Skip to content

Top Navigation

PEOPLE.com PEOPLE.com
    • All News
    • Coronavirus
    • Crime
    • Human Interest
    • Politics
    • Heroes
    • Stories to Make You Smile
    • All Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Country
    • Awards
    • Sports
    • Theater
    • Books
  • Royals
    • All Lifestyle
    • Style
    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Health
    • Parents
    • Home
    • Pets
    • Food
    • Tech
    • Travel
  • PeopleTV
    • All Shopping
    • People Tested
    • All Podcasts
    • Me Becoming Mom
    • People Every Day
    • PEOPLE in the '90s

Profile Menu

Join Now

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Premium
My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Premium
Login
Subscribe

Explore PEOPLE.com

PEOPLE.com PEOPLE.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Rita Moreno Says She Dated Elvis as Revenge Against Cheating Ex Marlon Brando: 'It Was Wonderful'

      Rita Moreno Says She Dated Elvis as Revenge Against Cheating Ex Marlon Brando: 'It Was Wonderful'

      Rita Moreno revealed she dated Elvis Presley to get back at her ex-boyfriend Marlon Brando for cheating on her Read More
    • Machine Gun Kelly Poses with Daughter Casie at the 2021 American Music Awards

      Machine Gun Kelly Poses with Daughter Casie at the 2021 American Music Awards

      The American Music Awards, hosted by Cardi B, are broadcasting live from Los Angeles on Sunday Read More
    • Jennifer Lopez Sings from the Heart in New 'On My Way' Music Video

      Jennifer Lopez Sings from the Heart in New 'On My Way' Music Video

      Jennifer Lopez released the official music video for her song "On My Way," which is featured in her upcoming rom-com Marry Me Read More
  • News

    News

    See All News
    Stars Who Opened Up About Their Sexuality and Gender Identity in 2021

    Stars Who Opened Up About Their Sexuality and Gender Identity in 2021

    • Coronavirus
    • Crime
    • Human Interest
    • Politics
    • Heroes
    • Stories to Make You Smile
  • Entertainment

    Entertainment

    See All Entertainment
    The Best (& Worst) Jeopardy! Celebrity Guest Host Show Moments

    The Best (& Worst) Jeopardy! Celebrity Guest Host Show Moments

    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Country
    • Awards
    • Sports
    • Theater
    • Books
  • Royals
  • Lifestyle

    Lifestyle

    See All Lifestyle
    Billie Eilish Ditches Her Blonde Hair for Brunette Tresses: 'Miss Me?'

    Billie Eilish Ditches Her Blonde Hair for Brunette Tresses: 'Miss Me?'

    The singer revealed that she dyed her hair dark brown after debuting her blonde look earlier this year
    • Style
    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Health
    • Parents
    • Home
    • Pets
    • Food
    • Tech
    • Travel
  • PeopleTV
  • Shopping

    Shopping

    See All Shopping
    • People Tested
  • Podcasts

    Podcasts

    See All Podcasts
    Sen. Tammy Duckworth Calls Going Back to Work After Having a Miscarriage 'Inhumane'

    Sen. Tammy Duckworth Calls Going Back to Work After Having a Miscarriage 'Inhumane'

    "Even though we cleared my calendar for the day, I was still on the phone. There was no resting, you just kept on going," Tammy Duckworth says on an episode of PEOPLE's podcast Me Becoming Mom
    • Me Becoming Mom
    • People Every Day
    • PEOPLE in the '90s

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Join Now

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Premium
My Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • My Profile
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Premium
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. People.com
  2. Celebrity
  3. 18 Former Child Stars on the Ups & Downs of Growing Up in the Spotlight

18 Former Child Stars on the Ups & Downs of Growing Up in the Spotlight

From lost childhoods to rebelling against their image, these former child stars got real about growing up famous

By Julia Emmanuele Updated May 14, 2021 10:57 AM
Skip gallery slides
FB Tweet

1 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Aly & AJ

Aly & AJ
Credit: Amanda Charchian

The sisters, who recently announced their first album in 14 years, said their secret to surviving child stardom is having each other as best friends who got through it together.

"Most child actors don't have a sibling also experiencing the same success at the same time," Aly told PEOPLE in May. "That gave us a lot of normalcy."

Aly added, "We just got really lucky. We had each other."

1 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber
Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Speaking with GQ in April, Bieber recalled some of the times in his early days of fame when he attempted to reclaim a sense of independence. 

