Entertainment
16 Celebrities Who Grew Up on Camera & Changed Drastically Before Our Very Eyes
Celebrities — they grow up so fast, don't they? Some of the child stars of yesterday have become today's leading men and women, and it's amazing to see how they've grown from precious kids or tweens into red carpet staples. Check out these 16 celebrities who grew up on camera because, my oh my, have things changed.
Then: Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
Full disclosure: This is either a photo of Mary Kate OR Ashley Olsen. The two shared the role of Michelle Tanner on the sitcom Full House from 1987 to 1995.
Image: ABC
Later: Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
After Full House ended, the twins went on to share the small screen with the short-lived sitcom Two of a Kind, which aired from 1998 to 1999. They would later go on to produce and star in straight-to-video movies like Switching Goals, Passport to Paris, and Holiday In The Sun.
Image: ABC
Now: Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
The fashionistas now have several clothing lines, including Olsenboye for JC Penney and higher-end labels The Row and Elizabeth & James.
Then: Mila Kunis
Kunis was only 14 when she began her time on the sitcom That ’70s Show as spoiled Jackie Burkhart in 1998.
Image: Fox
Later: Mila Kunis
After That 70s Show ended in 2006, Kunis went on to star in films like Extract and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, above.
Image: Universal Pictures
Now: Mila Kunis
Today, Kunis is engaged to her That ’70s Show co-star Ashton Kutcher. The pair is expecting their first child together later this year. Kunis is slated to star in Jupiter Ascending, out in 2015.
Then: Selena Gomez
The starlet was one of the kids hanging out with the purple dinosaur on Barney and Friends. She played Gianna from 2002 to 2004.
Image: PBS
Later: Selena Gomez
Gomez became a part of the Disney Channel family when she starred on Wizards of Waverly Place from 2007 to 2012.
Image: Disney Channel
Now: Selena Gomez
Gomez has starred in films like the controversial Spring Breakers and the recent film Behaving Badly alongside Fault In Our Stars actor Nat Wolfe.
Then: Demi Lovato
Lovato was on Barney and Friends alongside her then-BFF Gomez. She played Angela on the series.
Image: PBS
Later: Demi Lovato
Lovato starred in the Disney Channel film Camp Rock and in the TV series Sonny With a Chance from 2009 to 2012.
Image: Disney Channel
Now: Demi Lovato
Post-Disney Channel, Lovato has focused mainly on music with her albums Unbroken and Demi. She was a judge on the American version of The X Factor for two seasons and is currently an outspoken advocate for mental health issues, something the actress has admitted to dealing with it in her personal life.
Then: Leonardo DiCaprio
Before he was THE Leonardo DiCaprio, the actor was a teen star with a recurring role on Growing Pains . He also starred in the 1993 film This Boy’s Life (he was handpicked by Robert De Niro for the role) and the Johnny Depp film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, pictured above.
Image: Paramount Pictures
Later: Leonardo DiCaprio
In 1997, DiCaprio stopped teen girls’ hearts with his role as Jack Dawson in the mega blockbuster Titanic.
Image: Paramount Pictures
Now: Leonardo DiCaprio
The ultimate movie star, DiCaprio was recently nominated for an Academy Award his role as Jordan Belfort in 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street.
Then: Taylor Momsen
The sweet-faced Momsen was the perfect choice to play Cindy Lou in the 2000 film How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
Image: Universal Pictures
Later: Taylor Momsen
In 2007, Momsen joined the cast of Gossip Girl as Jenny Humphrey, a Brooklynite desperate to fit in with her Upper East Side classmates. She left the series in 2011, one year before the series ended.
Image: The CW
Now: Taylor Momsen
Momsen and her band The Pretty Reckless released their second studio album Going To Hell in 2013. The Pretty Reckless is (so far) the only female-fronted band to hit No. 1 on the rock radio chart with its first two hit singles, “Heaven Knows” and “Messed Up World.”
Then: Jake Gyllenhaal
Gyllenhaal made his acting debut in the 1991 film City Slickers. He played Billy Crystal’s young son.
Image: Columbia Pictures
Later: Jake Gyllenhaal
10 years after City Slickers, Gyllenhaal starred in cult film Donnie Darko as the titular character and launched his career.
Image: Flower Films
Now: Jake Gyllenhaal
Gyllenhaal is one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood, recently receiving critical acclaim for his performances in films like Prisoners and Enemy.
Then: Raven-Symone
The actress joined the cast of The Cosby Show as Olivia in 1989, and the cast of Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper as Nicole in 1992.
Image: NBC
Later: Raven-Symone
As a teenager, Symone was a Disney kid, with the starring role on her own sitcom That’s So Raven and the lead in the first two Cheetah Girls films.
Image: Disney Channel
Now: Raven-Symone
In 2011 Symone starred on her own ABC Family sitcom State of Georgia. Since the show’s cancellation that same year, Symone has voiced pixie Iridessa for the Pixie Hollow franchise.
Then: Melissa Joan Hart
Hart starred as tween we all wanted to be, Clarissa, on the TV series Clarissa Explains It All. The show aired from 1991 to 1994.
Image: Nickelodeon
Later: Melissa Joan Hart
Hart starred in teen comedy Drive Me Crazy (pictured above) with future Entourage star Adrian Grenier in 1999, midway through her time as the titular character on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, which ended in 2003.
Image: 20th Century Fox
Now: Melissa Joan Hart
Hart went back to her sitcom roots. She currently stars on ABC Family series Melissa & Joey opposite Joey Lawrence.
Then: Tia & Tamera Mowry
From 1994 to 1999 the Mowry twins played twin sisters who reunite after being separated at birth on Sister, Sister.
Image: ABC/The WB
Later: Tia & Tamera Mowry
In 2005, the twins teamed up again for Disney Channel Original Movie Twitches. The sequel, Twitches Too, aired in 2007.
Image: Disney Channel
Now: Tia & Tamera Mowry
The pair starred on Style Network’s reality series Tia & Tamera. Today, Tia stars on the Nick at Nite series Instant Mom and Tamera is the host of the talk show The Real.
Then: Drew Barrymore
The child star played the adorable sister who bonds with an equally adorable alien life form in the 1982 film E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.
Image: Universal Pictures
Later: Drew Barrymore
The 23-year-old starred as a feisty and feminist Cinderella in the 1998 film Ever After.
Images: 20th Century Fox
Now: Drew Barrymore
The actress recently teamed up with Adam Sandler for a third time on their African safari film Blended.
Then: Kristen Stewart
A 12-year-old Stewart starred alongside Jodie Foster and Jared Leto in Panic Room, pictured above.Image: Columbia Pictures
Later: Kristen Stewart
After Panic Room, Stewart starred in features like the 2004 drama Speak and the 2007 horror flick The Messengers (pictured above.) In 2008 she would begin the film franchise that truly launched her career — Twilight.
Image: Summit Entertainment
Now: Kristen Stewart
Stewart’s Twilight days are over. The actress, who has done several indie films since the end of the blockbuster franchise, will star in Equals, a futuristic love story, alongside Nicholas Hoult.
Then: Christian Bale
As a teenager, Bale portrayed Jack “Cowboy” Kelly in the 1992 musical Newsies.
Image: Buena Vista Pictures
Later: Christian Bale
In 2000, a 26-year-old Bale portrayed iconic serial killer Patrick Bateman in the film American Psycho. Five years later he would take on the role of masked vigilante Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins.
Image: LionsGate Films
Now: Christian Bale
In 2010, Bale received the Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actor category for The Fighter. He concluded his time as Batman in 2012 with The Dark Knight Rises and went on to star in 2013’s Oscar-nominated film American Hustle.
Then: Hayden Panettiere
Child star Panettiere co-starred with Hollywood heavyweights like Denzel Washington in the 2000 football flick Remember the Titans.
Image: Buena Vista Pictures
Later: Hayden Panettiere
Then-teen starlet Panettiere starred in films like 2005’s Ice Princess (pictured above) and the NBC series Heroes.
Image: Buena Vista Pictures
Now: Hayden Panettiere
The 25-year-old currently stars on Nashville and is pregnant with her first child — a baby girl.
