In the 1990s, Mara Wilson was one of Hollywood’s most popular child stars. Her credits included Mrs. Doubtfire, Matilda, and she seemed ready for a long career. But as soon as she became a teenager, Wilson quit acting as she had seen the effects of being a child star can have on people. Turning famous sounds good, but there are downsides when it happens too fast— often at an age when the person just can’t handle it all.
It’s not just child stars either. Even adults who struggled for years find themselves thrust to a level of stardom that makes them a household name. They just can’t handle it, often turning to various ways to blow off steam and it leads to some sad antics. A few celebrities are able to recover and live better lives, but far too many meet sadder ends.
20 Miley Cyrus
At just 14, Miley Cyrus was selling out arenas and landing magazine covers thanks to her starring role as Hannah Montana. This included a Vanity Fair spread that was controversial for showing too much shoulder. That’s almost hysterical considering how Cyrus has been showing off so much more nowadays, from red carpets to social media. It looked like she was acting up with her crazy behavior online as if to make up for a lost childhood. She still gets attention for the wrong reasons as Cyrus clearly was too young to handle being a mega-star.
19 Dave Chappelle
With his wild stand up comedy and great sense of humor, Dave Chappelle was rising up fast in the late 1990s. In 2003, he burst into huge fame thanks to his hit series Chappelle’s Show. Suddenly, everyone was quoting his lines and Chapelle was being pushed to extend his stardom. Chapelle became troubled at how audiences were laughing at the wrong things on his show and was concerned he was just pushing stereotypes. He soon walked out on the show which led to a full-scale nervous breakdown. It took years for Chapelle to return to comedy.
18 Dana Plato
Today, Different Strokes is less known for being a long-running hit comedy and more for the sad fates of its cast. Dana Plato was probably the worst of the entire bunch. Her role as Kimberly made her a big star, but behind the scenes Plato was a mess indulging in substance abuse and partying. She was let go from the show after becoming pregnant and her later career was a disaster. She got divorced, her accountant stole her money, and she was arrested for armed robbery. She passed in 1999 at just 34.
17 Britney Spears
The 1989 revival of The Mickey Mouse Club had quite a few future famous faces, like Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake, as Mousketeers. Britney Spears had been featured, but it wasn’t until 1999 that she exploded into mega-stardom thanks to her hit songs and stunning beauty.
In just a year, Spears was one of the biggest musical stars on the planet, hounded constantly by the paparazzi and scrutinized non-stop. That no doubt led to her epic 2007 breakdown and while she’s mostly recovered today, Spears clearly suffered being shoved into the spotlight like that.
16 Jodie Sweetin
The Pop show Hollywood Darlings had Jodie Sweetin, Beverly Mitchell, and Christine Lakin playing exaggerated versions of themselves handling the lives of former child stars. A recurring bit features Sweetin making jokes on her infamous past— “there are entire years I don’t remember.” This references how Sweetin had been only five when she landed the role of Stephanie on Full House. In her biography, Sweetin stated growing up on television got to her and she started drinking when the series ended before moving onto harder stuff. Thankfully, Sweetin is cleaned up now and is starring on Fuller House.
15 Taylor Momsen
Taylor Momsen got her big break as Cindy Loo Who in the 2000 How The Grinch Stole Christmas. In 2007, she got more attention as Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl. She seemed to be doing well for a bit, but it turned out the pressures of stardom were getting to her. Momsen has stated she never even wanted to be an actress and it was her parents pushing her into it. By 17, she was burnt out. Her behavior on set was so bad that her character was written out. Momsen has now moved on to a wild musical career as acting was never for her in the first place.
14 Coreys Haim & Feldman
“The Two Coreys” are forever linked together. Corey Haim and Corey Feldman were already good friends when they ended up becoming Hollywood stars in the 1980s thanks to The Lost Boys, License to Drive, and other films. They also became friends in the Hollywood party scene, which soon led them to antics that are still talked about today. The duo’s friendship never wavered and they even starred in a reality TV show noting how becoming teen stars basically ruined them. Haim passed in 2010 and Feldman still talks with sadness over losing his best friend to the pressures of fame.
13 Justin Bieber
It’s pretty obvious how much of Justin Bieber’s attitude was due to his youth when he became a star. Barely 15 when he exploded as a singing sensation, Bieber’s good looks made him a teen heartthrob and he was headlining major concert tours. His attempts to look more grown up soon became laughable with some nutty antics that later turned into some serious legal problems. Today, Bieber bounces between hit albums and being a laughingstock for his outrageous behavior.
12 Gary Coleman
Different Strokes was a huge hit for NBC as soon as it debuted in 1982. Gary Coleman played Arnold, whose fun humor and “whatchu talkin’ about?” catchphrase made him a young star. Sadly, like his co-stars, Coleman felt the dark side of fame, not helped by how he was forever trapped at four-foot-eight in height. When the show ended, Coleman had trouble finding more work and was soon engaged in legal messes that included bankruptcy and various substance abuse problems. He had to coast on his past fame for TV cameos and when he passed in 2010, many noted how tragic his life was.
