Being a child star comes with early exposure to fame and everything accompanying it. Unchecked, fame and wealth can be too much to handle as a child actor. It is pitiable watching how some of these child stars, with very promising careers, end up behind bars or, in some cases, die prematurely. What is it with Hollywood that causes child stars to spiral off the edge and end up with a record?
Below is a list of some 20 famous kids involved in legal trouble for one reason or another. A couple of them have lost their lives after bouts of drug abuse and occasional legal clashes. Fortunately, there are still one or two who have managed to get their lives back on track and have had successful careers. You will undoubtedly recognize most, if not all, of the names on this list.
1. Lindsay Lohan
This is probably one of the most recognizable names on this list. Lindsay Lohan was the cute little star of The Parent Trap (1998), a remake of the 1961 movie of the same name. Audiences all over the world fell in love with her, not just because she was perfect for the role but also because she seemed to have a natural talent for acting. The movie was Lohan’s breakthrough role, as it opened up more opportunities for lead roles.
At some point in Lohan’s career, she began experimenting with drugs and became an alcohol addict. Ultimately, this affected her work in a major way. It wasn’t long before the young actress started showing up late for shoots or just not showing up. She got fired from a couple of jobs because of this.
Lindsay Lohan also had occasional run-ins with the law. She was arrested for DUI and was sent to rehab on numerous occasions. In her defense, Lohan claimed that she had a difficult life at home and tried to cope with alcohol and substance abuse. An easy prey for the paparazzi, Lohan finally relocated to Dubai in 2016. Lohan got her life back on track, married Bader Shammas on April 3, 2022, and made a comeback to acting with Netflix’s Falling for Christmas.
2. Macaulay Culkin
Almost everyone remembers the mischievous but adorable kid from the Home Alone movies. Just like Lindsay Lohan, Macaulay Culkin began his acting career early and had their careers take off to a great start. Like Lohan, Culkin also took to drugs and hard substance abuse. Although Lohan has been able to maintain some form of visibility in the industry, Culkin has largely remained under the radar, appearing in just a handful of guest appearances and independent films over the years. More recently, he has had a critically acclaimed starring role in the tenth season of American Horror Story.
3. Dustin Diamond
Dustin Diamond is known for playing Samuel ‘Screech’ Powers on Saved by the Bell. At the time he was a cast member in Saved by the Bell, no one would have guessed that Diamond was capable of trying to commit murder, but this is exactly what he did. The child actor was charged and slammed with jail time for stabbing someone.
News of Diamond’s arrest was met with a lot of shock and disbelief by fans of the show. Diamond didn’t seem like that type of person, at least not while the cameras were rolling. It remains unclear what precipitated such action, but it was enough to get him into serious legal trouble that stuck with him for the rest of his life. Sadly, Dustin Diamond passed away on February 1, 2021, after a brief battle with cancer. He was 44 years old.
4. Winona Ryder
Winona Laura Horowitz, known professionally as Winona Ryder, is a familiar face in the movie industry. In the 80s, Ryder was in all kinds of movies. After starring in the movie Heathers (1989), she was in high demand and became one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood. Her success continued into the early 90s; however, she soon became a magnet for trouble.
After several years of experiencing major success in Hollywood, she got arrested for petty theft. She was accused of shoplifting, and the charges ended up being far more serious than just shoplifting. They went on to include things like grand theft and substance abuse. Since then, she has taken the necessary steps to get her life back in order and has managed to find work again, starring in a couple of TV shows and some successful movies. She plays Joyce Byers in Netflix’s science fiction horror drama Stranger Things.
5. Edward Furlong
Led by Hollywood veteran Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was one of the most popular movies of its time. One reason for its success was its outstanding cast, along with some very excellent writing and special effects that were second to none at the time. One of the younger stars of the movie was 13-year-old Edward Furlong in his first breakout performance. Furlong won the hearts of audiences, but it wasn’t long after that he started getting into legal trouble at practically every turn. Ultimately, he was arrested for drug use and accused of beating up his girlfriends numerous times. Furlong has attributed his domestic violence problems as a direct result of his drug dependence.
