Top 20 '90s Kid Stars: Where Are They Now?

Like the stars of her most famous movie, Ariana Richards’ acting career only exists in a bygone era. She made her debut as an actor in 1987. However, it was only with her role as Lex Murphy in 1993’s “Jurassic Park” that she became a huge 90s child star. Her talent in that adventure classic hinted at a very promising career. But Richards started to appear in less and less roles as the years went on. To date, her role in 2013’s “Battledogs” marked her last movie appearance. Instead of acting, Richards has largely spent most of her time working on her passion for painting. She has become a successful and respected artist.

Depending on your age, there’s a good chance that at some point you had a poster of Jonathan Taylor Thomas on your bedroom wall - or at least in your locker at school. For eight years, he starred as one of Tim’s sons on the very popular 90s sitcom “Home Improvement”. Throw in voicing Simba in “The Lion King” and other film roles, and JTT was definitely a 90s teen idol. But growing up in the spotlight wasn’t easy for Thomas. In 2005 he took a big step away from Hollywood. He ended up attending both Harvard and Columbia University. With the exception of four episodes of “Last Man Standing”, Thomas has remained out of the spotlight.

While Blossom was obviously the star of “Blossom”, it was her best friend Six Lemeure who often stole the show with her rambling, fast-talking personality. Jenna von Oÿ played her throughout the show’s 5 season run in the 90s. A few years later, von Oÿ played another best friend role on “The Parkers”. She coincidentally also held that role for another five seasons. After “The Parkers” ended in 2004, von Oÿ continued to work as an actor. She even reunited with her Blossom co-stars in a fun episode of “Call Me Kat”. Von Oÿ has also enjoyed success as a writer. She’s written books, authored blogs and works as an associate editor and lead Nashville Writer at StyleBlueprint.

After earning accolades in the late 80s with a role in “Purple People Eater”, Birch made her mark in the 90s with roles in movies like the always classic “Hocus Pocus.” She would go on to appear in the Oscar-winning “American Beauty, and while she hasn’t appeared in a ton of major blockbusters since, the actress still worked consistently over the last couple of decades. One of Birch’s most notable roles in recent years was on “The Walking Dead”. She played Gamma, a character that struggled on whether to side with her sinister family or the more heroic survivors. Since her stint on the hit show, Birch has stepped into the director’s chair and continued to act.

Edward Furlong got his big break at 13 years old when he starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton in 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”. Following that film, Furlong appeared in films like “Pecker”, “American History X” and “Detroit Rock City”.
But the actor’s career was put into jeopardy due to his struggles with substance use disorder. Over the years, Furlong has also been arrested multiple times for charges related to domestic violence and violating probation. After being sentenced to prison in 2013, the actor worked to maintain his sobriety. Furlong has since made a handful of small film appearances.

For the generation that grew up in the 90s, Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen will always be Michelle Tanner on “Full House”. The twin sisters became stars by sharing the role of the precocious and scene-stealing youngest member of the Tanner clan. From there, they solidified their careers with a ton of appearances in various tv and film projects. In the 2000s, the sisters stepped back from acting and focused more on fashion. They created the first collection for a brand that would be later known as “The Row” in 2006. Since the company was reported to make around $100 million in sales in 2021, it’s safe to say the fashion pivot was a great move for the Olsens.

Making his acting debut in the 1996 film “Jerry Maguire,” Jonathan Lipnicki became instantly memorable as the adorable kid with the impressive trivia knowledge. Not only did he win the heart of Jerry Maguire, but pretty much everyone who saw the movie loved his performance. Lipnicki parlayed his new found stardom into a rather successful string of roles. After he took a break from the industry, he found it hard to secure the high profile gigs he once had. However, Lipnicki persevered and kept working in the industry over the years. He’s also gotten out there on reality shows like “Celebs Go Dating”.

From the outside, it looked like Jake Lloyd had it all in the 90s. He had a memorable role playing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son in the comedy “Jingle All the Way”. A few years later, he got a big opportunity when he was cast as a young Anakin Skywalker in “Phantom Menace.” Unfortunately, the negative reception to his role in the film led to him being heavily tormented by peers. Lloyd’s mistreatment at the hands of peers and professionals eventually pushed him to quit acting altogether. In the 2010s, Lloyd ran into several legal troubles. He was also diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Recent reports indicate that Lloyd now spends most of his time away from Hollywood with his family.

While some may remember a young Jennifer Love Hewitt in “Kids Incorporated”, most of us probably first got to know Hewitt as a teenager on FOX’s hit show, “Party of Five”. And let's not forget about the “I Know What You Did Last Summer” movie either. Hewitt ended the 90s as a teen icon and hasn’t looked back. While she’s made plenty of movies since the turn of the century, her most popular roles have mostly come on the small screen. Since 2018, she’s been going strong as 9-1-1 operator Maddie Buckley. The role has given Hewitt plenty of opportunities to show off her considerable range.

Anna Chlumsky found stardom early when she starred across from 90s mega child star Macaulay Culkin in 1991’s “My Girl”. She followed that up with the sequel a few years later. At the end of the decade, Chlumsky traded the lights of Hollywood for textbooks and final exams in Chicago. She also worked as an editorial assistant at a publishing company before deciding to return to film and television in 2005. Fortunately for Chlumsky, she was able to pick up right where she left off. She’s had roles in everything from the critically acclaimed “Veep” to “Inventing Anna”. At this rate, Chlumsky shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Melissa Joan Hart became a household name with her title role on “Clarissa Explains It All”. The Nickelodeon sitcom aired for 5 seasons with her at the forefront. From there, she went to the highly celebrated “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”. Hart went on to make more film and tv appearances until she landed herself yet another 5 season sitcom in 2010 with “Melissa & Joey”. Since then, Hart has found herself in a specific Christmas movie niche. She starred in 5 holiday films between 2018 and 2022 alone. While those aren’t the only projects Hart works on, she clearly has a lot of Christmas spirit behind her career.

