Child Stars Gone Good
By Corey Podell
The new dramatic film "Brothers" opens next weekend in theaters and already has quite the buzz going. Natalie Portman stars as a widowed, then not widowed, then love-triangled young mother,and her perforance has critics ablaze with awards talk. We're hoping this is Natalie's year: having led the charge of former child actors who steered clear of rehab, tabloid covers, and movies of the week, Natalie is our anti-Lohan.
Click through to see our picks of the most shockingly stable, well-adjusted child stars-turned-grown-ups.
Before Natalie Portman sauntered the red carpets of Hollywood, she was known as Natalie Hershlag of Long Island by way of Jerusalem. The Israeli-born actress, quickly made a big splash in American cinema, landing roles in "Heat," "Mars Attacks," and "The Professional" before reaching official stardom as Padme Amidala in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy.
But unlike many of her young Hollywood peers, Portman has managed to retain a squeaky clean image. "I'd rather be smart than a movie star," Portman admits. And that mantra has been key to what has kept Portman's career rolling, and has even allowed her to hang a Harvard psychology degree on the wall of her trailer. So what can you say about someone who has succeeded in everything they've tried? Mazel Tov! We're not jealous. Nope, not at all.
Sure, Drew Barrymore's been in the headlines for attending two stints in rehab before the age of 13, flashing Dave Letterman on-air, and marrying Tom Green. But we can all agree that Ms. Barrymore has solidified herself in the GOOD category over the past decade, having starred in morethan fifteen hit films and building an enterprise of girl power-dom.
Drew made her directorial debut in this year's "Whip It," AND gave $1 million to charity live on "Oprah" (where else?). No one will ever forget her as the adorable Gertie from Steven Spielberg's "E.T.," and as she parlays herself into producing and directing, maybe she'll help guide other young starlets down the right path of the good (lookin' at you, Ali Lohan).
When you start your career as a child prodigy doctor who delivers babies in shopping malls, gets 1600 on the SAT and types at nearly 70 words-per-minute, it seems impossible to top.
But the pride of New Mexico, Neil Patrick Harris, has come a long way from playing Doogie Howser M.D., and has become not just a successful Broadway and sitcom star as an adult, but also a role model for openly gay actors everywhere. His success as Barney on the hit CBS show "How I Met Your Mother" proves to aspiring gay actors that if you work hard enough, you too could be network television's most hilarious womanizer.
It all began for Kristen Stewart at the age of 8, when she was discovered in her elementary school's Christmas play. From there, it was on like Donkey Kong for Stewart who has been in 19 films since 1999, most recently playing Bella Swan in this little indie flick called "Twilight" (heard of it?).
Much like Portman, Stewart has an interest in education and perhaps that's why she's maintained a relatively clean image. "I want to go college for literature. I want to be a writer. I mean, I love what I do, but it's not all I want to do – be a professional liar for the rest of my life." And while it's too bad she had to lose all that street cred with her role in "Zathura," the fact that she's Robert Pattinson's (presumable) main lady speaks volumes.
Known for playing devilish Georgina Sparks on "Gossip Girl," hottie Michelle Trachtenberg (who now has a starring role as a young nurse on NBC's hit hospital drama "Mercy") brought to life some of our favorite sassy little girls. Think Penny from "Inspector Gadget" and Harriet, from Harriet the Spy.
Michelle was even nominated for a Daytime Emmy for "Truth or Scare," and we all know how little kids who are up for big awards turn out (looking at you Tatum O'Neil). Maybe Michelle's mentor/friend/"Buffy" co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar helped keep her on the straight and narrow, or maybe it was her other goody-goody classmates at Notre Dame Academy High School like Katharine McPhee and Rachel Bilson. Either way, we're glad Michelle hasn't left us for rehab yet and we're hoping she stays around for a while.
The blond bombshell Hayden Panettiere first stole scenes as a little charmer in films like Disney's "Remember the Titans." However, just like our friend Michelle Trachtenberg, Hayden was burning up daytime TV as a child soap actor with roles on "Guiding Light" and "One Life to Live" well before that.
Instead of fading away into soap opera no-man's-land, Hayden landed the role of Claire Bennet on the massive hit show "Heroes," and has been strutting her petite tanned legs down red carpets ever since. And while she has put college off in favor of her acting career, Hayden's growing list of accomplishments include saving whales, a romance with a co-star, and endorsing Obama in the 2008 election. You're welcome, Barack!
Before he donned hobbit feet, Elijah Wood was a prepubescent teen heartthrob heading down a path that usually doesn't end well. (Just ask Corey Haim.) But Wood somehow managed to keep his career alive during those awkward years and still maintained that adorable little punim that '90s middle schoolers couldn't get enough of.
Fast forward a decade and Wood hit the jackpot by landing the role of Frodo in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The secret to Wood's success seems to be the motto, "Slow and steady wins the race." Working consistently has kept Wood out of trouble and out of debt. But seriously, people, can you imagine how adorable an Elijah Wood mug shot would be? Too cute.
While it may be too soon to really know how things will turn out for Dakota Fanning, all signs point to perfection. She's having a great year with her recent casting in the "Twilight" saga, which is actually small potatoes compared with her real life homecoming princess crowning at her high school.
Having virtually skipped the awkward phase of her life, Fanning went straight from adorable blond child to gorgeous blond teen. When some of your first roles are opposite Sean Penn and Tom Cruise, there's barely room to go anywhere but down, but somehow Dakota has managed to avoid DUIs and shaving her head like other young people we know. Maybe her friends on her high school cheerleading squad help keep her grounded. The fact remains: Who really needs an Oscar when you have a homecoming crown?
It doesn't floor us that Ashley Olsen is a mega-millionaire and CEO of a global merchandising empire or that she designs two successful fashion lines. It also doesn't really surprise us that she's dating adorable Justin Bartha. What we are surprised about, however, is her careful avoidance of the spotlight her twin sister Mary-Kate took up with a stint in an eating disorders clinic, odd fashion choices, and links to Heath Ledger when he died.
At age 23, Ashley has already had video games and dolls made in her likeness, written a book and nets around $100 million a year. Sis Mary-Kate asked the media a few years back to stop referring to them as "the Olsen twins" and refer to them by their individual names. Hmm, maybe now MK wants to reconsider that statement; we for one, would love to be known as Ashley's twin.
Poor Emma Watson. Coming onto the scene right in the middle of her awkward years with pictures to prove it. Being cast as Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" movie series has provided her with steady work for the past decade, put Emma on the map, and banked her some serious dough. All right, not feeling so bad for her anymore.
Now a freshman at Brown University, Watson claims she wants to be just like every other coed, saying, "I want to do it properly, like everyone else. As long as I don't walk in and see 'Harry Potter' posters everywhere I'll be fine." Good news for Emma is that those awkward years seemed to come and go in a blink of an eye: Miss Watson is superhot, fashionable, and an icon to kids (and grown-up kids) everywhere.
We all know how things turned out for most '80s child sitcom stars: They either went to rehab or became born-again-something-or-other. Alyssa Milano, however, has avoided both of these paths by steady work that may not have won her any Oscars (think "Poison Ivy II" and "Long Island Lolita") but sure kept her busy enough to stay out of the tabloids.
Milano's run on "Who's the Boss" transitioned into an even longer run on the hit series "Charmed," and let's not forget that Alyssa was the Britney Spears of East Asia for most of her teen years (no small feat). The now-36-year-old (who doesn't look a day over 27) continues to be a well-adjusted, gorgeous, a now newly married woman who surely makes her TV dad, Tony Danza, proud.
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