Child Actors: What Can Go Wrong

As the song goes, "There's no business like show business . . . Everything about it is appealing." Well, Mr. Berlin, maybe not quite everything. It's true that Hollywood is a place where dreamers can find fame and fortune. . . but they also might lose it all. Nowhere is this dark side of fame more apparent than in the grim fate of so many former child stars. Young actors thrust too early into the adult world experience a loss of innocence, where regular childhood experiences are replaced by intense pressure and fear of rejection—not to mention early exposure to alcohol, drugs and sex. Whether it's alcohol and drug abuse (Lindsay Lohan, Corey Feldman, Patty Duke, Tatum O'Neal. . .), violence and crime (Shia LaBeouf, Edward Furlong, Danny Bonaduce. . .), or a combination of both (the entire child cast of Diff'rent Strokes), there is no shortage of evidence that growing up in show business is hard. Many of us gobble up these stories of former child stars gone off the deep end with a mix of pity and (let's be honest) schadenfreude—if that's what you're looking for, you'll find plenty of juicy trivia out there, but you'll have to look elsewhere because this quiz is not about the train wrecks. This quiz is a celebration of the survivors! Try it out and see how much you really know about the child actors who managed to come out the other side with their careers (and sanity) intact.

Child Actors: What Can Go Right!

Jodie Foster, Leonardo DiCaprio, Neil Patrick Harris . . . Some of today's most respected actors were actually child stars and managed to skirt the sad fate of so many of their Hollywood peers. What's their secret? According to Psychology Today, good parenting is one crucial factor: parents need to stay focused on protecting their child's normal development (and not, say, dad's own dreams of stardom). Taking a real life time out for college has helped child actors like Jodie Foster and Natalie Portman make the transition. And then there are those lucky survivors like Robert Downey Jr. and Drew Barrymore who almost didn't make it but managed to beat their demons along the way. Finally, the ticket to success for many successful former child actors is simply to not be too successful as kids. As Elizabeth Moss put it: "In a way, that was my saving grace - not being a star on a hit show. It kept me working and kept me grounded." For more interesting trivia about child actors who made it big as adults, check out this quiz!

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The Lucky Few: How Much Do You Know About Child Actors Who Became Stars?

The Lucky Few: How Much Do You Know About Child Actors Who Became Stars?