Rachael Leigh Cook – She’s All That

She was the quirky nerd turned prom queen in She’s All That -but how Rachael Leigh Cook looks in real life is surprising as well! Rachael played the adorable Laney Boggs in the hit teenage film starring Freddie Prinze Jr; which turned out to be her big break in Hollywood as well. Although that was her most stunning deubt yet, Cook has also been no stranger to other number of movies including Josie and the Pussycats. Cook married Vampire Diaries Daniel Gillies actor too, having two beautiful children.

Tina Majorino – Waterworld

If you really liked the Kevin Costner film Waterworld, then you probably know that Tina Majorino was that scene-stealing kid n the movie. Now all grown up, she continues to act and is a series regular on Legends. She did go on a brief hiatus in the 90s, but soon came out of retirement to continue pursuing her true passion.

Lark Voorhies – Saved by the Bell

Lark Voorhies’ role as Lisa Turtle in Saved by the Bell made her a teen queen in the early 90s and it was hard not to see her face in various projects in movies, TV, and even music videos. However, she soon gave up acting in the early 2000s when she was diagnosed with Lupus. Since then, she has refocused her energy into writing, publishing three books and counting.

Jon Heder – Napolean Dynamite

No one thought that a small town boy from Colorado would go on to make one of the most memorable Hollywood films of all time, but he did! Jon Heder played the main character, and can you believe how he looks right now? The film grossed about $50 million worldwide, but Heder’s time in the spotlight was limited. He only appeared in a few movies after, eventually taking a break from acting and remaining in a humble, married life with his wife Kirsten Bales.

Matthew Lewis – Harry Potter

Daniel Radcliffe may have been the main character of the Harry Potter sequel; but do you know about the rising star that acted with him? Matthew Lewis played perfectly the role of awkward and sweet Neville Longbottom -but how he looks today is just insane. After reaching his 20s, Lewis understood the need to exercise and eat healthy, which is what led him to become a muscle trainer and part time model. It’s definitely a total 360 turn from his Harry Potter days; and we root for more growth to come!

Amber Scott – Hook

Anyone who watched the movie Hook starring Robin Williams has definitely stumbled upon this adorable beauty. Amber Scott played the joyful little girl that was Peter Pan’s daughter -and look where she is now! From the wide eyed blonde to graduating her college back in 2006. Amber Scott hasn’t done much acting work since the film was released. Nevertheless, she already has accumulated a small yet growing fan base of all those who respect her skills and admire her untouched beauty. One thing’s for sure -Amber sure kept that beautiful and shiny hair of hers!

Sean Astin – The Goonies

Sean Astin may be best known for his role as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings movies, but before that, he actually became a breakthrough actor in The Goonies, which earned him quite a huge payroll. With some excellent wealth management over the years, Sean has since increased his net worth to $40 million. He was most recently seen in the latest season of Stranger Things.

Mindy Cohn – The Facts of Life

Today, Mindy Cohn is best known for being a voice actress, giving life to characters like Velma in the animated Scooby-Doo series and many more. However, her career actually started out in front of the camera when she played Natalie in the 80s series, The Facts of Life. In late 2017, she made headlines when she revealed her battle against breast cancer.

Zendaya – Shake It Up

Zendaya started out as a Disney talent, joining the cast of the series Shake It Up as a young teen. Now 21 years old, she has since gained the reputation of being a talented and bankable actress and has since starred in blockbusters like Spiderman Homecoming and The Greatest Showman. Not only that, she has a very successful music career to boot which makes her degree of stardom quite an impressive one.

Kurt Russell – Wonderful World of Color

Kurt Russell is one of the industry’s most respected veteran actors today. What most people don’t know is that he was actually a child star, starting his career on television at just 12 years old in shows like Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color and The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters. These early jobs paved the way for Kurt having one of the best savings accounts in the industry, which continues to grow as he’s still getting noteworthy roles to this day.

 Kirsten Dunst – Interview with a Vampire

Of course, everybody knows Kirsten Dunst. After all, who can forget her breakthrough performance as a young bloodsucker in Interview with a Vampire? From that fateful role, Hollywood became her oyster and she moved on to be a huge star. She did experience a hiccup when she sought treatment for signs of depression in her 20s, but she has since recovered and is now happily married with kids.

Leonardo DiCaprio – This Boy’s Life

We all know Leonardo DiCaprio today as an Oscar winner and A-list actor, but let’s not forget his humble beginnings as a child actor. He showed serious acting chops in films like This Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape at a very young age, which pretty much cemented his foothold in the industry. He reportedly has a net worth of about $245 million at present and lives fabulously as a bachelor playboy in between jobs.

