turbo|Justin Stewart]], and while Justin was decried by many back then, there are plenty who wouldn't mind having him return.
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