"I was working so much as this young kid that I got really sad, and I missed my friends and I missed normalcy," he said. "And so me and my friend hid my passport. The record label is freaking out, saying, 'You have to do the Today show next week and you can't find your passport.' It takes a certain amount of days to get a new passport. But I was just going to do anything to be able to just be normal at that time."

2 of 18

3 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Christina Aguilera

775075511DF00003_2017_Ameri
Credit: Emma McIntyre/AMA2017/Getty

In an April interview with Health, the singer said she read her childhood diaries and forced herself into some self-reflection thinking back to the "trauma."

"In some regard, I wasn't happy with a lot of things, and it's scary to face those feelings that, under normal circumstances, you don't have time to face because everyone is going, going, going," she said. "That grind is praised, but I think we're all understanding that having moments to self-reflect and just breathe are crucial."

"When I'm not working, there's a heavy amount of guilt that I feel. It's been embedded in me since I was little — you're shamed if you don't want to keep up," she continued. "As a child [entertainer], you're all pitted against one another, and other children are all about that grind too. It's a weird space to grow up in."

3 of 18

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Jennette McCurdy

Jennette McCurdy
Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage

The iCarly actress opened up about her experience as a child star on her podcast, Empty Inside, telling Anna Faris that acting was "always, always, always" difficult for her because of the anxiety she experienced when auditioning. She also revealed that she decided to quit "a few years ago" when her mother died. 

"I initially didn't want to [act]," she said. "My mom put me in it when I was 6 and by sort of age, I guess, 10 or 11, I was the main financial support for my family."

"And it was very much the pressure of my family [not having] a lot of money, and this was the way out," she continued. "Which I actually think was helpful in driving me to some degree of success, because I don't think I would have been as ambitious if I didn't know that it was for my family."

She also told Faris, "I'm so ashamed of the parts I've done in the past, and I get that this answer is super unlikable. I resent my career in a lot of ways. I feel so unfulfilled by the roles that I played and felt like it was the most cheesy, embarrassing [thing]. I did the shows that I was on from like, 13 to 21, and by 15, I was already embarrassed."

"My friends at 15, they're not like, 'Oh, cool, you're on this Nickelodeon show.' It was embarrassing," she continued. "And I imagine there's a very different experience to be had with acting if you're proud of your roles, and if you feel fulfilled by them."

4 of 18

Advertisement

5 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Rivkah Reyes

School Of Rock
Credit: paramount

The child star played the role of bass guitarist Katie in School of Rock at just 10 years old. 

Though they enjoyed the experience of filming the movie, Reyes told the New York Post that they "felt unsafe existing" in the years following because many grown men sexualized them, making remarks like they couldn't "wait 'til she's 18." They also revealed that classmates were harsh upon their return to school. 

Reyes told the New York Post that they felt pressure to land another, larger film role, telling the publication they hoped people would "stop calling [me] Katie."

Reyes said they spent ages 14 to 24 as "a raging addict," eventually becoming sober in 2017. 

5 of 18

6 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Mara Wilson

Mara Wilson
Credit: CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty

Wilson, known for her roles in films like Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda, wrote in a New York Times op-ed that she was sexualized as a young girl, despite intentionally choosing wholesome roles.

"I mostly acted in family movies — the remake of Miracle on 34th Street, Matilda, Mrs. Doubtfire. I never appeared in anything more revealing than a knee-length sundress," she wrote. "This was all intentional: My parents thought I would be safer that way. But it didn't work."

"It was cute when 10-year-olds sent me letters saying they were in love with me," Wilson continued. "It was not when 50-year-old men did."

Wilson recalled, "Before I even turned 12, there were images of me on foot fetish websites and photoshopped into child pornography. Every time, I felt ashamed."

"Hollywood has resolved to tackle harassment in the industry, but I was never sexually harassed on a film set," she added. "My sexual harassment always came at the hands of the media and the public."

6 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Christina Ricci

Calvin Klein 205W39NYC show, Front Row, Spring Summer 2018, New York Fashion Week, USA - 07 Sep 2017
Credit: Swan Gallet/WWD/REX/Shutterstock

Calling her pre-teen times on the set of The Addams Family films her "glory days," Ricci told PEOPLE how proud she is to be a former child star.