6. Shia LaBeouf
Shia Labeouf had a promising career as one of Disney’s prolific child actors, starring on various television shows on the Disney Channel. It seemed like everything was in place for him to have an outstanding career as an adult, and to some extent, he has done that. Labeouf has starred in a couple of big-name movies like Disturbia, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, and Transformers and two sequels. He has also been involved in trouble more times than necessary.
Eventually, Shia Labeouf got arrested for getting into a fight with his neighbor. The fight itself wasn’t what got him into trouble, but the possession of a knife which he took next door and threatened his neighbor with. He’s also been arrested several times for possession of marijuana and similar offenses. Although he has appeared in a few other projects, he’s yet to land a role in a major film or television show.
7. Danny Bonaduce
TV audiences from the 70s will remember Danny Bonaduce as the adorable and sometimes annoying kid Danny on The Partridge Family. Despite being one of the cast’s younger members, he had a much bigger part in the show than his older co-stars. Much of it was because he was so precocious. Unfortunately, he started using drugs when the show ended, and his drug abuse problems persisted into adulthood. Today, he is a radio disc jockey who has tried to get clean and sober. He attributes his drug addiction to living in a dysfunctional family and his attempts to deal with it the only way he knew how pushed him to abuse drugs.
8. Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes is another child star that was doing great as a star on the Disney Channel. She had her television show, was well-liked, and seemed to be on her way to bigger and better things in Hollywood. In 2006, Bynes was named one of Teen People’s 25 Hottest Stars Under 25; she was living the dream. But all that came to a halt in 2012 when she was arrested for DUI and other traffic offenses. Recently, she has made a comeback to Hollywood and is attempting to put her career and life back together.
9. Christian Slater
Many people are surprised to learn that Christian Slater has been in legal trouble. He became extremely popular in the late 80s, and his popularity has continued to the present day. Slater still stars in big-budget movies and is considered one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors. For the most part, he has kept a lot of his legal troubles on the down low, but that doesn’t mean they’re non-existent. Slater has been arrested numerous times for sexual misconduct, even being accused of reaching out and groping a woman on the streets of New York City. One notable role Slater played on television was as Mr. Robot in the drama thriller TV show Mr. Robot (2015–2019).
10. Brian Bonsall
Brian Bonsall played the cute little boy on the tremendously popular NBC sitcom Family Ties. At the time, he was probably around six or seven years old and was adorable, so fans of the show naturally fell in love with him. After the show went off the air, most people didn’t hear much from him until he grew up and got arrested for assault. The claim was that he hit his girlfriend. He is more involved in music than acting today, but his legal troubles still seem to follow him around.
11. Jamie Waylett
Jamie Waylett is known for playing Vincent Crabbe in six of the eight Harry Potter movies. While his role wasn’t as demanding as some of the other actors who starred in the franchise, dedicated fans of the Harry Potter film series are very familiar with his work. Waylett has had occasional run-ins with the British police, one time for cocaine use and another time for growing cannabis at his mom’s house. However, fans were most surprised when Waylett was arrested for participating in the London riots in 2012. These were extremely destructive riots and caused damages worth tens of thousands of pounds. Since then, his acting career has taken a major hit, his only film role being that of Vincent Crabbe in Harry Potter. He has retired from acting.
12. Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber started as that adorable young kid with a captivating voice with which he stole the hearts of millions. When he was younger, he usually talked about how he was a faithful Christian and how important it was to do good things and have good manners. This was the image that most people came to identify him with. However, as Bieber grew older, he started getting in trouble for DUI offenses, assaulting a photographer, and some traffic offenses. Justin Bieber continues to make music and is a very influential part of modern pop culture, but he has since fallen into a pattern of getting in trouble or being in the media for some of the wrong things. He is currently married to Hailey Baldwin, daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin.
13. Aaron Carter
Another cute child star who was talented at acting and singing is Aaron Carter, who lived an interesting life for the media. At the start of his career, Carter was beloved by many fans and was considered a heartthrob. His career progressed smoothly through his early teen years, but as he grew into an adult, things started to take a bad turn. Eventually, he was arrested for drugs and somehow found a way to stay in the spotlight with controversies and his romantic involvements with other Hollywood stars. Sadly, a housekeeper found Carter’s body in his bathtub on November 25, 2002. His death was subsequently ruled as an accident. Carter drowned after inhaling difluoroethane and taking alprazolam. He died at 34 years old.
