Child actors are thrown into a difficult situation from the outset. Growing up is hard but growing up in front of millions of people is even harder. Even adult celebrities suffer with the invasiveness of fame.
We’ve seen the headlines: arrests, rehab stints, public meltdowns. However, we aren’t always told the full story. There’s a human being behind every tabloid scandal, a person fighting to reclaim their life, their identity, and their future. These five child actors went through utter turmoil and heartache, but many of them clawed their way back to create meaningful lives and careers on their own terms. So, this isn’t just a cautionary tale about childhood fame – it’s a celebration of resilience.
5. Amanda Bynes
Growing up as a straight-A student, Amanda Bynes was as bright as she was determined. Inspired by classic actresses like Bette Midler and Lucille Ball, she soon pursued acting. By the time she was seven, she had been in a string of community plays, earning rave reviews for her starring role in Annie at the Camarillo Youth Center. By 1999, at the age of just 13, she was given her own variety series on Nickelodeon called The Amanda Show. From here, she kept climbing, starring in movies like What a Girl Wants, She’s the Man, Hairspray, and Easy A. However, the latter would be her last brush with acting.
In June 2010, Amanda Bynes announced her retirement from acting. Soon after, the scandals came thick and fast. In March 2012, she was pulled over for talking on her cell phone while driving, and reportedly fled the scene. The following month, she was accused of hit-and-run on the freeway in L.A. After several other driving incidents, her licence was suspended. However, she was later caught driving illegally. In 2014, she was placed under conservatorship and began receiving treatment for her mental health issues. She later disclosed her diagnosis of bipolar disorder and shared that she was on medication to manage her condition. Today, she largely remains out of the public eye and is believed to be prioritizing her mental wellbeing.
4. Drew Barrymore
Joining the cast of what is now considered to be one of the greatest Sci-fi movies ever made, E.T., Drew Barrymore found massive fame at the tender age of six. The next year, she became the youngest ever host of Saturday Night Live. Today, she is widely considered to be one of the finest actors of her generation. But for a while, she slipped off the rails.
Barrymore journeyed through adolescence dealing with substance abuse and going to rehab twice before she turned 14. She has been incredibly candid about her past struggles and is seen as a major success story of child actors who have overcome the struggles of fame. Alongside her acting career, The Drew Barrymore Show stands as the No. 2 syndicated talk show, behind only Live With Kelly and Mark. She is highly-praised for her openness and ability to raise awareness for substance abuse to this day.
3. Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan‘s rise to fame is one of the most rapid of examples among child actors. In the late 90s and early 2000s, she appeared to be everywhere, sharing the screen with prestigious thespians like Jamie Lee Curtis, Dennis Quaid, and Natasha Richardson. She reached peak fame with Mean Girls in 2004. But it was all about to crumble.
Lohan’s troubles began in the mid 2000s when she was caught driving under the influence. From here, a downward spiral wrecked her public image and made her unhireable. Even when she was cast in Paul Schrader‘s The Canyons, she was reportedly only paid $100 a day and would turn up late and refuse to participate in table reads. Her descent continued until she spent over 250 days in a rehabilitation facility. Recently, she is believed to be sober and she has been making a steady comeback, landing a three-movie deal with Netflix in 2022.
2. Macaulay Culkin
As far as child actors go, you couldn’t get more popular than Macaulay Culkin in the early 90s. After becoming an overnight sensation with Home Alone, he went on to make 14 movies in six years, becoming the highest-paid child actor with his $5 million Home Alone 2 pay check. However, he was feeling burnt out from constantly working and from his father’s intense demands.
In his teenage years, Culkin began to suffer with substance abuse issues. Also, his relationship with his father had reached a toxic level. Culkin eventually reported his father to the police for assault and subsequently cut ties with him both personally and professionally. During adulthood, he kept himself out of the limelight for the most part. However, in 2025, he began to make a comeback – lending his voice to Zootropolis 2 and starring in an episode of Prime Video’s Fallout.
1. Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. grew up in an extremely creative environment; his father was an underground filmmaker and his mother was an actress. At just five years old, Downey made his on-screen debut in his father’s film, Pound. From here, he caught the acting bug and was nominated for an Oscar by the time he was 27 for his leading role in Chaplin. But dark days were on the horizon.
In 1999, the Oscar-nominee pleaded with a California judge to send him back to drug rehabilitation rather than prison. However, he had already gone through six rehab programs and breached probation three times. As a result, he was sentenced to three years in prison. His ray of hope came from Mel Gibson, who paid his insurance bond so he could star in The Singing Detective. Downey has been on the straight and narrow ever since, and has even returned the favor to Gibson by sticking by him through his own scandals. In 2024, Downey won his first ever Oscar for his supporting role in Oppenheimer.
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