Child Stars, All Grown Up
12 members
Child stardom usually ends one of two ways: fading out or flaming out. This group found a third option. They grew up, kept working, and earned careers that make you forget they ever played the cute kid.
Members (12)
Leonardo DiCaprio
51
Growing Pains at 16, Oscar winner by 41
Jodie Foster
63
Taxi Driver at 14, two-time Oscar winner
Natalie Portman
44
Leon: The Professional at 13
Scarlett Johansson
41
Started at 9 in North
Drew Barrymore
51
E.T. at 7, talk show host by 47
Ryan Gosling
45
The Mickey Mouse Club at 12
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
45
3rd Rock From the Sun at 14
Neil Patrick Harris
52
Doogie Howser at 16, then Barney Stinson
Christina Ricci
46
The Addams Family at 11
Elijah Wood
45
Started acting at 8
Daniel Radcliffe
36
Harry Potter at 11, never stopped working
Emma Watson
36
Hermione Granger at 11
Aftermath
Joseph Gordon-Levitt cast Scarlett Johansson in Don Jon (2013), his directorial debut, reuniting two members of this group on screen.
Christina Ricci returned to the Addams Family universe in Netflix's Wednesday (2022), this time playing the villain.
Daniel Radcliffe won a Tony Award for Merrily We Roll Along in 2024, joining Neil Patrick Harris as a Tony winner from this group.
Emma Watson enrolled in an Oxford MA in creative writing in 2023, stepping back from a film career that started at age 11.
Drew Barrymore launched her own syndicated talk show in 2020, capping a career arc that broke through with E.T. at age 7.