10 Most Tragic Child Stars in Hollywood

It’s easy to think that Hollywood stars have it all: fame, fortune, glamorous lifestyles. But this sentiment rarely rings true for child stars. Hollywood has a nasty habit of chewing up child actors and spitting them back out into a world that, in their eyes, seems to reject them. As we’ve seen in the recent and popular documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Hollywood needs to do a better job at protecting and supporting its youngest members. These actors achieve success at a very young age, but in doing so, they often sacrifice normal childhoods. Kids grow up fast and hard in Hollywood, surrounded by temptations that have felled many grown adults.

You’d think their early success would set these child stars up for long and flourishing acting careers, but that’s sadly not the reality. Work often dries up as these actors age out of the cute and innocent personas that landed them their first roles. Their careers become restrained by typecasting issues. Many child stars fail to establish acting careers in adulthood, or even reach adulthood at all. There are dozens of child actors out there with tragic stories — and here are ten of them.

10 Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan was the “It Girl” of the 2000s. Her breakthrough came at the age of ten when she starred in 1998’s The Parent Trap remake, playing a pair of twins who want to reconnect their estranged parents. She kicked off the early 2000s with two other Disney films: Freaky Friday and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. It was her role in 2004’s Mean Girls, however, that catapulted Lohan to a new level of fame. Mean Girls turned her into a bona fide star, while her red hair and freckles made her a teenage heartthrob. This is when the problems started.

Since 2007, Lohan has experienced substance addiction, family drama, legal issues, and even jail time, all of which attracted widespread media attention. We all watched, tragically, as this young woman’s turbulent lifestyle blew up her successful career. She was like a train wreck that no one could turn away from. Lohan’s personal struggles led to near bankruptcy and numerous career setbacks. Movie roles dried up as news spread about her problematic behavior on set.

But wait, there may just be a happy ending for this tragic child star. Lohan is reportedly recovering from drug addiction, married, and a new mom as of 2023. She’s also returned to acting. Lohan struck a three-movie deal with Netflix and has appeared in two of the films already: Falling for Christmas and Irish Wish. She’s currently working on the third film, Our Little Secret, as well as a sequel to Freaky Friday. At one point, Lohan would have ranked much higher on our list, but her lifestyle and career comeback has her just rounding out our top ten. You go, Lindsay Lohan!

9 Corey Feldman

Corey Feldman got his start in Hollywood at a young age, appearing in TV shows like Mork & Mindy and Cheers. It was the mid to late 1980s, however, that turned him into a star. During this decade, Feldman co-starred in several notable films, such as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Gremlins, The Goonies, The Lost Boys, and Stand By Me, a coming-of-age story that featured another star on our list. He even did some voiceover work, playing young Copper in Disney’s The Fox and the Hound and Donatello in the 1990 live action movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Feldman became a teenage heartthrob and was one of the most popular teen pin-ups in the world.

Despite all this, Feldman experienced drug addiction and alcoholism and dealt with both publicly for much of his young life. He also sought emancipation from his parents for squandering his fortune. Feldman says that he was the victim of sexual abuse when he was still a minor, which influenced his drug addiction. He’s stated that the sex abuse of child actors is a widespread problem in Hollywood, an issue that he still speaks against to this day. Although he’s now a person recovering from addiction and alcoholism, Feldman has never been able to recapture his childhood stardom.

8 Amanda Bynes

Amanda Bynes was one of the biggest child stars to emerge from the 1990s. We were introduced to this bubbly young girl in Season 3 of Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy series, All That. She quickly became a fan-favorite and was given her own sketch comedy series, The Amanda Show. She successfully transitioned from a cute, funny child star to a hilarious teenage heartthrob, starring in several major comedies, such as Big Fat Liar, What a Girl Wants, Easy A, and She’s the Man.

With her girl-next-door looks and quirky humor, Bynes became one of the “it” girls of the 2000s. For a while, she was the success story that every child star needed. Proof that you can be a child star and still have a successful movie career as an adult, all while avoiding the usual trappings of Hollywood. But alas, this was only an illusion. In her mid-twenties, Bynes was charged separately with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. When police officers went to her New York City apartment, she allegedly threw her bong out of the window. Her mental health seemed to deteriorate following these incidents. Her behavior became increasingly erratic and concerning, leading to psychotic episodes, thoughts of self-harm, and a temporary conservatorship over her affairs.

