When you watch a television series regularly, you probably feel like you get to know the main characters. Regardless of whether your favorite series is a sitcom or a soap opera, the characters that feature in such shows are created so that viewers can feel a connection with them and relate to the events of their lives. Often, there are child actors playing some of the lead roles in these television series. If they are in the series for a long period of time, they will transition from childhood into their teens and sometimes even into adulthood. When a child actor plays a role for a significant period, viewers feel like they have seen the character growing up. Here are 20 of the best-known characters you probably watched growing up on TV. Keep in mind this list is in no particular order.
20. Blossom Russo
‘Blossom’ was a sitcom that aired on NBC for five seasons between 1990 and 1995. It is about Blossom Russo who is a teenager who lives with her father and two elder brothers after her mother has left to pursue her own dreams. The series and its characters were created by Don Reo. Blossom was played by Mayim Bialik, who is now best-known for playing Amy Farrah Fowler-Cooper in the sitcom ‘The Big Bang Theory’.
19. Randy Taylor
Viewers of ‘Home Improvement’ got to see Randy Taylor growing up with the rest of the Taylor family in a series that focused on their home life and featured a section called ‘Tool Time’ which was Tim Taylor’s home improvement show. The series was aired on ABC from 1991 to 1999. Randy Taylor was the middle of three sons and was played by Jonathan Taylor Thomas. He was one of the main cast members from the series launch until the end of season three and then was a guest cast member for the remaining five seasons. He appeared in a total of 177 episodes out of 204.
18. Bailey Pickett
Bailey Picket was one of the main cast members of ‘The Suite Life on Deck’ and she was played by Debby Ryan. This character was the roommate of London Tipton, with whom she is also best friends. She has come from a farm in the fictional town of Kettlecorn and pretended to be a boy to get a room on the SS Tipton as she had big dreams. This sitcom was aired on the Disney Channel from 2008 to 2011. It was a spin-off from ‘The Suite Life of Zack & Cody’.
17. The Tanner Sisters
‘Full House’ was created by Jeff Franklin’ and aired on ABC from 1987 to 1995. The series followed three sisters and their dad as they adjust to life following the death of their mother in a tragic car accident. Michelle Tanner was the youngest of the three sisters in the Tanner family in the sitcom ‘Full House’ Unusually, this character was played by two actors at the same time as she was portrayed by twin sister Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. However, producers did not want viewers to know that the character was portrayed by twins, so they credited them as ‘Mary Kate Ashley Olsen’. Stephanie Tanner was the middle of the three sisters in ‘Full House’ and she was played by Jodie Sweetin. She was a witty and sarcastic character whose catchphrase was ‘How rude!’. She was also known for saying ‘hot dog’ and ‘well, pin a rose on your nose’. Jodie Sweetin has continued to have a successful career in the television industry, although she has faced struggles in her personal life relating to drug and alcohol addictions. Donna Jo Margaret ‘D.J. Tanner’ is the oldest of the three Tanner sisters in ‘Full House’. The character is played by Candace Cameron Bure throughout the entire series. She is a practical young lady who takes on a motherly role towards her sisters after their mother’s death. Candace Cameron Bure won awards for her portrayal of D.J. Tanner in ‘Full House’.
16. London Tipton
London Tipton was another of the main characters on ‘The Suite Life on Deck’ and this character was portrayed by Brenda Song. She is a socialite that is intended as a parody of Paris Hilton. London is the daughter of the owner of the hotel chain and SS Tipton. This character was also one of the main cast members of ‘The Suite Life of Zack & Cody’.
15. Kelly and Bud Bundy
Kelly and Bud Bundy are the teenagers in the Bundy family from ‘Married with Children‘. This series was aired for 11 episodes between 1987 and 1997. The series followed the lives of the Bundy family, which also included the father Al Bundy and the mother Peggy Bundy. Christina Applegate portrayed Kelly Bundy while Bud Bundy was played by David Faustino. One of the highlights of this sitcom was the family arguments, especially between Kelly and Bud.
14. Sabrina Spellman
‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’ was a hugely popular series that aired on ABC from 1996 to 2000 and then on The WB from 2000 to 2003. It was about an American teenager who discovers that she has magical powers on her sixteenth birthday. There were seven seasons that consisted of 163 episodes. There were also three television films that were based on this series. The sitcom was based on the Archie Comics series of the same name. The lead character, Sabrina Spellman, was played by Melissa Joan Hart. Others who starred in this sitcom included Caroline Rhea, Beth Broderick, Nate Richert, and Jenna Leigh Green. ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch also inspired a range of video games and merchandise.
13. Carl Gallagher
‘Shameless’ is a comedy-drama series that was adapted from a UK series of the same name that focuses on the lives of the dysfunctional Gallagher family and their neighbors, friends, and extended family. One of the Gallagher children was Carl who was played by Ethan Cutkosky. The series first aired in 2011 and will begin its ninth season in September 2018. During that time, viewers have watched Carl, who is the second youngest in the family, transform from a boy into a young man.
12. Shawn Hunter
Shawn Hunter is one of the lead characters from ‘Boy Meets Girl’ and he was played by Rider Strong. He is the best friend of Corey Matthews, so plays an important part of many of the main storylines throughout the series. Strong reprised this role for ‘Girl Meets World’. He is still an actor and is also known as the voice of Tom Lucitor in ‘Star vs. the Forces of Evil’ and for his role in the 2002 horror film ‘Cabin Fever’.
