List Rules Actors who became stars before they were 18 and remain successful and famous as adults
List of Hollywood kids: actors who grew up on the big screen and child stars you recognize working today. While there are many child stars, it takes someone special to make it from kid to adult in the entertainment industry. There are lots of pitfalls a former child star can succumb to, like drug use, gambling, and other addictions. It's also hard to overcome the fact that, in many cases, you simply cannot just 'get by' on your cute kid looks.
Who are the most successful former child stars? Some young actors actually do make the crossover into adulthood. These former child stars are some of the few that have made it over the hurdle of adolescence and into adulthood in tact - people like Jason Bateman, Natalie Portman, Neil Patrick Harris and even Ron Howard. They not only made it out of the former child star pit unscathed, but have florished as adult working actors, writers and directors.
list ordered by
1
3,346 712
carlybobarly added Drew Barrymore b. 1975 - E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
carlybobarly added Jodie Foster b. 1962 - Tom Sawyer (1973), Freaky Friday (1976), Taxi Driver (1976)
3
2,581 809
carlybobarly added Leonardo DiCaprio b. 1974 - "Growing Pains" (1991-92)
4
2,315 755
carlybobarly added Ron Howard b. 1954 - "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960-68), The Music Man (1962)
5
2,177 693
carlybobarly added Reese Witherspoon b. 1976 - The Man in the Moon (1991), A Far Off Place (1993), Jack the Bear (1993), Return to Lonesome Dove (1993)
6
3,207 773
carlybobarly added Jessica Biel b. 1982 - "7th Heaven" (1996-2006), I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998)
7
2,149 670
carlybobarly added Christina Ricci b. 1980 - Mermaids (1990), The Addams Family (1991), Addams Family Values (1993), Casper (1995), Now and Then (1995)
8
2,110 737
carlybobarly added Neil Patrick Harris b. 1973 - "Doogie Howser, M.D." (1989-1993)
9
1,735 635
carlybobarly added Kurt Russell b. 1951 - "The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit" (1968), "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" (1969)
10
2,291 736
carlybobarly added Joseph Gordon-Levitt b. 1981 - A River Runs Through It (1992), Angels in the Outfield (1994), "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1996-2001)
11
3,151 2,543
carlybobarly added Natalie Portman b. 1981 - The Professional (1994), Heat (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996),
12
1,576 733
carlybobarly added Kirsten Dunst b. 1982 - Little Women (1994), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Jumanji (1995) The Virgin Suicides (1999)
13
2,802 1,072
carlybobarly added Dakota Fanning b. 1994 - I Am Sam (2001), Uptown Girls (2003), Man on Fire (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), Charlotte's Web (2006), The Runaways (2010)
14
1,582 707
carlybobarly added Christina Applegate b. 1971 - "Married... with Children" (1987-97)
15
1,437 615
carlybobarly added Elijah Wood b. 1981 - Radio Flyer (1992), Forever Young (1992), Forever Young (1992), The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), The Good Son (1993), North (1994), The War (1994), Flipper (1996)
carlybobarly added Jason Bateman b. 1969 - "Little House on the Prairie" (1981-82), "Silver Spoons" (1982-84)
34
1,352 877
carlybobarly added Scarlett Johansson b. 1984 - North (1994), Just Cause (1995), Manny & Lo (1996), Ghost World (2001)
35
990 756
carlybobarly added Claire Danes b. 1979 - "My So-Called Life" (1994-95), Little Women (1994), Romeo + Juliet (1996)
36
826 639
carlybobarly added Michelle Trachtenberg b. 1985 - "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" (1994-96), Harriet the Spy (1996), "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (2000-2003)
37
822 539
carlybobarly added Seth Green b. 1974 - Can't Buy Me Love (1988), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), It (1990)
38
1,404 1,088
carlybobarly added Mila Kunis b. 1983 - "That '70s Show" (1998)
39
911 671
carlybobarly added Anna Paquin b. 1982 - The Piano (1993), Fly Away Home (1996), Amistad (!997), She's All That (1999)
40
1,071 675
carlybobarly added Hayden Panettiere b. 1989 - "One LIfe to Live" (1994-97), Guiding Light (1997-2000), Remember the Titans (2000), "Ally McBeal" (2001-02), "Heroes" (2006-2010)
41
1,243 889
carlybobarly added Jessica Alba b. 1981 - Camp Nowhere (1991), "Flipper" (1995-96)
42
1,002 552
carlybobarly added Helen Hunt b. 1963 - "Amy Prentiss" (1974-75), "The Swiss Family Robinson" (1975-76)
43
909 835
carlybobarly added Macaulay Culkin b. 1980 - Uncle Buck (1989), Home Alone (1990), My Girl (1991), The Good Son (1993)
