The entertainment industry has a tendency to put young actors and actresses on a pedestal, with the public often only seeing the glamour and fame associated with their roles. However, many child stars have experienced a turbulent upbringing, struggling to navigate the unique challenges of growing up in the spotlight. In recent years, several stars have opened up about their tumultuous childhoods in candid memoirs, revealing shocking details about their lives behind the scenes. From tales of abuse and neglect to addiction and mental health struggles, these 12 child stars have shared their most personal stories with the world, providing a glimpse into the harsh realities of growing up in Hollywood.
Child stars may appear to have it all, fame, and fortune at a young age, without any of the responsibilities of adulthood. However, the reality of the entertainment industry can be much darker than anyone realizes. Throughout the years, numerous child stars have come forward to share their journeys, revealing that their experience was not what anyone would imagine. Below are some of the child stars, in their own words from their memoirs, who shared harrowing stories.
Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died is a revealing insight into her life in the entertainment industry, as well as her abusive mother. McCurdy recalls how her body began to change from puberty and how it made her panic, thinking she would lose out on roles for not being small. Her mother introduced her to restricting calories, beginning a pattern of disordered eating that left McCurdy still requiring a booster seat at 14. Before production began, she was told that she was fat and needed to slim down; because she was beginning to develop, she needed to bind her breasts. In both cases, the message was devastating; her body was wrong. In her book, Jennette wrote, “I didn’t even know what it meant to ‘bind my breasts.’ At first, I was frightened. Were they talking about some kind of operation? For a girl so young, this was confusing. Naturally, I kept the confusion to myself,” she continued. “‘It means we need to tie down your breasts, so you appear flat-chested,’ the wardrobe woman explained. So, each day of shooting, I went through the ordeal of having wide strips of gauze tied across my chest to hide the natural shape of my breasts. It was uncomfortable and humiliating. I never discussed this with anyone. Never said a word to my parents, sisters, or brothers. I kept it all hidden inside. I didn’t know what to do with my feelings of fear and embarrassment. So, I hid them. I was ashamed of them.”
Mara Wilson was only eight years old when she was asked about Hugh Grant’s 1995 arrest on a red carpet. In her memoir, Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame, she recalls, “‘I, uh… Yes, I heard he was arrested.’ It was all over the news. ‘So what’s going on there, huh? What happened? What do you think?’ ‘I…’ All I knew was that it had something to do with sex. Suddenly, I felt very small. I looked away, trying to see if I would find my mother. ‘I don’t know.'”
Melissa Joan Hart started acting at the age of nine and grew up around many other child stars. In her memoir Melissa Explains It All, she reveals how she found herself partying with her friends in the Caribbean, including NSYNC and Tori Spelling, when a life-changing event occurred. It was September 2001, and they were partying when the 9/11 attacks happened. She wrote, “No travel memory, however, compares to when NSYNC, who did a cameo on the show in 1999, asked me to join them in Turks and Caicos at the end of their 2001 summer tour. In the Caribbean, we had a great time sipping fruity drinks and partying with some other celebrities like Tori Spelling and Olympic medalist Tara Lipinski. The boys took off for the States on September 10, while the rest of us hung back to worship the sun a little longer. The next day, planes hijacked by terrorists struck the Pentagon and New York City’s Twin Towers.”
Ron Howard had been in the spotlight since he was five, but nothing could prepare him for the stress of Happy Days fame — especially when Fonzie seemed more popular than his own character, Richie. He wrote, “The biggest stressor of all was Fonzie. Not Henry [Winkler], but Fonzie. It did not escape my notice that as the season went on, the Fonz was getting more and more screen time. I didn’t handle my stress particularly well. I probably would have benefited from seeing a psychotherapist.” “Instead, I kept everything inside. Then, I started breaking out in eczema rashes all over my body, most acutely on my eyelids. And my hair started thinning. Looking at the men on both sides of my family, I knew it was inevitable. But it started coming out in alarming clumps during this time.”
In her memoir, High on Arrival, Mackenzie Phillips, famous for being the daughter of John Phillips of the band the Mamas and the Papas before venturing into acting as a child, got real about her incestuous relationship with her dad. She wrote, “On the eve of my wedding, my father showed up, determined to stop it. I had tons of pills, and Dad had tons of everything, too. Eventually, I passed out on Dad’s bed.” “My father was not a man with boundaries. He was full of love, and he was sick with drugs. I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my father. Had this happened before? I didn’t know. All I can say is it was the first time I was aware of it.”
In Jodie Sweetin’s memoir UnSweetined, she opened up about her struggles with addiction, recalling supporting Full House costars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at the premiere of their film New York Minute. Jodie wrote, “I knew I couldn’t last a New York minute without doing more meth. I had it in my purse, with a straw, in a little baggie inside a lip-gloss container. Often I would do meth quickly in public bathrooms, blowing the smoke into wet paper towels so you couldn’t see it. At the premiere, though, I just snorted it because I knew I couldn’t bring a whole pipe.” She added, “For years, I thought the best way to please others was to hide my imperfections. Convinced my body was an embarrassment, I ate very little. I’d go days hardly consuming any calories. My weight dropped, but my body image didn’t improve. It almost never does in those situations because the weight isn’t the problem.”
Brooke Shields was a child star who touted the importance of abstinence, which made it hard for her to be fully present when she decided to take that big step with then-beau, Dean Cain. In her memoir, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me, she recalled running away after the deed was done. “I actually kind of tumbled off [the bed] and started running. I was buck-naked, streaking down the hallway and running like I had just stolen someone’s wallet.” He followed her with a comforter and asked if everything was okay, to his credit. “I didn’t know where I began and where my mother ended,” she recalled. “And that meant I didn’t know how to fit Dean in.”
In her memoir, Little Girl Lost, Drew Barrymore revealed that she first smoked weed at the age of ten after a friend’s mom offered it to her. She recalled, “When I was 10 and a half, I was sitting in the backseat of a car driven by a friend’s mother. She started smoking pot. I’d wanted to try marijuana for a long time, but I was afraid if I asked, she’d say, ‘No way, Drew. You’re too young.’ However, she offered me some, and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll try it.'” She added, “I was shocked. But she had a look that seemed to say…
In this article, we’ve delved into the revealing memoirs of twelve child stars who weren’t afraid to open up about their childhood experiences in Hollywood. From heartbreaking tales of abuse and neglect to shocking revelations about drug addiction and criminal activity, these former child actors bravely shared their stories with the world. While their experiences may differ, one common thread ties them all together: the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity. As we continue to consume media and celebrate the achievements of our favorite stars, let us not forget the challenges those in the limelight have faced on their path to success. And let us also remember the power of resilience and the courage to speak one’s truth, even in the face of criticism or backlash.
