Pollyanna (1960), with Hayley Mills
vs.
Polly (1989), with Keshia Knight-Pulliam

( Read more... )

The 1985 film Return to Oz has always been one of my very favorite child-actress movies. I hate to pick just one film as "the best," but if I had to, Return to Oz would probably be it. At age 9, Fairuza Balk played a large leading role as Dorothy Gale, and this is an excerpt from her interview from the 1999 VHS rerelease. (Fairuza was about 25 at ( Read more... )

Over 40 current and former kid actors turned out for the first annual Guiding Star Gala, an event to benefit Minor Consideration, a group that offers guidance and support to young performers all over the world. The event was held Sunday, August 30, at Lucky Strive Live, a Hollywood venue. The event drew many former child actors from TV and film, ( Read more... )

As a child actress in the '80s, Jenny Lewis did it all: commercials, movies, and TV guest spots on some of the most popular shows of the day, including Baywatch and Roseanne. Since then, she's successfully transitioned into a second career as an indie musician, arguably better than any other kid actor who's gone into music as an adult. It's ( Read more... )

Often it takes a lot of courage for victims of child abuse to talk about it. It probably takes even more courage if you're a former child star, and going public with the abuse that you suffered will make national news. Former Australian child actress Sarah Monahan was sexually abused by a costar from 1987-1994, and she spoke out about it for the ( Read more... )

Raise your hand if you remember Punky Brewster, the adorably freckled star of the sitcom that went by the same name. In case you haven't been keeping tabs on the actress behind the pigtails, Soleil Moon Frye is now 35, an entrepreneur, author, and mom of two young girls. More than two decades after her 80's fame, Soleil is a happy, well-adjusted ( Read more... )

Corey Haim, the former teen idol of the '80s, died on March 10, 2010, at age 38, of an apparent accidental drug overdose. As the news spread, many of Haim's fellow former child stars took to Twitter to express their condolences.

• From Alyssa Milano, another teen idol of the '80s, who briefly dated Haim: "Just woke up to the sad, sad news that Corey ( Read more... )

It's been 27 years since Aileen Quinn played orphan Annie on screen but the classic musical is still a big part of her life. The former child star now teaches at the university where much of it was filmed.

Aileen was just ten when she sang and danced her way into Daddy Warbucks's and America's hearts as the title character in Annie (1982). Despite ( Read more... )

An extract from an interview with Fergie, where she remembers her career as a child star on the ‘80s sitcom Kids Incorporated and reveals how hard she crashed during her young adulthood. Her experience is a good insight into why so many former child stars have drug and alcohol problems later.

( “When you’re a child professional, you have to be, well, professional. You’re taught not to have tantrums, to always people-please. It’s making that change, expected to do everything right, to adulthood, when you’re going to have your rebellion phase.” )

Film: Poltergeist (1982). Young Actress: Heather O'Rourke.

Compared with most child stars, Heather O'Rourke had a fairly small career: only three movies (Poltergeist, her first, and its two sequels) and a handful of TV movies and guest apperances. But despite her few memorable roles, you no doubt know exactly who she is. While she achieved some fame ( Read more... )