Kids from the 90s can have a memorable childhood thanks to the young stars from the movies and TV shows we are watching. From family drama to Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy shows, that period was a golden time for kids’ entertainment.
The child actors who gave us a lot of fun memories to remember for a lifetime have grown up a lot. While it seems like just yesterday that we laughed with them, the time has passed in a blink of an eye, and now they are also growing old. Here is a sneak peek into how much they have changed over the years.
20. Madeline Zima
Then
Madeline broke out from the television sitcom, The Nanny. However, she has been on television since she was two years old. She began her career in a Downy fabric softener television commercial when she was two.
Then, she became a well-known personality after portraying Grace Sheffield in the six-season television series The Nanny from 1993 to 1999. Some other shows that she had roles in the 90s were romantic comedies like Til There Was You and the drama Second Chances.
Now
Over the past years, she has gained recognition for appearances in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Legacy, Dimples, Looking for Sunday, A Cinderella Story, Once in a Very Blue Moon, and The Collector.
19. Scarlett Johansson
Then
Scarlett, who started her acting career in the 1994 fantasy comedy, North, knew what she wanted to do in her life. She has been passionate about acting since she was a child. She practiced it, staring at herself in the mirror until it made her cry.
Some of the hit films where she was featured as a child actor are Manny & Lo, Home Alone 3, and The Horse Whisperer. She had a minor role in Home Alone 3, but in The Horse Whisperer, she was one of the major characters.
Now
Besides acting, Johnasson also started singing at the age of 22. She released her debut album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, in 2008. It consisted of one original song and ten cover versions of Tom Waits songs.
Her acting career is also at its peak with her “Black Widow” role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She joined politics in early 2000 and campaigned for Democratic candidate John Kerry in the 2004 United States presidential election.
At present, she is making preparation for the new films Asteroid City and My Mother’s Wedding.
18. Macaulay Culkin
Then
Culkin started acting at the age of four. His early roles included those in the New York Philharmonic’s theatrical version of Bach Babies. Throughout the 1980s, he continued to play minor characters on stage, in films, and on television.
He became well-known for playing Kevin McCallister, the main character, in the successful comedy movie Home Alone. He was also given the lead in Home Alone: Lost in New York when the prequel became a big hit.
Because of the success of both movies, he also received roles in My Girl, The Good Son, Getting Even With Dad, The Pagemaster, and Richie Rich. He was in second place on VH1’s list of the “100 Greatest Kid Stars”.
Now
In 1994, he took a break from acting and made a comeback after almost a decade. In 2003, he returned to the screen with a role in the movie Party Monster and a cameo on the tv program Will & Grace.
He also wrote an autobiography named Junior, which was released in 2006. He appeared in the American Horror Story: Double Feature, which aired in 2021. Besides that, he also launched Bunny Ears, a satirical website and podcast, in January 2018 and now works as its CEO and publisher.
17. Joseph Mazzello
Then
Mazzello started his career with a minor role in Harrison Ford’s 1990 film Presumed Innocent. Later, in 1992, he appeared in the movies Radio Flyer, Jersey Girl, and the T.V. movie Desperate Choices: To Save My Child.
But, his first career success came with his role as Tim Murphy in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park in 1993. After that, she had roles in Star Kid and Simon Birch. He also did voice-over work in the English dub of The Adventures of Buratino.
Now
Over the years, he has appeared in hit films like The Social Network, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and Bohemian Rhapsody. He also made a directorial debut with a short film.
16. Kenan Thompson
Then
Kenan started his acting career in the early 1990s. One of his earlier roles was to cover entertainment for CNN’s “Real News for Kids.” He later went on to play the lead role in the first five seasons of All That. From 1996 to 2000, he played Kenan Rockmore on the Nickelodeon series Kenan & Kel.
He became known for his appearance on the kid’s channel Nickelodeon. Likewise, he was a high school student when he made his debut film appearance in D2: The Mighty Ducks.
Now
Over the past years, he has performed over 1,500 sketches. Thompson has been appearing in Saturday Night Live for 20 seasons. He was also nominated for five Primetime Emmys for his work in SNL.
In 2021, he also starred on the NBC sitcom Kenan. He also co-founded the production firm and talent scouting organization Artists for Artists in December 2021. On September 12, 2022, he hosted the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.
15. Mara Wilson
Then
Mara started her professional career through commercials. She starred in several commercials for companies, including Lunchables, Bank of America, Texaco, and Marshalls, before making her film debut in Mrs. Doubtfire in 1993.
She had an appearance in the Miracle on 34th Street remake in 1994. Her performances in those movies attracted Danny DeVito’s attention, who offered her the role of Matilda Wormwood in the 1996 movie Matilda.
For her work in the film, she received three nominations and took home the YoungStar Award for Best Performance.
