27 Before And After Photos Of Child Stars Who Turned Out Just Fine

These child stars are still killing it as adults.

Maryjane

• Published in Film & TV
• April 10, 2022

When a child has a full creative talent that the world wants to see, the world also wants to see them grow into the superstar they aspire to be. The parents of these children have a lot to do as well, as they sometimes go out of their way to manage the schedules of their child stars till they become adults. 

Whenever young actors become renowned early in life, they have either one of two decisions to make. Either they choose to stay in show business and proceed to significantly greater achievement, or they head on to some other profession that seems worthwhile.

With all of the events surrounding former child stars over the years, we would want to know at some point or another how they finally turned out. Some tend to be even more than just all right, just like Leonardo DiCaprio, who was once homeless but acted in the movie Growing Pains back in 1991 and is now an Oscar winner.

On the other hand, some might have gone through pretty rough times but are still standing strong. We’ve gone ahead to bring you a list containing child stars and how they later turned out.

So go on and grab yourself a cup of whatever it is that you desire, sit back and enjoy the view.

1. Jonathan Taylor Thomas

He got famous playing brainy middle child Randy Taylor on Home Improvement and costarred with Brad Renfro in 1995's Tom and Huck and Devon Sawa in 1997's Wild America. He left the spotlight to live his life and a rare paparazzi pic of him went viral in 2021.

2. Jonathan Lipnicki

He acted in Jerry Maguire and went on to plum roles in the Stuart Little films, Doctor Dolittle, The Little Vampire and Little Mike. But he's still working in showbiz and appearing in movies like Limelight and Broil while also writing and producing short and feature-length films.

3. Mara Wilson

She acted in Mrs. Doubtfire at 6 and Matilda at 9 before acting took a back bench for her. She is a writer and activist and has released her memoir Where Am I Now?

Wilson recalled in a February 2021 New York Times op-Ed about the perils of early fame for girls.

4. Joseph Gordon-Levitt

He was a veteran actor and starred as Tommy Solomon in 3rd Rock From the Sun. Then, he acted in 1999's 10 Things I Hate About You, 2004's Mysterious Skin and in the 2005 noir drama Brick.

As an adult, he has acted in 500 Days of Summer, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Inception, among others. He's now married with kids.

5. Natalie Portman

Acted at the age of 12 in The Professional and she's still living up to her reputation. She's starred in huge blockbusters like Star Wars; the Thor franchise and Avengers: Endgame and so on.

She is now married with kids.

6. Angus T. Jones

The actor acted in the '00s hit sitcom Two and a Half Men and his last onscreen credit is Louis C.K.'s 2016 limited series Horace & Pete.

He attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and is living what he called a "normal existence," he told People in 2016.

7. Daniel Radcliffe

He has featured in dramas like Equus and The Cripple of Inishmaan, not to mention Harry Potter. He has been dating with Erin Darke since 2013.

8. Jodie Foster

At age 6, she acted in the Andy Griffith Show spinoff Mayberry R.F.D. and got her first Oscar nomination at 14. She attended Yale, after which she won her first Oscar, for Best Supporting Actress.

Now, she's now married and is a mother of two kids.

9. Kristen Stewart

She played daughter in David Fincher's 2002 thriller Panic Room and she now prefers taking on more intimate films which includes The Clouds of Sils Maria. After her relationship with Robert Pattinson ended, she has only dated women.

10. Jennifer Connelly

She featured in the 1986 fantasy classic Labyrinth and has won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 2001's A Beautiful Mind. She followed that up with Hulk among others.

Connelly has been married since 2003 with two kids.

11. Josh Brolin

He got his start in the 1985 Brandon Walsh and has since done more movies, including Mimic, No Country for Old Men, Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgameamong others. He has been married three times and has kids.

12. Christina Ricci

She first acted in the 1990's Mermaids and The Addams and has been in films such as The Opposite of Sex, Sleepy Hollow among others. She has a son Freddie with ex-husband James Heerdegen. She filed for divorce in July 2020.