"I loved working. I loved being a kid who had a talent," she said. "I loved being good at something. I loved all that positive reinforcement I got every day. I loved getting to use my imagination in a way that really created things. It was incredible to be able to do that so young."

7 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Alyson Stoner

5th Annual Beautycon Festival Los Angeles - Arrivals
Credit: David Livingston/Getty Images

After her impressive dance moves stole the spotlight in Missy Elliott's 2002 "Work It" video, Stoner went on to roles in Cheaper by the Dozen, the Step Up franchise, Phineas and Ferb and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. The actress/dancer/voice artist recently got candid about her experience with childhood fame in a YouTube video.

"Being famous as a kid is weird and unhealthy," she said. "I'm learning to appreciate the present moment because I was a pack mule growing up. Living in that little box? Being part of that little machine? It takes a huge toll on you. The competition, narcissism, perfectionism, the pressure, schedule, the traumatizing experiences that we can never talk about, because we're either under contract or we'll get shot or other things will happen to us if we open our mouths."

Stoner is now ready to move on from her kid-famous past and reclaim control of her career. "I have some really cool bucket list projects and dreams that are coming true right now. [I'm] finally tapping into a life that I want to live," she shared.

8 of 18

Advertisement

9 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Jodie Sweetin

692275799_ab_1013_93f5d742348424c9d9e63d0e64e1fce6.jpg
Credit: Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images for Fashion Media

Sweetin is no stranger to the spotlight — but the Fuller House star does admit that there are highs and lows to growing up in the public eye. The actress, who landed the role of Stephanie Tanner on Full House at the age of 5, has had her share of struggles, all of which were subject to public scrutiny. 

"The blessing and the curse of being in this industry is that people want to know about you and what it is that you do and have done, the good and the bad," Sweetin told PEOPLE. "What that affords you is the opportunity to be able to share those things and be able to grow with people and in front of people."

9 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Beverley Mitchell

Image
Credit: Tommaso Boddi/Getty

"Obviously, I'm iconically going to be Lucy Camden and it's very difficult in the business to change people's minds, because they see you in one way and they love you and adore you and you're great, but they don't want to see you in something else," Mitchell, who starred as Lucy Camden on 7th Heaven for 11 years, told PEOPLE of being typecast in Hollywood after finding fame as a child.

She continued: "But in the real life standpoint, I love it. Because I've been able to grow up with so many of these people and I'm so much a part of their lives and to hear them talk about watching the show with their grandma and having conversations, that's really something special and I feel like that's a gift and I'm ever so grateful for it. So yeah, I'm Lucy."

10 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

LeAnn Rimes

ONSTAGE SPARKLES
Credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty

The actress and country star — who rose to fame in 1997 at the age of 13 — has no regrets about her road to stardom, but admits that becoming famous at a young age isn't for everyone. "I would not recommend it to anyone, but it's my path, so I've accepted it and learned from it," she recently told PEOPLE. "I can really appreciate it at this point — all of it."

11 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Miley Cyrus

voice-gallery-17
Credit: Courtesy Miley Cyrus

The star formerly known as Hannah Montana has been criticized for her outlandish outfits and behavior, but she explained to Harper's Bazaar that it's a way for her to reclaim her youth: "I was an adult when I was supposed to be a kid," she said. "So now I'm an adult, and I'm acting like a kid."

Cyrus also revealed to Marie Claire that her time on the show left her with some lasting body issues. "I was told for so long what a girl is supposed to be from being on that show," said Cyrus. "I was made to look like someone that I wasn't, which probably caused some body dysmorphia because I had been made pretty every day for so long, and then when I wasn't on that show, it was like, 'Who the f--k am I?'"

12 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Selena Gomez

Image
Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty

Gomez told GQ that growing up as a child star means having the entire world watching you navigate adolescence — and rooting for you to fail.

"It's disgusting, because it's interesting to grown adults that these kids go through weird things because they're figuring out, 'Do I like this? Do I love this? Maybe I love this person. Oh, I'm exposed to this, people are reporting my every move and this and that because of Instagram and Twitter and you can find out everything,' " she said. "Because it's, I don't know, fun, maybe? It's like watching a car crash as you're driving past it. You want to watch it."

Still, she has no regrets about stepping into the spotlight at a young age. "I chose this. So I'm not gonna sit here and say, 'Oh my God, poor me, I didn't have a normal childhood,' " she told the men's mag. "I don't give a f— about that."