“I see dead people” With those words, Haley Joel Osment’s life changed forever. His role in the “Sixth Sense” rocketed him to child superstardom in 1999. Osment became a rather in demand actor and landed big roles in major roles in films like “A.I. Artificial Intelligence”. Along the way, it became clear that he had a distinct talent for voice acting. His most famous role to date is that of Sora in the “Kingdom Hearts” franchise. Osment has been heard as the English voice of the lead character in 13 games and counting. In live-action, he’s landed numerous cameos and recurring roles like Dr. Stu Camillo in “Future Man”.

Tia & Tamera Mowry became kid stars together playing another set of twins for 6 TGIF seasons on ABC’s “Sister, Sister”. The Mowry sisters continued to work together on projects like “Twitches”. At one point, they had their own reality show for a couple years at the beginning of the 2010s called “Tia & Tamera, but outside of that series, the sisters have mostly worked on separate projects. But both have found work on various TV ventures and films. Tia Mowry enjoyed a long stint on the drama “The Game”. And you may have also seen Tamera Mowry recently hosting the “Dr. Seuss Baking Challenge”.

After standing out on “All That”, this child actress became the lead of the hilarious “The Amanda Show”. Bynes carried that small screen success onto the big screen of the movies and had quite a nice run in the 2000s with films like “What a Girl Wants” and “She’s the Man”. The 2010’s looked to be starting off well with her part in teen comedy “Easy A”. Unfortunately, Bynes has had trouble returning to acting since. She spent significant time dealing with issues related to substance abuse disorder and mental health. Bynes was also placed in a conservatorship from 2013 to 2022. Since the end of the conservatorship, the actress has still struggled to return to the industry.

It was virtually impossible to watch Nickelodeon in the 90s without seeing Kenan Thompson. The funny actor appeared on “All That” before taking his comedy stylings to a sitcom on the network called “Kenan & Kel” that ran from 1996 till 2000. At the same time, Thompson was appearing in cult favorite movies like “Good Burger”. If you don’t know what Thompson is up to these days, we can only assume you stopped watching “Saturday Night Live” in 2002. That was the year Thompson made his debut on the show. While he has pursued other projects, he’s been on “SNL” so long that he stands as the longest-tenured “SNL” cast member of all time.

Before she was Matilda, she was Susan in “Miracle on 34th Street”. And before that, she was the ridiculously adorable youngest daughter in “Mrs. Doubtfire”. Mara Wilson’s string of strong successes made her a big child star of the 90s. By the early 2000s and her teen years, Wilson took a step back from movie acting. She’s since been very outspoken about the difficulties that child stars face in Hollywood throughout their careers. Wilson has written about that subject and created her own original work. And from 2012 onwards, she’s often seen in online projects and has been heard on shows like “BoJack Horseman”.

“Did I do that?” If we’re talking to Jaleel White and the question is whether or not he became a big star as a kid in the 90s, then the answer is Yes, Jaleel… Yes you did do that. White turned 13 in 1989. That just so happened to be the same year a little show called “Family Matters'” premiered on ABC. By the time it was done with its 9 TGIF season run, Jaleel White’s Steve Urkel had become one of the most beloved nerds of the decade. While he hasn’t landed another role quite as iconic as that one since, he’s been working consistently since the show ended. White recently appeared in Adam Sandler’s “Hustle” in 2022.

Michelle Trachtenberg was born in 1985. Before she’d even celebrated her 15th birthday, she’d already done more in Hollywood than many actors twice her age. Along with plenty of national commercials, Trachtenberg had roles in multiple TV shows. She had recurring and main parts in both “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” and “Meego”. And let’s not forget that she was the eponymous Harriet in 1996’s “Harriet the Spy”. Trachtenberg also began the 2000s strong with her role as Buffy’s sister on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. And while she hasn’t made a movie since 2014, Trachtenberg has worked on the small screen. She recently reprised her role as Georgina Sparks in a couple episodes of the “Gossip Girl” sequel.

When it comes to child stars In the 90s, few were bigger than Macaulay Culkin. He became a mega star in 1990 after “Home Alone” hit theaters and achieved massive success. Fortunately, that movie wasn’t a one off. Culkin followed that up with 8 movies in the next four years including a “Home Alone” sequel, “The Good Son”, “The Nutcracker” and “Richie Rich”. Following the latter, he stepped away from acting for almost a decade before returning in 2003. Since then, culkin’s started a satirical pop culture website, appeared in several webseries and even did a “home Alone” commercial. His most notable work in recent years arguably came with his role on the 10th season of “American Horror Story”..

Before Christina Ricci celebrated her 20th birthday, she was celebrating Hollywood stardom with a string of popular films and high profile roles throughout the decade. From “Mermaids” to “The Addams Family” and “The Ice Storm”, Ricci showed off her versatility at a young age. And‘where is she now’? She’s thankfully doing what she’s always done: being an amazing actress. In a big full circle moment, Ricci had a major role in the Netflix hit “Wednesday” as one of the title character’s teachers. And for those who have yet to see her on the acclaimed “Yellowjackets”, now’s an excellent time to catch up with the show and her great career.