31 Former Child Actors Who Survived The Toxic World Of Hollywood And Are Doing Really Well For Themselves Now

Recently, Reddit user phantom_avenger asked the folks over at r/moviecritic, "Who is a former mainstream child actor or actress that survived the toxic world of Hollywood and is currently doing really well for themselves?" Here are the top-voted results:

1.Hilary Duff — "Hilary isn’t as big as she used to be back when she was a teenager and was considered one of the biggest stars in film, shows, and music in the 2000s! But she is living a pretty healthy lifestyle, raising her family of four children, and balancing her acting career in projects that are less mainstream along with getting involved in entrepreneurship!"

Two side-by-side images of Hilary Duff. Left: younger, bangs hairstyle. Right: older, long hair, similar expression
Walt Disney / courtesy Everett Collection, Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

2.Ron Howard — "I feel like he was extremely lucky. He worked in two of the rarest situations possible in the entertainment industry with genuinely lovely people. Andy Griffith and Don Knotts were supposed to be really nice people (sometimes not to the other actors but always to Ron, by his account). The same with the entire cast of Happy Days, with Henry Winkler being known as one of Hollywood's 'good guys.'"

Split image showing Ron as child and an older man. The child smiles; the man wears glasses and a suit, smiling slightly
CBS via Getty Images, Amy Sussman / WireImage / Getty

3.Dakota Fanning — "I remember there were pictures of Dakota and her sister, Elle, in school activities like homecoming games. I think their parents tried to give them a normal life between their careers, which is so awesome."

Two side-by-side images of Dakota: one as a child with short hair, and the other as an adult with long hair, wearing a red outfit
Columbia / courtesy Everett Collection, JC Olivera/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images

4.Elle Fanning — "I think both the Fanning sisters have done great for themselves."

Two side-by-side photos of the same woman as a child with pigtails and a pink outfit, and as an adult with styled blonde hair

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20th Century Fox Film Corp/Everett, Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for National Board of Review

5.Shirley Temple — "Until she died (at age 85), Shirley Temple Black was the paradigm of the child actor doing well as an adult."

Left: Vintage photo of Shirley Temple with curly hair. Right: Older Shirley smiling, wearing leopard print attire and gold earrings

6.Kenan Thompson — "I'm more amazed he hasn't broken down as an adult doing SNL as long as he has. All you ever hear is how much of a pressure cooker that show is. To last as long as he has, you gotta have your head on straight."

Two people, side by side. Left: Young person smiling, wearing plaid shirt. Right: Adult person smiling with short hair, wearing a dark jacket
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic, Inc / Getty, Casey Durkin/PEACOCK via Getty Images

7.Jodie Foster — "She really survived Hollywood's perverted grossness."

Side-by-side of Jodiein a sailor dress and as an adult in a formal outfit at an event

8.Joseph Gordon-Levitt — "I haven't seen him in too much the past few years for some reason, but he was a child actor then went on to do Brick, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, etc."

Two side-by-side photos of Joseph: one as a young child with short hair, the other as an adult with facial hair, both looking forward

9.Elijah Wood — "No matter how bad the politics get in America he still posts about rad shit he likes on social media."

Two side-by-side images: a young child actor dressed in a festive costume and an adult man smiling at an event

10.Macaulay Culkin — "He went through a rough patch, but he’s doing really well now. And he's still able to live off of that Home Alone money for life."

Two side-by-side photos. Left: child with short hair. Right: adult with glasses and a beard, wearing a tuxedo

11.Brenda Song — "Macaulay and Brenda both did good for themselves. So add her in, too."

Two side-by-side images: Left shows a young person with a shy smile; right shows a person with elegant makeup and long, wavy hair on a red carpet
20th Century Fox Film Corp / Everett, JC Olivera / Getty Images

12.Kieran Culkin — "He's in good shape as well!"

Left: Young child with glasses and a playful expression. Right: Adult with short hair and beard, wearing a collared jacket, looking content

13.Lindsay Lohan — "I mean, yes, she had a huge fallout and got herself in trouble with the law, but she turned her life around and is doing a lot better. She got married, has a child, and will be in Freaky Friday 2."

Two side-by-side portraits of Lindsay, younger on the left and older on the right, showing a significant transformation in appearance

14.Jason Bateman — "He is great in everything."

Two side-by-side photos: A young boy in 70s attire smiles on the left; on the right, a bearded man in a suit poses at a formal event

15.Kurt Russell — "It’s hard to believe just how long he’s been around for. Active in seven decades!"