In 2021, the actress quietly tied the knot with hairdresser Mark Hampton.

13. Macaulay Culkin

He acted Home Alone when he was barely 10 but had already been acting at the age of 5 in TV movies. He has been in small films with big cultural footprints such as Party Monster and Saved.

He is dating his Changeland co-star Brenda Song since 2017.

14. Kieran Culkin

Remember the 1990's Home Alone? He has also been in heavy dramas like Margaret, or somewhere in between and so on. He earned his first Emmy nomination in 2020 and he's married to Jazz Charton since 2013.

15. Dakota Fanning

She played Ally McBeal's 5-year-old self and Sean Penn's 6-year-old daughter in I Am Sam and also featured in The Alienist overnight. She's also been in movies like Uptown Girls, Man on Fire, Hide and Seek, Charlotte's Web, three Twilight movies, and so on.

16. Elle Fanning

She acted in I Am Sam and has guest-starred on multiple CSI franchises, Criminal Minds, House, Law & Order: SVU and much more. She is signed up to play sisters in Kristin Hannah's World War II-era epic The Nightingale.

17. Hilary Duff

She acted in Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire, and also in Agent Cody Banks, Cheaper by the Dozen and A Cinderella Story. Duff began filming the sitcom How I Met Your Father and she's now married with kids.

18. Candace Cameron

She acted in Full House which ran from 1987 until 1995 and also 1996's No One Would Tell. But more recently, she is the queen of the Hallmark Channel Christmas lineup and the star of the network's Aurora Teagarden murder-mystery franchise.

She is married to former NHL player Valeri Bure with kids.

19. Jodie Sweetin

She acted in Full House for eight seasons and she has had three marriages between 2002 and 2016 added to the headline fodder. She is the mother of two daughters and she rejoined the Tanner family for five seasons of Fuller House on Netflix.

20. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

They acted in the ABC sitcom Full House and are now both fashion industry superstars as the co-founders of CFDA Award-winning The Row and Elizabeth & James. Ashley and Louis Eisner have been dated since 2017 and  Mary-Kate married Olivier Sarkozy in 2015 and divorced in 2020.

21. Ryan Gosling

At age 12, he acted in The All-New Mickey Mouse Club and so far, he has played every type of guy, from a thrill killer in Murder by Numbers to an aspiring jazz club owner in La La Land, and son on. He has two Oscar nominations and is married with kids.

22. Leonardo DiCaprio

He acted in the activism, the Oscar for The Revenant, the model girlfriends,and so on. DiCaprio has six Oscar nominations and still kinda looked like a kid in Titanic.

He has starred in films such as Inception, The Wolf of Wall Street, Once Upon a Time among others.

23. Emma Watson

She acted as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films and has moved further to act in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Bling Ring. As a UN Goodwill Ambassador, she has dedicated her platform to empower women and advocate for gender equality.

24. Neil Patrick Harris

He earned a Golden Globe nomination at 15 for his role in the 1988 TV movie Clara's Heart. His role as Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother earned him four Emmy nominations.

He also won a Tony in 2014 for Best Actor in a Musical as the star of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He's married with kids now.

24. Raven-Symoné

At age 4, she was on The Cosby Show and then on The Little Rascals, Doctor Dolittle, The Cheetah Girls, The Suite Life of Zack so on. She has also spent three seasons as a co-host on The View and is married.

26. Ron Howard

Happy Days star has also featured as Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show when he was 6. He's been married since 1975 with kids.

27. Elijah Wood

By the time he was 12, he had featured in Avalon, Radio Flyer and three more movies. He also acted in Lord of the Rings and welcomed a child with his girlfriend in 2020.

These child stars who turned out just fine can also be a source of inspiration to other kids out there who want to venture into the movie industry. And the duty of their parents is to guide them through and make them the best that they can be.

Which of these pictures made you realize that you’re getting old? Drop your comments below.

Maryjane