Jamie Bell – Billy Elliot

Jamie Bell became a breakout star when he was cast in the titular role of Billy Elliot when it was adapted for the movies. From there, he has starred in numerous other blockbusters, including King Kong, Jumper, and Flags of Our Fathers, to name just a few. He was married to long-time sweetheart, actress Evan Rachel Wood for a time but the union ended in divorce. However, it looks like he’s luckier in love the second time around as he is now happily married to actress Kate Mara.

Michelle Trachtenberg – Harriet the Spy

Michelle Trachtenberg will always be known for landing the lead role in Harriet the Spy at just 11 years old. From there, she has starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl. She has been less visible of late, but with a net worth of $9 million earned over the years, she really doesn’t need too many jobs to get by.

Rory Culkin – Signs

Rory Culkin followed in his older brother, Macaulay’s footsteps and became a child actor, starring in Signs opposite Mel Gibson. Unlike his brother, however, his acting career went on until adulthood, which saw him joining the cast of Intruders and Scream 4. Currently, he is a series regular in Waco and no doubt his credit score is a good one.

Caroline Sunshine – Shake it Up

Caroline Sunshine is another well known child star who gained popularity in Disney’s Shake it Up. However, she has completely put acting behind her at present. Instead, she now works as a press assistant at the White House where she was formerly an intern. Indeed, as far as jobs go, it’s a truly impressive one for a former child star.

Anna Chlumsky – My Girl

Anna Chlumsky became a breakout artist when she played Vada opposite Macaulay Culkin in the poignant coming-of-age film, My Girl. Soon after the movie was released, she chose to focus on her education, eventually earning a university degree. She has since made a huge comeback to acting as a cast member for the popular show Veep. She is also happily married with two kids, so life is definitely good for Anna.

Hayden Panettiere – One Life to Live

Hayden Panettiere is one child actress who needs little introduction as she is very well known and visible to this day with no dearth of acting jobs. She entered the industry when she was cast as a kid in the long-running soap, One Life to Live. From there, she acted in popular TV series like Nashville and Heroes, as well as pursued a successful singing career on the side.

Jonathan Brandis – The Wonder Years

At the height of his fame in the late 80s and 90s, Jonathan Brandis was way up there with fellow teen heartthrobs Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Renfro, and the like. He starred in huge projects like The Wonder Years, seaQuest DSV, and It. However, adulthood was not at all kind to baby-faced Jonathan, who soon started showing signs of depression when he was unable to get acting jobs. He met a bitter end in 2003 when he killed himself by hanging.

Lindsay Lohan – Parent Trap

Lindsay Lohan is a true cautionary tale when it comes to child actors. She started acting in the movie Parent Trap and continued being a bankable actress well into her teens, starring in films like Mean Girls and Freaky Friday, to name a few. Despite her downfall, Lindsay now living the life that she wanted. She claims that she prefers life away from the limelight and that is what she has been doing for years. She looks happier and recently posted in her Instagram account about the Parent Trap reunion.

Edward Furlong – Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Edward Furlong was a promising young actor when he was plucked from obscurity and given the iconic role of John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which proved to be his breakout role. He then moved on to star in huge films such as American History X opposite Edward Norton. Unfortunately, he became a pariah of sorts when he succumbed to substance addiction. He’s been in and out of rehab for most of his life now.

Brandon “Bug” Hall – The Little Rascals

Bug Hall’s iconic cowlick when he played the role of Alfalfa in The Little Rascals will forever live in infamy for fans of the movie. However, he’s managed to shake off that identity in adulthood and has even managed to pursue a relatively successful acting career on TV, restyling himself as Brandon Hall. He has no dearth of acting jobs his way, so his credit report is a solid one.

Raven-Symoné – That’s So Raven

Many would know Raven-Symoné for her Disney show, That’s So Raven. However, she started acting long before that when she was part of the regular cast of The Cosby Show as a child. It was her stint at Disney that really blew up her net worth and bankability, though. Today, she is a well-known TV personality with no dearth of hosting jobs. Raven made a comeback by starring in Disney’s new show which is also a spin off from her old show, Raven’s Home.

Alisan Porter – Curly Sue

Winning season 10 of The Voice was not the first time that Alisan Porter won a major singing contest. In fact, she won Star Search when she was just five years old, making her the youngest winner ever of the popular 80s talent show. In 1991, she was even cast in the titular role of Curly Sue wherein she showed great promise as an actress. However, she soon succumbed to substance abuse, which ruined her career for a time. Thankfully, she turned her life around and is now enjoying her second chance at the limelight.

Frankie Muniz – Malcolm in the Middle

To this day, Frankie Muniz remains one of the highest paid child actors in Hollywood history, thanks to his role as Malcolm in the popular TV sitcom, Malcolm in the Middle. He has since retired from acting, however, not because of addiction, but because he wanted to pursue his other interests like music and racing. He made headlines in 2012 when he had two small strokes, which he claims has affected his memory.