11 Drew Barrymore
Thankfully, she stands as a terrific comeback story, but it was touch and go for a bit. Drew Barrymore became an instant favorite for moviegoers thanks to her roles in E.T. and Firestarter. Sadly, Drew had inherited the Barrymores' tendency to overindulge in substances and was soon known for partying hard at way too young an age. She had to hit rock bottom before finally getting herself together. Today, Barrymore is very respected in Hollywood.
10 Megan Fox
While she’d had a few roles in small movies and TV shows, Megan Fox became a hit with her turn in Transformers. She was soon gracing the covers of magazines and showcasing a very hot body that had some comparing her to a young Angelina Jolie. But her infamous fallout with Michael Bay affected Fox as her other movie roles included bombs like Jonah Hex and Jennifer’s Body, which led her to a full breakdown. Fox is pretty much out of acting today and claims to be happier free of the mess Hollywood can be.
9 Tatum O’Neal
Winning an Oscar should be the greatest moment of an actor’s life. For Tatum O’Neal, it was a curse. She was only 10 when she won a Best Supporting Actress award for Paper Moon and is still the youngest Oscar winner ever. The pressures of winning at such a young age drove O’Neal into decades of substance abuse that made her persona non grata for Hollywood studios. Toss in some arrests and various other problems, and O’Neal has openly said that her life would have been a lot different if she hadn’t won that gold statue.
8 Amy Winehouse
“The 27 Club” is one no one in music wants to belong to. It’s that group of artists who never lived past 27. Amy Winehouse is the latest member and may be the most tragic of the bunch. She was a huge breakout with her hit “Rehab” and stood out with her lush voice, huge black hair, and smoky eyes. While talented, Winehouse was clearly a very troubled woman and the sudden rush of fame just made it worse.
7 Rebecca Black
You Tube can be fun, but there is a downside to achieving “viral fame.” Rebecca Black discovered that in 2011 when her song “Friday” began making the rounds. It was quickly labeled “the worst song ever made.” Somehow, this bizarre hate made it a huge hit and Black was being courted by actual record companies.
Black has spoken in interviews of how overwhelmed she was, which affected her mentally as she felt the need to “change [herself] for others.”
6 Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment only had a few minor TV roles when he was chosen as the lead in The Sixth Sense. His fantastic performance earned him an Oscar nomination at only 11. Sadly, his follow-up film, Pay It Forward, was a critically-reviled flop and A.I. wasn’t much better. Film roles dried up as he grew up and an arrest for an accident didn’t help matters either. He’s had a few TV roles such as Silicon Valley, but it appears his early success was too much for Osment to overcome.
5 Lindsay Lohan
It’s hard to find another case of a young actress who couldn’t handle fame like this. Lindsay Lohan became a star with The Parent Trap and rose up fast with other movies like Mean Girls. She looked beautiful and seemed ready to embark on a big career. There had been talk of her having an ego yet it was still jarring when Lohan fell into a severe downward spiral. Within a few years, she’d gone from an A-list talent to a tabloid joke still known for her bad behavior.
4 Macaulay Culkin
In 1990, Home Alone shocked the entire movie industry. This low-budget comedy made nearly $500 million, which was an unheard of sum back then. It also made Macaulay Culkin an instant multi-millionaire star and a highly in demand actor. For a time, he seemed okay, but after a series of flops, Culkin’s star power in Hollywood faded.
It didn’t help that he had a rough family life and has had numerous legal issues that soon turned him into a tabloid favorite. Culkin has recovered today with his own website yet acknowledges he just couldn’t handle such massive stardom at only 10 years old.
3 Demi Lovato
As a young teenager, Demi Lovato was a rising star for the Disney Channel with her own sitcom, original movies, and a major concert tour. But Lovato was having serious issues handling the pressure of fame, leading to substance abuse. She checked herself into rehab in 2008 and spent a long time in treatment. She emerged stronger as a singer and looked to be doing great only to worsen in 2018. Lovato has stated on social media how “every day is a struggle” as handling the rushes of fame sent her to a dark place.
2 MC Hammer
Back in 1990, “U Can’t Touch This” was all over every radio station. Even non-rap fans enjoyed M.C. Hammer for his wild style, goofy dancing and crazy huge pants (which even inspired the outfit for the title character in Aladdin). Hammer was living the high life big time with a mansion and a fleet of cars. That bit him hard as his follow-up albums failed to work and soon bankruptcy came calling. Before anyone knew it, no one in the music industry wanted to touch Hammer at all.
1 Amanda Bynes
It looked like Amanda Bynes would escape the child star curse. She was a lovely comedian with her own Nick show and sitcom, What I Like About You. She had scores of hit movies like Hairspray, Easy A, and seemed put together. In the course of just a few weeks in 2011, Bynes transformed into a train wreck that would make Lindsay Lohan blush. Aside from some arrests, she was checked into a psych ward for her behaviors. Something caused Bynes to snap under the pressure.
Sources: Eonline.com, usweekly.com, ranker.com