Two side-by-side images of an unidentified young boy smiling and an older man with glasses smiling

16.Daniel Radcliffe — "He had a period of really struggling with alcoholism, but otherwise, he's doing much better now."

Two portraits of the same male actor; one as a child wearing a dark jacket, and the other as an adult wearing a suit with a bow tie

17.Ryan Gosling — "I live not too far from where his parents are, and one day, in an aimless Facebook scroll, I ended up on his dad's page, which was weirdly fascinating. And yes, I know it makes me a bit of a creep, but I couldn't help but click through a bit. The most boring-dad stuff you could ever hope to see. Like, here's an awkward photo of my adult children home for Christmas, except one is a movie star. I have to wonder if the shocking normalcy of his family life kept him on a good path."

Two side-by-side portraits of the same person, one young and one adult, showing a transformation over time

18.Melissa Joan Hart — "She was the first person that came to mind."

Two photos of the same woman at different ages, showing her in glamorous outfits and styled hair
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic, Inc / Getty, John Salangsang/Billboard via Getty Images

19.Jerry O’Connell — "He was so adorable in Stand By Me. Seems like he has a good head on his shoulders."

Two side-by-side photos of the same person, years apart. Left: wearing a school uniform. Right: in a suit, smiling at a formal event

20.Ke Huy Quan — "He seems like he is doing well. He played Short-Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and he recently won an Oscar."

Two side-by-side images of Ke, one as a smiling child in a tie, and one as an adult wearing glasses and a blue shirt

21.Scarlett Johansson — "A couple of pieces of trivia I'd tell my cousins is she was a supporting cast in Home Alone 3, and she starred with Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Endgame."

Two side-by-side images of the same person: one from childhood, one as an adult with stylish makeup and jewelry

22.Christina Applegate — "She has had such a rough life and has been such an inspiration. Every time I see her have a new diagnosis, I’m like, 'Come on! Give this woman a break.'"

Two images  Christina: a young girl in a scene and an adult woman in formal attire with long hair and a confident expression

23.Miranda Cosgrove — "She seems incredibly down to earth and normal, especially considering she had a stalker who set himself on fire in her driveway."

Two side-by-side images of Miranda; on the left, as a child, and on the right, as an adult with long hair and a smile

24.Wil Wheaton — "I love that guy, and he's the reason l asked Andy Serkis if we should just start using motion capture to phase out child actors, specifically using Wil as an example. He'd never thought of it before and said he'd give it some thought, which l thought was pretty cool."

Two side-by-side photos of Wil young and older. The older version is smiling, wearing glasses and formal attire

25.Mayim Bialik — "She has a PhD in neuroscience, and as an adult, she was in one of the most successful sitcoms ever. She is now an acclaimed author."

Two side-by-side photos of Mayim wearing a colorful hat and floral accessory on the left, and the same woman in a yellow blouse and earrings on the right

26.Kirsten Dunst — "She has a fantastic acting resume, two kids, and a seemingly nice life with her husband. Good for her."

Kirsten smiling as a young girl in a period-style dress, and the right image shows her in a black dress

27.Dylan Sprouse — "Started a mead company and is seemingly very happy with his lovely partner."

Dylan with short hair and light beard in a suit; childhood photo shows him with short hair and a casual outfit

28.Natalie Portman — "It’s a miracle, too, considering how much of a weirdo Luc Besson is."

Two side-by-side images of Natalie: on the left holding a film clapperboard, on the right with styled hair and floral detailed clothing
Patrick CAMBOULIVE/Sygma via Getty Images, Amy Sussman / Getty Images

29.Melanie Lynskey — "She's still in plenty of high-profile stuff like Yellowjackets and The Last of Us. I've also heard that she's pretty down to earth in person."

Two side-by-side images: Left shows Melanie in a black hat, right shows the same person older in a black dress with dangling earrings

30.Bridgit Mendler — "Went to Harvard and MIT, co-founded a satellite data startup, adopted a kid she was fostering in addition to being an actress and singer. If you created a character with her achievements in a book or movie, people would call it unrealistic."

Two side-by-side images of a woman. Left: Smiling, wearing casual blue jacket. Right: Speaking, wearing a red blazer

31.Finally, Leonardo DiCaprio — "The best example of all."

A side-by-side image of Leo in a patterned shirt and older in a tuxedo at a formal event