Now
By 2000, the actress was on break from acting to focus on writing. She returned to acting in 2012 and has been working in web series since then. She is also a writer and published a book, Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame, on September 13, 2016.
14. Haley Joel Osment
Then
The Pizza Hut commercial at the age of four helped him begin his career in acting. He made his debut on screen from ABC Sitcom Thunder Alley. Later, he got minor success with Forrest Gump, Mixed Nuts, and Bogus, which eventually led him to be cast in The Sixth Sense.
He received nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award for his role in The Sixth Sense. His fame as a child actor solidified after appearing in Pay It Forward and the science fiction movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
Now
He has had a recurring role in the Kingdom Hearts video game series, providing the English versions of the games’ protagonist Sora, since 2002. In his recent career, he played the role of Mesmer in the Amazon series The Boys and Dr. Stu Camillo in the Hulu series Future Man.
13. Fred Savage
Then
Fred is popular as Kevin Arnold on The Wonder Year. The role came only after he had spent two years in the industry doing minor roles in The Boy Who Could Fly, Dinosaurs!, and several television shows, including The Twilight Zone and Crime Story.
He gained national attention after his role in The Princess Bride opposite Peter Falk. Its success led him to have the role of Kevin Arnold. He also starred in Seinfeld and Boy Meets World.
Now
In 1999, he started his directing career and has been behind the camera since then. He has been the director for massive hit shows like That’s So Raven, Drake & Josh, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Zoey 101, and Hannah Montana. He also directed adult sitcoms like Happy Endings, The Goldbergs, and The Connors.
12. Reece Thompson
Then
Reece started his acting career started with voice acting jobs in animated television shows and playing minor roles in a few shows. He did the voices for Master Keaton, InuYasha, MegaMan NT Warrior, and Infinite Ryvius.
He mostly did minor roles in movies and shows as a child, but he landed on a major role in 2007 only. He was in his late teens when he was cast as the protagonist of Rocket Science.
Now
He is mostly known for his roles in Assassination of a High School President and Afterwards and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. He currently owns an online comedy group named Jitterbug Productions and splits his time between Vancouver and Los Angeles.
11. Justin Cooper
Then
Justin earned fame as a child actor by appearing in General Hospital for two years. He appeared in the film Liar Liar and the sitcom Brother’s Keeper. However, he remained active in the industry for only a decade. He has not appeared in any movies since 2003. His last work was in The Practice.
Now
Cooper is a producer and on-air commentator at Fox Sports RadiHe and serves as an executive producer of The Ben Maller Show.
10. Lindsay Lohan
Then
Lindsay may be known as a child actor for her role in The Parent Trap, but she has already lived the dream of many people of being a ford model by the age of three. In fact, that is how her career had started- by appearing as a child model for Ford.
She was ten years old when she appeared as a regular in the television soap opera Another World. Her talents were recognized worldwide after the success of The Parent trap, which led her to appear in Life-Size and Get A Clue.
Now
As a teenage actor, she became an icon with her role in Freaky Friday and Mean Girls. From 2008-2011, there were several downturns occurred in her life, which also hampered her career.
She reclaimed her status. after returning in 2012 while starting to maintain a healthy lifestyle. She opened three beach clubs in Greece between 2016 and 2018, which was the focus of the MTV reality series Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club, but it ended with just one season. Recently, she appeared in a romantic comedy Falling for Christmas.
9. Anna Paquin
Then
Hardly anyone child would get a big role in their debut film and, on top of that, win an award. But Anna did it when she was just 11. She starred in the romantic drama, The Piano and even won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the second-youngest Oscar winner in history, behind Tatum O’Neal.
In the 1990s, she starred in Fly Away Home, The Member of the Wedding, Jane Eyre, and A Walk on the Moon.
Now
Paquin continued her acting journey and has several film and Tv series credits under her name. She has appeared in a critically acclaimed drama, The Irishman.
One of her latest works was A Friend of A Family, which was released in Peacock in October 2022.
8. Mayim Bialik
Then
Mayim started her career as a child actor in the late 1980s. She starred in the horror movie Pumpkinhead, and the TV shows The Facts of Life, Beauty, and the Beast, Webster, and MacGyver.
By 1990, she was already tied with two television pilots. Molly and Blossom. Blossom became a massive hit and established Bialik as one of the popular child actresses.
Now
She continued her career and appeared in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Bones before landing herself a major role in The Big Bang Theory as a girlfriend of Sheldon Cooper.
7. Amanda Bynes
Then
Amanda began her career as a child actress working on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That. It also led to a spin-off, The Amanda Show, in 1999 and ran till 2002.
She was also a regular member of the Figure It Out and What I Like About You series. In 2003, she appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair’s July edition.
Now
By 2010, she had become a big name with successful work in Big Fat Liar, What a Girl Wants, and She’s the Man. However, she suffered from mental health and substance abuse, which caused her to take indefinite hiatus, and she has yet to return.
6. