Popular Hollywood Child Stars We Used to Adore – Find Out Who Grew Up To Be A Huge Success

There’s no doubt we’ve had our fair share of child stars we adored during our childhood days. They became our inspiration to be the best in terms of academics, sports, or whatever we’re passionate to do. We try to mimic their mannerisms, and insights about life in order to follodw their footprints and become like them. But before you decide on following their shadows, you need to read these mind-numbing and never-before-heard revelations we’ve obtained from reliable insiders. This juicy information will uncover who among your favorite child stars have fallen into the pits of drug abuse, and major mental disorders such as Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, alcoholism, rehab treatments, and much more. Keep on reading to know whose child stars retained the limelight of their glory and those who do not.

Selena Gomez

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Many of us may have known Selena with her on and off relationship with Justin Bieber, but she actually already had her fair share of accomplishments in the showbiz industry. She reached the limelight of her glory when she starred in a hit Disney Channel series entitled Wizard of Waverly Place.

Her success opened up vast opportunities in film, tv shows, and music collaborations. Not only that, but she even started her own production company called Moon productions in 2008. Currently, her commitment lies on producing 13 Reasons Why on Netflix. She’s heavily invested in her acting career, singing, and fashion designing.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

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Jonathan Taylor Thomas, also known as JTT, had captivated all the teenage girl’s hearts since 1990’s. His notable roles were among the following: a mischievous child on The Brady’s and In Living Color, Randy Taylor in the long-time running series Home Improvement. And who would forget his smooth, silky, yet husky voice of Simba in the animated series Lion King? In fact, his debut as a voice actor in the Lion King had paved his way on the big screen career as he starred in Man of the House and Tom and Huck.

His huge success in the movie and film industry had earned him with an astounding net worth of $15 million! That’s why it wasn’t much of a surprise to find him taking some breaks from Hollywood acting to pursue his Bachelor’s degree in Art and History at Columbia University. Recently, he starred in various television shows such as 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter and Last Man Standing.

Amanda Bynes

Amanda’s career rose to prominence as she took participation on a hit Nickelodeon series entitled The Amanda Show. Ever since then, she’s been enjoying the limelight of her career glory as she starred in famous films such as Big Fat Liar and What I Like About You. She must’ve gotten bored with her routine that she decided to spice things up by retiring from acting last 2012. But suffice to say, it didn’t work out for her as her life went into a downright spiral and she loses control of it.

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For one, she’s been caught by the authorities with drug possessions on multiple occasions. Reports say that the claims about her substance abuse were indeed true. In fact, they said that she had spent around $1.4m in just a matter of months. It seems she developed a Panic Disorder and that she’s extremely paranoid of being watched. Her panic attacks were so severe that she ended up taping her windows shut in just to stop the lenses from taking her photos. Looks like our beloved child star would need to seek medical help and use Zoloft or Xanax to help alleviate her anxiety and depression.

Now, though, Bynes was found slowly regaining her footing once again. Lately, she’s pursuing a career in fashion designing. But for her to be successful in this field, we think she needs to gather her guts to face the camera as the public criticize her every move and her clothes!

Jaleel White

“When one door closes, another one opens.” – Alexander Graham Bell.

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It seems Jaleel White was one of the living proof of the great Alexander’s quote above. You see, Jaleel was supposed to play as Rudy Huxtable for the film The Cosby Show. But the management made a last-minute decision and gave the role to Keshia Knight Pulliam. We bet Jaleel must’ve felt discouraged and demotivated to hear this news. But, hey! Everything indeed happens for a reason!

Why? It’s because not long enough, he was given a big break when he cast the role of the annoying, nerdy Steve Urkel on Family Matters. And boy his career made a giant leap since then! In fact, his one-time guest role turned into one of White’s lifetime performance. No one could ever forget his notable line:

“Oops! Did I do that?”

He’d definitely caught the audience’s sympathy and hearts with his outstanding performance! Talk about a big, big, blessing in disguise!

However, his success on playing as Steve Urkel also turned out to become a bitter-sweet one. Despite his outstanding performance in acting and having a UCLA Film diploma, he had a hard time landing roles and contract in Hollywood. He’d only managed to get minor roles on tv shows like Boston Legal and House and Dreamgirls. But, who knows? He might get another breaking role again. Just hang in there, Jaleel! Don’t lose hope!

Jason J. Richter

Unlike the other child stars, Jason has actually a pretty interesting background when he started his acting career. He was discovered by a Japanese casting agency when he was still young and they hired him for several commercials. His parents saw a great potential for his acting career, so they decided to move to LA to further Jason’s career. It seemed this strategic move worked in their favor. Jason’s career skyrocketed when he was cast as Jesse in 1993 hit Free Willy. His success gave way to continue his character all throughout the trilogy. His other prominent roles are Jesse in the 1993 hit Free Willy.

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But, like the other child stars, he also took some time off the show business to pursue a college degree. After he got his BA, he went back to Hollywood films such as Bones and Criminal Minds last 2009. Ever since then, he’s been seen on and off in Hollywood films. But for those who know him better, he actually prefers off-screen participating such as becoming a director and assistant producer.

Brandon “Bug” Hall

Brandon Hall grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and was known for his nickname “bug” in the family. Turns out his nickname was some sort of a premonition as he became famous for his role as Alfalfa Switzer in the film Our Gang based on the adaptation of The Little Rascals. His prominent role had earned him the Young Artist Award. His success allowed him to land on other renowned roles in hit films: The Big Green, The Stupids, and Honey.

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But it seems that like Jaleel, he also struggles with landing leading roles and acting projects. The good thing about Brandon, though, was that he didn’t let his career go into a total halt. He still keeps on trying to land a good contract. And suffice to say, his efforts clearly paid off! His appearance on Tv shows like CSI, 90210 and Criminal Minds made it possible for him to gain an impressive international and social media fanbase. Most fans were also shocked to see him with a long beard along with his tweet “I’m like a teenage girl…with a freak in SICK beard, yo!” Seems like Bran is not a young child anymore!

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