Bynes eventually returned to the public eye — but as a completely different person. Gone were her girl-next-door looks and the vivacious personality that had made her famous. What we saw instead was a stone-faced and monotone young woman with face tattoos, face piercings, and zero humor. She has reportedly retired from acting, but it’s still early in Amanda Bynes’s story.

7 Sawyer Sweeten

Sawyer Sweeten, along with his older sister Madylin and his twin brother Sullivan, played Ray Romano’s children on the hit sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond. Sawyer and Sullivan were cast to play Geoffrey and Michael, respectively, when they were just infants. Very little is known about Sawyer’s life and personal struggles. He owned a house in California with his brother, and aside from his nine seasons on Everybody Loves Raymond, Sawyer landed only two minor roles. He hadn’t acted at all since the series ended, which may have played a role in his untimely death. Sawyer died by suicide nineteen days before his 20th birthday.

6 Heather O’Rourke

Heather O’Rourke achieved success when she was cast in Steven Spielberg’s horror classic, Poltergeist. You know that little girl sitting in front of the TV on the film’s iconic poster? That’s Heather O’Rourke. She plays Carol Anne Freeling, the spooky little girl who gets abducted by ghosts. O’Rourke reprised the role for all three Poltergeist films.

In addition to that, she appeared in several television series and made-for-TV films. O’Rourke’s career was cut short — not by drugs or suicide, but by a string of illnesses connected to an underlying issue that went overlooked by doctors. She was rushed into emergency surgery for intestinal stenosis and survived the procedure, only to go into cardiac arrest shortly after. Despite attempts to resuscitate her, Heather O’Rourke was pronounced dead at only 12 years old. Poltergeist III, released posthumously, was her final work.

5 Judith Barsi

After landing her first role at the age of three, Judith Barsi appeared in notable TV shows like Cheers and Growing Pains, as well as films like Jaws: The Revenge. Her true claim to fame, however, was her voice acting. Barsi appeared in two beloved animated features from the 1980s. She played Ducky in the dinosaur adventure film, The Land Before Time, and voiced Anne-Marie, the orphan who could speak to dogs, in All Dogs Go to Heaven.

But as Barsi’s success grew, so did tensions at home. Her father, a person with alcoholism, physically abused and threatened Barsi and her mother. In the summer of 1988, all three of their bodies were found in an apartment, the result of a double murder-suicide. She was just 10 years old, making this one of the most tragic tales in Hollywood.

4 Gary Coleman

Gary Coleman is one of the most famous child stars to ever grace the small screen. He caught a producer’s attention after appearing in the pilot for the 1977 revival of The Little Rascals. Although the episode never aired, Coleman’s comedic performance got him cast as Arnold Jackson in the sitcom Diff’rent Strokes. The series was a tremendous hit, and Coleman became the show’s breakout star, thanks to his cute and diminutive stature and feisty personality. His character’s catchphrase, “What’chu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?,” has become iconic in TV history. While he’s best known for Diff’rent Strokes, Coleman did appear in other shows and even starred in his own Saturday morning cartoon, The Gary Coleman Show.

Coleman experienced kidney disease during his youth, which stunted his growth — and eventually his career. This growth deficiency cemented his child star image even more harshly than his peers. He also experienced substance abuse and legal issues, many of which involved physical altercations. Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on TV during the late 1970s and 1980s. But in typical child star fashion, his fortune was squandered. He sued his adoptive parents and business adviser over the misappropriation of his funds. But even after winning this lawsuit, Coleman eventually had to declare bankruptcy. These issues persisted until the end of Coleman’s life. He died at only 42 years old from complications after falling down the stairs and sustaining a head injury.

3 River Phoenix

River Phoenix was the “It Guy” of the ’80s and early ’90s. He was like Leonardo DiCaprio during Titanic, a teenage heartthrob who was also a talented actor. Phoenix appeared in numerous TV shows as a child, acting alongside other child stars like Heather O’Rourke and Molly Ringwald. His first major motion picture role was in Explorers with Ethan Hawke. But it was his role in the coming-of-age story Stand By Me, alongside Corey Feldman, that brought Phoenix to stardom. From there, he went on to star in a number of films, such as Little Nikita and Running on Empty. He also appeared as a young Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade. Phoenix even managed to do what most child actors can only dream of: he successfully transitioned to more adult roles, pumping out a critically acclaimed performance in My Own Private Idaho.

