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Former Child Star: Difference between revisions
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* [[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 ''[[The 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 Phoenix|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''.
* The rather sad case of [[Bobby Driscoll]] who was Disney's golden boy during the 1940s. Famous for his roles in ''[[Song
* Other than the [[Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen|Olsen Twins]] (who have also fallen out), just about all of the child/teenage actors who starred in ''[[Full House]]'' fell 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 actually stuck 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 finally got a [[Career Resurrection]] of sorts with ''Fuller House''.
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* [[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.
* [[Robert Blake]] also starred in ''Our Gang'' comedies (as Mickey Gubitosi), then later starred in ''[[In Cold Blood]]'' and had the title role on the TV series ''[[Baretta]]'', and years later was acquitted of his wife's murder, but lost a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by his children.
==== Real Life aversions ====
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