14. Dana Plato
Dana Michelle Plato was the attractive young lady that played Kimberly Drummond on the 80s hit sitcom Diff’rent Strokes. Most people thought of her as a wholesome young woman, but she was struggling with drug addiction even while she was starring on the show. Eventually, her addiction led her to do things she might not have otherwise done. She was arrested for attempted robbery when she walked into a convenience store with a gun and attempted to rob the place. Unfortunately, Plato was never able to get her life together, and in 1999, she died in her sleep from a drug overdose at the age of 34.
15. Lillo Brancato, Jr.
When he was younger, Lillo Brancato, Jr. was a popular star on The Sopranos. Most people thought he had an opportunity to do great things as an actor as his career progressed. Unfortunately, his career and life ended up derailing when he was arrested and charged with attempted burglary in 2009. Brancato was meant to serve a 10-year sentence but was released on parole in 2013. He returned to acting with Back in The Day (2016) and has gone on to star in several supporting movie roles.
16. Skylar Deleon
This is one of the more complicated individuals on this list. Previously known by the name John Jacobson Jr. before transitioning, Skylar DeLeon starred in a small role on The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. After that, everything went completely haywire for Deleon. Eventually, Deleon was convicted of the murder of three people. While on death row, problems persisted for Deleon even in prison. While in prison, the former child actor attempted to alter himself with a razor blade and came out as trans. No one knows if attempting to deal with these issues and not being true to herself when she was younger had anything to do with the murders that eventually occurred. Skylar DeLeon continues to be on death row and has legally become a woman.
17. Manuel Benitez
Manuel Benitez was the illegitimate son of famous bullfighter Manuel ‘El Cordobes’ Benitez. As a child, Benitez was featured in commercials and TV shows. In 1985, he gained some recognition as part of the cast of Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Believe it or not, many people liked this movie, and Benitez became an overnight sensation. However, his success didn’t last long, as he was subsequently charged with the murder of his girlfriend. Manuel Benitez never went to prison for his crime, instead choosing to run from the law. In 2008, at 39, he was finally cornered at a restaurant in El Monte, California, in the company of his 7-year-old son. After a standoff and shootout with the police, Benitez was shot and killed. His son sustained a gunshot to the thigh but survived the ordeal.
18. Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore, the adorable little girl that starred in Steven Spielberg’s ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, had a screen presence that made her a delight to watch. In addition, Barrymore came from a family that had been in show business for decades. Unfortunately, this family also had a decades-long history of substance abuse, and Barrymore herself admitted to smoking before she was 10 years old.
At 11, the young actress had become an alcoholic and, by the age of 13 had started doing cocaine, even attempting suicide a year later. Because of her addiction and suicidal tendencies, Barrymore ended up in rehab twice before she was 15 years old. Fortunately for the child star, she got things under control and has found a way to remain a bankable star in adulthood. Although Barrymore is still active in Hollywood, she dedicates more time to being a mom and caring for her family.
19. Corey Haim
Corey Haim was practically a household name in the 80s. He was considered a heartthrob and, for this, was a highly sought-after actor. Unfortunately, Haim also dealt with a serious drug addiction that had a dramatic and adverse impact on his acting career. He continued trying to make direct-to-video films but could never overcome his addiction. In 2010, Haim died from natural causes, even though it was initially thought to be an accidental drug overdose.
20. Jodie Sweetin
Jodie Sweetin is known for playing the adorable little girl Stephanie Tanner on ABC’s Full House. It’s almost unthinkable, but not all that surprising, that sweet innocent Sweetin could fall into the same pattern of drug addiction as so many other child stars. By her admission, she had started experimenting with drugs and alcohol because she couldn’t think of anything better to do, which is troubling enough. Eventually, Sweetin’s addictions led to problems in her personal life and marriages. Jodie Sweetin has put herself back on the straight-and-narrow and has made several TV appearances.
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