Lisa Jakub – Independence Day

The talented Lisa Jakub is another past teen star who had a very bright future ahead of her until she suddenly went on retirement to get married at 22. She starred in Hollywood blockbusters like Independence Day and Mrs Doubtfire, but gave up stardom to live a quiet life in a small town with her growing family and love ones.

Blake McIver Ewing – The Little Rascals

As a child star, Blake McIver Ewing was truly a multi-talented one. In fact, he was able to perform in roles that not only required acting, but also singing in dancing, such as those that he held in The Little Rascals and Problem Child 3. He hit a rough patch in adulthood when he had a hard time finding jobs, which led him to become a gay dancer just to cover his credit card debt. However, he has since bounced back and now has a modest career on TV as a regular host on Bravo’s The People’s Couch.

Nicholle Tom – Beethoven

She was always easily recognizable for her erstwhile flaming red hair, Nicholle Tom was a teen queen of sorts for many fans in the 90s, after starring in Beethoven and The Nanny. Today, she is still actively acting in more mature roles suited to her age. She may not have the best savings account there is, but for a past teen star, she’s relatively successful.

Balthazar Getty – Lord of the Flies

As part of the cast of Lord of the Flies, Balthazar Getty became an overnight teen star. Not that he needed the leg up as he was already quite famous and had a huge net worth as one of the scions of the wealthy Getty family. He had a modest acting career up until the 90s, but he’s been mostly known as a socialite and playboy, dating Hollywood starlets like Winona Ryder.

Nicola Peltz – The Last Airbender

Nicola Peltz had been acting for some time in small, forgettable projects until she was finally cast in her first big movie, The Last Airbender in which she played Katara. It was then that the public started paying attention to the very pretty Nicola. Her biggest film to date is Transformers: Age of Extinction in which she played Mark Wahlberg’s daughter. She’s got plenty of acting jobs lined up, so no doubt, we’ll be seeing more and more of Nicola in the coming years.

Candace Cameron – Full House

Candace Cameron is one of the original cast members of the 80s sitcom Full House who was also in the most recent sequel, Fuller House. However, these are not the only projects that she’s worked in as she has been consistently working in the industry since her 80s debut. She was a host in The View for a time, on top of publishing several books.

Fred Savage – The Wonder Years

Fred Savage’s role in the long-running show The Wonder Years gave him a firm foothold in the industry. He still takes on acting jobs to this day, though quite sporadically. He mostly works behind the camera nowadays as a director and producer of various television shows. Indeed, with his net worth from childhood and his current success in Hollywood, there’s no doubt he’s quite comfortable.

Nicholas Hoult – About a Boy

Nicholas Caradoc Hoult has racked up a really impressive cache of Hollywood blockbusters and meaningful projects since his movie debut in About a Boy with Hugh Grant. Since then he has been a busy actor in both British and American movies, and even won a nomination for the British Academy Film Award in 2010. Most impressively, he’s been using his considerable fame and bank account in support of various charities close to his heart.

Ricky Schroder – The Champ

Even as a young kid, Ricky Schroder was already quite the accomplished actor, winning a major Golden Globe for his very first movie role in The Champ. He struggled with finding jobs in adulthood however, owing to his blonde, boyish looks. This might have driven others to various addictions, but not Ricky who continued to work on his craft, eventually getting cast in NYPD Blue and saving his career.

Jake Lloyd – Star Wars Episode I

Jake Lloyd’s story as a child actor is a truly tragic one. He was catapulted to fame when he was cast as young Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which proved to be a bane for the young child as he had a hard time going back to school and living a normal life afterward. He then went on to become tabloid fodder, eventually making headlines when he was arrested for driving under the influence and subsequently found to be schizophrenic.

Evanna Lynch – Harry Potter

Evanna Lynch became a real inspiration when she was cast as Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter series of films, despite having no acting experience whatsoever. Today, she remains to be an inspiration to girls everywhere as she is quite outspoken about her problems with body image and anorexia nervosa as a young girl, helping other young women through signs of depression and other problems.

Elijah Wood – Radio Flyer

Elijah Wood is another very recognizable child actor as he pretty much looks the same now in adulthood as when he started acting at eight years old in films like Radio Flyer and Forever Young. But the most important and iconic role of his career is undoubtedly as Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings series. Now in his 30s, Elijah still enjoys relative success and has no dearth of jobs. Impressively, he’s never needed rehab.

Ryan Reynolds – Hillside

Ryan Reynolds is currently basking on the success of his second Deadpool film, which was just recently released. The start of his career, however, can be traced a lot further back than that as he started acting in a Canadian soap opera about teens called Hillside, at just 12 years old. His career has gone from strength to strength since and he now enjoys a net worth of about $65 million, making him one of the most successful former child stars on this list.