Phoenix seemed to have a promising career ahead of him, but it was cut because he experienced drug addiction. He died from an overdose outside a Hollywood nightclub. His brother, Joaquin Phoenix, had been there to witness it. River Phoenix was only 23 years old at the time of his death, turning him into a cautionary tale of child stardom.

2 Bobby Driscoll

You may not know the name Bobby Driscoll, but you’ve definitely seen his work. And boy, does he have a sad story. Driscoll was the golden child of Walt Disney himself, the child star of the 1940s and 1950s. Along with Luana Patten, he was one of the first two actors that Walt Disney placed under contract. He starred in numerous Disney films, such as the studio’s first live-action and most controversial movie, Song of the South, Treasure Island, and So Dear to My Heart. The latter, along with his performance in The Window, earned Driscoll an Academy Juvenile Award at the 22nd Oscars. Most notably, he voiced the iconic titular character in Disney’s animated classic, Peter Pan, and inspired the character’s design.

Despite all this success, and despite being Walt’s favorite child actor, Driscoll was released from his contract with Disney. The reason? Puberty. But even with his maturing looks, most film studios still perceived Driscoll as “a Disney kid” and refused to give him any work. With his Hollywood career on the decline, Driscoll was sent to a public high school, where he was bullied for his films and experienced a drug addiction that would consume his life. Despite numerous attempts, Driscoll was never able to revive his career and lived in poverty for the rest of his life. “I was carried on a silver platter —and then dumped into the garbage,” he reportedly said.

Years of drug addiction led to Driscoll’s untimely death at the age of 31. No one was able to identify the former movie star when he was found. He was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave, a total unknown. It wasn’t until a year later, when his mother was looking for him, that they managed to connect Driscoll to the John Doe. It would be another two years, with the re-release of Song of the South, before the media learned and reported of Bobby Driscoll’s death.

1 Judy Garland

Judy Garland is one of the most iconic actresses to ever grace the silver screen. She’s also one of its most tragic tales. Garland was a child performer in a vaudeville group with her sisters when she was signed to MGM. What sounded like a dream come true would soon turn into a nightmare for Garland; this was the beginning of her life-long struggles. Garland went to school at Metro with more traditionally beautiful actresses of the time, such as Ava Gardner and Elizabeth Taylor. This, coupled with MGM’s criticisms of her girl-next-door image, negatively affected Garland’s self-esteem. Louis B. Mayer himself referred to her as his “little hunchback.” The studio manipulated Garland’s appearance to make her look more attractive, giving her rubberized discs to reshape her nose. They would even serve her only soup and lettuce for meals to ensure that Garland maintained an attractive weight.

Despite all this, Garland became a star for MGM. She appeared in numerous films as a teenager. But her most famous role, by far, was starring as pig-tailed Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, a classic film that continues to be revered today. Its most iconic tune, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” became Garland’s signature song at her live performances. But the actress was struggling behind closed doors. She says that MGM prescribed her amphetamines to stay awake and barbiturates to go to sleep, a pattern of use that snowballed into her being a person with a drug addiction.

Garland managed to establish a successful adult career, starring in films like Presenting Lily Mars and Meet Me in St. Louis. She appeared in more than two dozen films for MGM. But Garland’s personal struggles — which included depression, several suicide attempts, and an addiction that would prevent her from showing up on set — became a costly problem for MGM. She was released from her contract after 15 years with the studio.

Garland’s career didn’t end there, though. Two of her most critically acclaimed roles came during this period: the original A Star Is Born and Judgment at Nuremberg, both of which earned her Academy Award nominations. She also made concert appearances that attracted record-breaking audience sizes and hosted her own Emmy-nominated television series, The Judy Garland Show.

Throughout all this, Garland continued to experience drug addiction. She also endured severe financial struggles; much of her fortune had been mismanaged, leaving her millions of dollars in debt. Garland limped on to the bitter end, eventually dying by overdose at the age of 47. Despite her tragic life, Judy Garland remains a legendary star of classic Hollywood.