A while back, Reddit user phantom_avenger asked the folks over at r/moviecritic, “Who is a former mainstream child actor or actress that survived the toxic world of Hollywood and is currently doing really well for themselves?” And not only were there a ton of responses there, but our very own BuzzFeed Community had a lot to add, too! Here’s what everyone said:
1.
Zendaya — “I would argue she has the most graceful transition from child star to adult. literally zero scandals.”
2.
Jennette McCurdy — “She had a nightmare of a childhood between her mother and TV studios she was made to work for by the former, but managed to get out of that business and live life far more on her own terms and her own happiness. It’s no wonder her autobiography is called I’m Glad My Mom Died.”
4.
Keke Palmer — “She started out in Barbershop 2: Back in Business!”
5.
Raven-Symoné — “She’s been working since she was 3 and has been the most stable out of ALL the people listed here.”
6.
Selena Gomez — “She’s doing really well personally and career-wise. She was recently nominated for several awards!”
7.
Beau Bridges — “Beau has been married to his second wife for 40 years, has five children, and won several Emmys, among other awards.”
8.
Jeff Bridges — “Meanwhile, Jeff has been married since 1977 with three daughters. He’s an Oscar winner, among other awards, and is a screen icon.”
9.
Peter Ostrum — “He played Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, then retired to be a veterinarian. It doesn’t seem that he ever had a Hollywood comeback, but he got a doctorate from Cornell and seems very happy living a quiet life as a large farm animal veterinarian. He’s visited public schools in his community to talk about his life choices and why he chose to leave Hollywood for a life as a vet.”
10.
Hilary Duff — “Hilary isn’t as big as she used to be back when she was a teenager and was considered one of the biggest stars in film, shows, and music in the 2000s! But she is living a pretty healthy lifestyle, raising her family of four children, and balancing her acting career in projects that are less mainstream along with getting involved in entrepreneurship!”
11.
Ron Howard — “I feel like he was extremely lucky. He worked in two of the rarest situations possible in the entertainment industry with genuinely lovely people. Andy Griffith and Don Knotts were supposed to be really nice people (sometimes not to the other actors but always to Ron, by his account). The same with the entire cast of Happy Days, with Henry Winkler being known as one of Hollywood’s ‘good guys.'”
12.
Dakota Fanning — “I remember there were pictures of Dakota and her sister, Elle, in school activities like homecoming games. I think their parents tried to give them a normal life between their careers, which is so awesome.”
13.
Elle Fanning — “I think both the Fanning sisters have done great for themselves.”
14.
Ke Huy Quan — “He seems like he is doing well. He played Short-Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and he recently won an Oscar.”
15.
Kenan Thompson — “I’m more amazed he hasn’t broken down as an adult doing SNL as long as he has. All you ever hear is how much of a pressure cooker that show is. To last as long as he has, you gotta have your head on straight.”
16.
Lindsay Lohan — “I mean, yes, she had a huge fallout and got herself in trouble with the law, but she turned her life around and is doing a lot better. She got married, has a child, and will be in Freaky Friday 2.“
17.
Jodie Foster — “She really survived Hollywood’s perverted grossness.”
18.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt — “I haven’t seen him in too much the past few years for some reason, but he was a child actor then went on to do Brick, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, etc.”
19.
Elijah Wood — “No matter how bad the politics get in America he still posts about rad shit he likes on social media.”
20.
Macaulay Culkin — “He went through a rough patch, but he’s doing really well now. And he’s still able to live off of that Home Alone money for life.”
21.
Brenda Song — “Macaulay and Brenda both did good for themselves. So add her in, too.”
22.
Kieran Culkin — “He’s in good shape as well!”
23.
Shirley Temple — “Until she died (at age 85), Shirley Temple Black was the paradigm of the child actor doing well as an adult.”
24.
Jason Bateman — “He is great in everything.”
25.
Natalie Portman — “It’s a miracle, too, considering how much of a weirdo Luc Besson is.”
26.
Daniel Radcliffe — “He had a period of really struggling with alcoholism, but otherwise, he’s doing much better now.”
27.
Ryan Gosling — “I live not too far from where his parents are, and one day, in an aimless Facebook scroll, I ended up on his dad’s page, which was weirdly fascinating. And yes, I know it makes me a bit of a creep, but I couldn’t help but click through a bit. The most boring-dad stuff you could ever hope to see. Like, here’s an awkward photo of my adult children home for Christmas, except one is a movie star. I have to wonder if the shocking normalcy of his family life kept him on a good path.”
28.
Melissa Joan Hart — “She was the first person that came to mind.”
29.
Scarlett Johansson — “A couple of pieces of trivia I’d tell my cousins is she was a supporting cast in Home Alone 3, and she starred with Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Endgame.”
30.
Jerry O’Connell — “He was so adorable in Stand By Me. Seems like he has a good head on his shoulders.”
31.
Kurt Russell — “It’s hard to believe just how long he’s been around for. Active in seven decades!”
32.
Miranda Cosgrove — “She seems incredibly down to earth and normal, especially considering she had a stalker who set himself on fire in her driveway.”
33.
Wil Wheaton — “I love that guy, and he’s the reason l asked Andy Serkis if we should just start using motion capture to phase out child actors, specifically using Wil as an example. He’d never thought of it before and said he’d give it some thought, which l thought was pretty cool.”
34.
Kirsten Dunst — “She has a fantastic acting resume, two kids, and a seemingly nice life with her husband. Good for her.”
35.
Melanie Lynskey — “She’s still in plenty of high-profile stuff like Yellowjackets and The Last of Us. I’ve also heard that she’s pretty down to earth in person.”
36.
Christina Applegate — “She has had such a rough life and has been such an inspiration. Every time I see her have a new diagnosis, I’m like, ‘Come on! Give this woman a break.'”
37.
Bridgit Mendler — “Went to Harvard and MIT, co-founded a satellite data startup, adopted a kid she was fostering in addition to being an actress and singer. If you created a character with her achievements in a book or movie, people would call it unrealistic.”
38.
Dylan Sprouse — “Started a mead company and is seemingly very happy with his lovely partner.”
39.
Mayim Bialik — “She has a PhD in neuroscience, and as an adult, she was in one of the most successful sitcoms ever. She is now an acclaimed author.”
40.
Finally, Leonardo DiCaprio — “The best example of all.”