13 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

14 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Daniel Radcliffe

Image
Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty

The Harry Potter star is often upheld as one of the rare, well-adjusted former child stars in the industry, but he admits that he simply "got lucky."

"People expect me to be an absolute a--hole. And when I'm not, that always plays in my favor," Radcliffe told Playboy in 2015. "The most underrated way I and all the producers on Potter got lucky was that I f--king loved the work. I've seen kids on set who are bored, and I'm like, 'What are you doing? This is the best place on Earth.' I loved it from the word go. I loved being on set. I loved the hours. I loved the people. … Acting was the focus for me, and I wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize being an actor."

Radcliffe has been open about his struggle with alcohol as a coping mechanism for fame, and in 2012, announced he was sober.

14 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement

15 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Hilary Duff

hilary-duff
Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Though she admitted that it was hard for her to shake the public's perception of her as Lizzie McGuire for years after the show ended, Duff only has positive memories of her time on the Disney Channel show.

"As torturous as it has been at some points in my life to be Lizzie McGuire, I think that when that show came out, it was such a part of who I was, I didn't feel like I was playing a part," she told PrideSource. "The writers all knew me so well and were writing things that were happening in my life and things that I would say, and I was dressing exactly like I wanted. It was so me."

15 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

16 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Raven-Symoné

Image
Credit: Fred Lee/ABC/Getty

The former Cosby Show and That's So Raven star admitted that being famous at young age is part of the reason that she felt the need to hide her sexuality for so long.

"I knew I couldn't say it out loud because, 'Oh my God, Little Olivia is gay? This is crazy!'" she said. "I had the No. 1 show on Disney, I had multiple albums, I was on tour with 'NSYNC. People had bucket lists, my bucket list was finished at 18. I didn't want to deal with that." She never thought she'd come out because "my personal life didn't matter," she said. "It was only supposed to be sold as the Raven-Symoné brand."

16 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

17 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Demi Lovato

demi-lovato
Credit: Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images for Be Vocal

Lovato has been very outspoken about her struggles with addiction and an eating disorder, and how being famous at a young age and the events of her Disney Channel days still haunt her.

"We joked around that it was Disney High, except we all were shooting shows and really overworking. I joke that I sometimes have PTSD after leaving the channel, because if my schedule starts to get too busy, I rebel and I get bitchy..." she told Billboard. "When you're on set, you work like an adult. I always wanted to be the next Shirley Temple, to be the youngest person to ever win a Grammy and an Oscar. It didn't turn out that way. I don't regret it, but I probably won't allow my kids to get into the industry unless it's on their terms."

17 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement

18 of 18

FB Tweet
Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Joe Jonas

Image
Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty

Jonas opened up about his Disney past in a now-famous essay published on Vulture, where he revealed that he felt like a puppet when he and his brothers were working with the channel.

"Being a part of the Disney thing for so long will make you not want to be this perfect little puppet forever," he wrote. "Eventually, I hit a limit and thought, 'Screw all this, I'm just going to show people who I am.' I think that happened to a lot of us. Disney kids are spunky in some way, and I think that's why Disney hires them. 'Look, he jumped up on the table!' Five, six, 10 years later, they're like, 'Oh! What do we do?' Come on, guys. You did this to yourselves."

18 of 18

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Julia Emmanuele

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 18 Aly & AJ
    2 of 18 Justin Bieber
    3 of 18 Christina Aguilera
    4 of 18 Jennette McCurdy
    5 of 18 Rivkah Reyes
    6 of 18 Mara Wilson
    7 of 18 Christina Ricci
    8 of 18 Alyson Stoner
    9 of 18 Jodie Sweetin
    10 of 18 Beverley Mitchell
    11 of 18 LeAnn Rimes
    12 of 18 Miley Cyrus
    13 of 18 Selena Gomez
    14 of 18 Daniel Radcliffe
    15 of 18 Hilary Duff
    16 of 18 Raven-Symoné
    17 of 18 Demi Lovato
    18 of 18 Joe Jonas

    Share & More

    Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    PEOPLE.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab. People is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab Manage Push Notificationsthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab

    Manage Push Notifications

    If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: Google Chrome and Android, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge.
    © Copyright PEOPLE.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://people.com

    Sign in

    View image

    18 Former Child Stars on the Ups & Downs of Growing Up in the Spotlight
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.