11. Kelly Kapowski
Kelly Kapowski is one of the lead female characters in ‘Saved by the Bell‘. It was a reboot of the Disney Channel series ‘Good Morning, Miss Bliss’ that aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993. The series follows a group of high school students and their principal. Although this was a sitcom, it often covered serious social issues that were relevant at that time. Kelly Kapowski was portrayed by Tiffani Amber Thiessen. The character was a popular teen who was the captain of various sports teams and the head cheerleader. Kelly is also the main love interest of Zack Morris, one of the other lead characters in this series.
10. Michael Kelso
Michael Kelso was one of the main characters in ‘That ‘70s Show’. Although this show aired on Fox between 1998 and 2006, this period sitcom was based in the time between 1976 and 1979. It was about a group of teenage friends living in a fictional Wisconsin town called Point Place. Michael Kelso was one of this main group of friends and he was played by actor Ashton Kutcher, who has gone on to enjoy a successful career in both film and television. This character is described as the dumb pretty boy of the group. Others who starred in this series included Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Danny Masterson, Laura Prepon, and Wilmer Valderrama.
9. Louis Stevens
Played by Shia LaBouef, Louis Stevens was the main character in a comedy television series called ‘Even Stevens’ that aired on the Disney Channel from 2000 to 2003. It ran for three seasons consisting of a total of 65 episodes. It follows the lives of the Stevens family and the main focus of the comedy situations revolves around the arguments of the two younger siblings, Ren and Louis. The television series was a success and it inspired the 2003 ‘The Even Stevens Movie’, which also acted as the series finale. This series is credited as launching the career of Shia LaBouef who went on to star in films such as ‘Disturbia’, ‘Surf’s Up’, ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’, ‘Fury’, ‘Borg vs. McEnroe’, and the ‘Transformer’ series of movies.
8. Topanga Lawrence
Topanga Lawrence is the lead female character from both ‘Boy Meets World’ and its spin-off ‘Girl Meets World’. This character was the main love interest of Cory Matthews and she was played by Danielle Fisher. The character is named after Topanga in California, which is a hippie hangout. At the beginning of the series, she was considered one of the weird kids but becomes more of a ‘normal’ teenager throughout the series.
7. Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire was the lead character in the live action teen sitcom of the same name that was created by Terri Minsky. The series also had animated sections that depicted an animated version of Lizzie McGuire delivering soliloquies. It was aired on the Disney Channel for 65 episodes between 2001 and 2004. The character was played by Hilary Duff, who has since gone on to enjoy a successful career in the film industry.
6. Zack and Cody Martin
Zach Martin is one half of the twin brother team from ‘The Suite Life of Zack & Cody’ and ‘The Suite Life on Deck’. He was played by Dylan Sprouse. Zack is the more fun-loving, immature, and rebellious of the twins. Although he is not very academically clever, he does graduate before the end of the series. Cody Martin is the other half of the twin duo in both ‘The Suite Life on Deck’ and the ‘Suite Life of Zack & Cody’. He is played by Cole Sprouse who is the real-life twin of Dylan Sprouse. Cody is the more intelligent and sensitive of the twins and he is also the younger of the boys by ten minutes. He dates Bailey Pickett in the series.
5. Zack Morris
Zack Morris was one of the lead characters from television sitcoms that included ‘Good Morning, Miss Bliss’, ‘Saved by the Bell’, and ‘Saved by the Bell: The College Years’. This character was portrayed by Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who was praised for keeping the character the same even though he appeared in three different sitcoms. He first appeared on ‘Good Morning, Miss Bliss’ in 1988 and was last seen in ‘Saved by the Bell: The College Years’, which ran for just one season, in 1994.
4. Miley Stewart
Miley Stewart was the fictional character played by Miley Cyrus in ‘Hannah Montana’. Miley was a normal teenage girl except that she had an alter ego, pop singer Hannah Montana. Miley Cyrus played this television character for the entire series between 2006 and 2011, during which time she grew up a lot. She also played this role in the 2009 film ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie’, which was based on the television series. Miley Cyrus ha continued with her acting career and also established herself as a successful artist in the music industry.
3. Kevin Arnold
Many people considered ‘The Wonder Years’ one of the best television series of the 1980s and 1990s. This was a coming-of-age comedy-drama series that was created by Carol Black and Meal Marlens. It was aired on ABC from 1988 until 1993. Kevin Arnold was the lead character in this series and he was an adolescent boy living in a suburban area. The series was set between 1968 and 1973. The role of Kevin Arnold was played by Fred Savage.
2. Will Smith
‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ was a hit sitcom during the 1990s and was aired between 1990 and 1996. Will Smith had already become a successful rapper during the late 1980s and he was approached by NBC to star in the series as a fictionalized version of himself. He was a teenager who came from a struggling family so he moves to the luxurious neighborhood of Bel-Air to live with his wealthy Aunt and Uncle and their children. Having a different upbringing led to both Will and his extended family having something of a culture shock as a result of living together with many comedy moments arising due to their differences. This was the series that launched Will Smith’s acting career.
1. Cory Matthews
Cory Matthews, full name Cornelius Alexander Matthews, is the lead character in the television series ‘Boy Meets World’ which was aired from 1993 and 2000. He was also the lead character in the spin-off series ‘Girl Meets World’ between 2014 and 2017. His character was portrayed by Ben Savage in both series. This character also made brief appearances in other television series that were created by Michael Jacobs.
Follow Us
