20 Child Stars Who Ended Up With Surprisingly Normal Jobs As Adults

Mara Wilson

Mara Wilson was one of the biggest child stars of the 1990s, starring in Mrs. Doubtfire, Miracle on 34th Street, and Matilda. After her mother’s passing, she sought more creative freedom and stepped away from acting. She has since built a successful career as a writer, author, podcaster, and mental health advocate.

Lisa and Louise Burns

Fans of The Shining definitely remember the iconic duo who invited Danny to play...you know, the Grady twins, played by Lisa and Louise Burns. That was their only role in Hollywood. The twins went their separate ways: Lisa became a lawyer after studying literature, while Louise is now a microbiologist.

Ross Bagley

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air primarily focused on Will Smith, but Ross Bagley gained plenty of spotlight as Will’s youngest cousin. He also played Buckwheat in The Little Rascals. A resident of Los Angeles, Bagley is now a prominent real estate agent and a part-time DJ.

Kay Panabaker

Kay Panabaker was once a famous face on Disney shows like Read It and Weep and Phil of the Future. She still works with Disney, although in a very different role. Panabaker is currently a zookeeper at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. According to her, negative experiences with producers took away her passion for acting, leading her to switch to zoology.

Danny Lloyd

Danny Lloyd became famous for his debut as the psychic child in Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece The Shining. Kubrick famously protected him during filming, telling him he was acting in a “family drama.” Lloyd has been a biology professor in Kentucky since 2004 and made a brief cameo in the 2019 sequel Doctor Sleep.

Angus T. Jones

The famous sitcom Two and a Half Men would be incomplete without the “half,” Jake Harper. Angus T. Jones earned massive fame as a child actor but left the show in 2012 due to clashing personal beliefs. He later started his own business.

Carrie Henn

As a child actor, Carrie Henn had only one Hollywood role as the sole survivor in Aliens. Even though she starred in a blockbuster at a young age, fame never appealed to her. She preferred a quieter life and became a teacher.

Ashlie Brillault

Who would've thought that the mean, sharp-tongued popular girl from Lizzie McGuire would make a complete turnaround in life? After the show ended, Ashlie left Hollywood to focus on education. She attended the University of Denver and is now a criminal defense attorney after earning her law degree.

Danielle Spencer

The 1970s sitcom What’s Happening! featured Danielle Spencer as the wise, sassy younger sister Dee Thomas. While pursuing acting, she was also studying veterinary medicine. Eventually, she changed her career and worked as a veterinarian for decades. Sadly, she passed away at the age of 60.

Michael Oliver

The Problem Child movies would never be the same without Michael Oliver as Junior Healy. His mischievous acting and destructive tendencies gave the movie its flair. However, a salary dispute led him to distance himself from the sequel, never to be seen acting again. He now works in tech support and leads a satisfied life.

Staci Keanan

Staci Keanan made her mark early on, starring in two hit sitcoms, My Two Dads and Step by Step. She now goes by her birth name, Anastasia Sagorsky, and holds a law degree from Southwestern Law School. She works as a Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles County and as an adjunct professor of law.

Barrett Oliver

Barrett Oliver was the protagonist of the only movie he ever did, playing Bastian Balthazar Bux in the beloved 1980s fantasy The NeverEnding Story. He later gave up acting to pursue artistic passions and is now a professional photographer and photography historian, specializing in 19th-century techniques.

Ross Malinger

As a child actor, Malinger played Tom Hanks’s son Jonah in the romantic classic Sleepless in Seattle. Later, he followed in his father’s footsteps and became an automotive dealership salesman and manager in Los Angeles.

Josh Saviano

Josh Saviano played Paul Pfeiffer, the nerdy best friend to Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years. After leaving Hollywood, he attended Yale (not Harvard) and earned a law degree. He became a partner at a law firm and later founded two startup advisory companies, Act Three Advisors and Spotlight Advisory Group, to help artists and entrepreneurs.

Charlie Korsmo

Charlie played Jack Banning, Peter Pan’s son, in Hook, and also appeared as “The Kid” in Dick Tracy. Like several others, Korsmo chose academics over Hollywood. He earned a physics degree from MIT and a law degree from Yale. He is now an esteemed legal scholar and corporate law professor.

Taran Noah Smith

Taran Noah Smith grew up on screen as Mark Taylor in the 1990s sitcom Home Improvement. After the show ended, he became an entrepreneur, notably launching a vegan cheese brand. In 2022, he took on a new role as an integration technician for SpaceX.

Juliana Rose Mauriello

Juliana Rose Mauriello inspired children worldwide as Stephanie in LazyTown. After retiring from the role, she earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and now works as a pediatric occupational therapist in Los Angeles.

David Dorfman

While other child actors earned praise for their cuteness, David Dorfman was busy scaring audiences as Aidan in The Ring. Beyond acting, he was a true academic prodigy — attending UCLA at 13 and Harvard Law by 18. He now has a successful legal career and has held positions in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Peter Ostrum

Peter Ostrum’s only acting role was as Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). Despite being offered a three-film deal, he turned it down after his family purchased a horse, sparking his interest in veterinary science. He earned his doctorate from Cornell University and has had a long, fulfilling career as a large-animal veterinarian in New York.

Jeff Cohen

Jeff Cohen, who played the food-loving Chunk in The Goonies, retired from acting and built a new career using his industry connections. He studied law at Berkeley and UCLA and is now one of Hollywood’s most in-demand entertainment lawyers, running his own firm.