Top 10 Crazy Facts About Child Stars

“Stranger Things” is blessed with an abundance of talented, charismatic child performers. The Netflix series may be Finn Wolfhard’s breakout showcase, although the guy had been working for years before hand. His first TV credit is for an episode of “The 100,” but his interest in acting goes back even earlier. According to an interview he gave to Dazed Digital, the first acting gig Wolfhard ever got came about from a Craigslist ad. Don’t worry – we’re sure his parents vetted it to make sure it was legit.

They both became Disney Channel stars, but before the Mouse House got hold them, Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato palled around with a purple dinosaur. Yes, these future singing sensations were both part of the “Barney & Friends” TV series from the early 2000s. Viewers might be forgiven for not recognizing their breakout potential; after all, the Barney tune stack didn’t exactly give performers the chance to show what they’re really made of.

Quinn Cummings was only 10 years old when she received an Academy Award nomination for her memorable performance in “The Goodbye Girl.” Although she went on to have a recurring role on the ABC series “Family” and had several other credits, she pretty much walked away from acting in her twenties. Eventually, she started a family and, as the mother of a young baby, came up with a better way to carry her. Thus, was born the HipHugger baby sling, a product many parents have been thankful for down through the years.

Living in a world overrun by zombies, as Chandler Riggs’ character Carl Grimes was on “The Walking Dead,” survival is your main focus. There’s not often the opportunity to let go, bring out your tap shoes, and dance your troubles away. But Riggs could easily have done that. It turns out that in his younger days, the zombie-killer was no stranger to the dancefloor. He studied tap with Zack Everhart, who would go on to show his stuff on “So You Think You Can Dance.” It’s a shame his character was killed off before he had a chance to try to turn some of the walkers into dancers.

What makes a star? Some say it’s a combination of persistence and insistence, and we suspect Christina Ricci might agree with them. When she was reportedly seven years old, her school was putting on a production based on “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and there was a part Christina really wanted. Unfortunately, she was in danger of losing it to another child. Her solution? Taunt that child into hitting her, then complain to the school authorities. Result? The child was punished and Christina was given the part. A local theatre critic even selected her for praise, and the young star was on her way to “Mermaids,” “The Addams Family,” and so much more.

Considering the amount of money that today’s movie stars get paid, this may seem like chump change, but it was a big deal in 1991. For a supporting role – not a starring one, but a supporting one – Macaulay Culkin took him the first $1,000,000 paycheck for a child star, for his role in the tearjerker “My Girl.” He did even better the next year, when his fee for appearing in the sequel to “Home Alone,” the movie which made him a household name, is reported to have been $4,500,000. Not bad for a guy who was only 12 years old at the time.

The Sprouse Twins lit up the Disney Channel with “Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” While Dylan has opted for a less public adulthood, opting to follow a teen-age interest in brewing and open a meadery in New York, Cole has kept in the public eye via his role on “Riverdale.” But Cole also went to college, where he evinced an interest in archeology for a while. His studies included going on digs in Europe and Asia. Cole even managed to dig up a mask of Dionysus, the God of Wine. Maybe that’s a sign Dylan should take up making wine instead of brewing mead?

For seven years, Frankie Muniz entertained millions of audiences as the titular star of “Malcolm in the Middle.” The sitcom received praise for its sharp characterizations and stretching of some TV conventions. Having attracted a loyal following, it was definitely a show that any actor could be proud of. Not Muniz, unfortunately. A few years after his series ended, Muniz suffered several mini-strokes. He basically recovered from them, but they stuck him with a great deal of memory loss, essentially erasing most of his memories about his years as a beloved television actor.

It’s hard for modern audiences to understand just how incredibly huge a star Shirley Temple was in her prime. From 1935 to 1938, she was the number one box office draw in the country, an icon who came to symbolize optimism in the midst of the Great Depression. As with many child stars, she didn’t really transition to an equally successful adult film career, but that’s okay. She carved out a niche for herself in politics, starting as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly and eventually becoming a U.S. Ambassador to both Czechoslovakia and Ghana. She also was the first woman appointed as the Chief of Protocol of the United States. She came a long way from the good ship Lollipop.

They may have started out sharing roles when they were just six months old, but surprisingly Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are not actually identical twins. Rather, they are sororal twins, meaning they’re twins who are both girls but not identical. However, they look enough alike to have made people assume they were identical for years. And there are some noticeable differences. For example, Mary-Kate is left-handed and Ashley is right-handed. And as adults, they have developed their own stylish fashion looks.