10 Child Stars Who Left Fame Behind

WatchMojo

Sometimes, you have to make your own way! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at stars who reached high levels of fame at a young age, only to step away once they reached adulthood.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at stars who reached high levels of fame at

00:15a young age, only to step away once they reached adulthood.

00:28Ross Bagley

00:39How do you top acting with a fresh prince?

00:41In the 1990s, it seemed as though Ross Bagley had a promising acting career ahead of him.

00:46Getting his star portraying Nikki Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he was catapulted

00:49to higher levels of stardom after securing a supporting role in the blockbuster Independence

00:53Day.

00:54It seemed like he might go on to become Hollywood's next big thing, until he suddenly pulled away

00:57from the profession in the 2000s.

01:10He opted for a private life, limiting his online presence and choosing to pursue an

01:14occupation in real estate instead.

01:16He got to experience fame and fortune, then live a relatively normal life, proving that

01:20child stars get to live the best of both worlds.

01:33Kay Panabaker

01:41Disney is well-known for producing future stars.

01:44Kay Panabaker went a different route, but didn't entirely leave the mouse behind.

01:48She became an instant favorite among viewers, starring in original television movies like

01:51Read It and Weep, and appearing in several popular shows on the Disney Channel.

02:03She also found success on other channels, receiving acclaim for her performance in the

02:07WB's Summerland, but after lending her voice to the third Beverly Hills Chihuahua film,

02:11she retired from entertainment to focus on her education, eventually obtaining a diploma

02:15in zoology from UCLA.

02:17In a full-circle moment, she ended up returning to Disney, this time to work as a zookeeper

02:21at Disney World.

02:32Charlie Corsmo

02:43Some people are truly a jack-of-all-trades.

02:46Being a short-tenor in the industry, Charlie Corsmo proved to have plenty of talent, earning

02:50accolades for his work in Dick Tracy and Steven Spielberg's Hook.

02:53It was clear he could have found even more success in Hollywood, but instead he pivoted

02:57to very different professions.

03:10After earning a physics degree from MIT and working with the Environmental Protection

03:14He went into law out of Yale.

03:16Is it that weren't enough?

03:17He now teaches corporate law at Case Western Reserve University.

03:20It's clear that Corsmo excels no matter what he does.

03:23He's set up for a potentially huge comeback should he ever get the itch to act again.

03:37Jeff Cohen

03:48Although his list of acting credits is short, his impact within the industry is undeniable.

03:52Jeff Cohen had several smaller parts in various TV shows, but his true defining role was Chunk

03:57in the 1985 classic The Goonies.

04:00He discovered his passion for work behind the scenes shortly afterwards, using his previous

04:04connections to transition into entertainment law.

04:13He quickly became a notable name, opening his own firm not long after obtaining his

04:17degree.

04:18Cohen's retirement from performing doesn't mean he's lost touch with his old castmates.

04:21He even negotiated the deal for K-Huey Kwan for Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, helping

04:26him secure a successful comeback, The Goonies still gotta stick together.

04:39Jeanette McCurdy

04:40Unfortunately, not every child star has a positive experience on set.

04:53From the constant pressure from adults and long working hours, Nickelodeon star Jeanette

04:57McCurdy has gone on to advocate for herself in adulthood.

04:59While her character in iCarly was carefree, she was suffering behind the scenes.

05:14She began to pull back as she reached adulthood, and ultimately retired in 2018.

05:18McCurdy put her focus into writing, starting out with online articles.

05:21She published her heartbreaking memoir in 2022, detailing the horrific effects of fame

05:25on her health and relationship with her mother.

05:27Following her book's success, she landed a contract with a Penguin Random House subsidiary,

05:32so hopefully we'll be seeing more of her writing soon.

05:40Mara Wilson

05:50Even childhood icons can grow weary of the spotlight.

05:53Mara Wilson's work in Mrs. Doubtfire introduced her to the world, but it was her work as the

05:57precocious titular character in Matilda that secured her status as one of Hollywood's

06:01rising stars.

06:02While it was clear she had the talent to continue acting into maturity, she slowly withdrew from

06:05fame as she grew older.

06:20In recent years, she's expressed her disillusionment of the industry, from calling out the lack

06:24of creative freedom, to writing about how adolescent stardom can have permanent consequences

06:28in adulthood.

06:29While she still sometimes appears in small roles, it's clear her days on the silver

06:32screen are over, and she appears to be much happier for it.

06:47Jonathan Taylor Thomas

06:53In the 1990s, Jonathan Taylor Thomas had the world in the palm of his hand.

06:58After becoming a mainstay on the sitcom Home Improvement and voicing Simba in The Lion

07:02King, he wasn't just accomplished, he was practically a cultural phenomenon.

07:15Thomas was primed for a lucrative career in the industry until his sudden and genuinely

07:19shocking retirement in 2005.

07:21Had he continued acting, he could have become one of the biggest stars of his generation.

07:25Instead, he focused on his education before slipping away from the public eye.

07:29Besides a few chance sightings, he remains elusive to this day, and is hopefully still

07:32enjoying the fruits of his previous labor.

07:48Angus T. Jones

08:02Growing up in the public eye is never easy, even if you're television's highest-paid

08:06actor.

08:07At age 10, Angus T. Jones secured a main role in the long-running sitcom Two and a Half

08:11Men, which catapulted him to fame.

08:13He proved to be a solid scene partner despite his age, showing off his comedic chops.

08:25But while the show was still running, he became serious about his religious beliefs.

08:29This led to him not just announcing the sitcom, but quitting entirely in 2014.

08:33It seemed he had written off entertainment entirely, but he returned to TV in 2023, reuniting

08:37with past on-screen uncle Charlie Sheen on Chuck Lorre's Bookie.

08:52Peter Ostrom

09:01Some people just know how to go out on top.

09:03As a kid participating in community theater, Peter Ostrom was selected for the lead in

09:07one of the most beloved musicals of the 70s.

09:10His performance as Charlie in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was well-received,

09:14and led to him being offered a multi-film contract as a teenager.

09:19Shockingly, he turned it down, and even distanced himself from his defining role.

09:28He kept his head down and found a passion for veterinary work instead, earning his degree

09:32in 1984 and working until 2023.

09:35His time on the big screen is now a distant memory and a collection of funny stories,

09:39and he seems to be perfectly content with that.

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10:07Shirley Temple

10:17She wasn't just a child actor, she was a national sensation.

10:21First put in front of a camera at three, Shirley Temple went on to spend her entire youth performing.

10:26She quickly became a sought-after star, appearing in several projects every year throughout

10:29the 1930s.

10:38After her on-screen career began to wane in adulthood, she officially left the limelight

10:42in 1950.

10:43She returned to the public eye over a decade later with goals of succeeding in politics.

10:47After an unsuccessful run for Congress in the late 60s, she ended up becoming a U.S.

10:51Ambassador for Ghana and Czechoslovakia.

10:54She never returned to entertainment before passing away in 2014, but she still remains

10:58one of the industry's biggest icons.

11:07Which former child actor do you think has the most normal life now?

11:10Let us know in the comments!

11:40For more information visit www.FEMA.gov

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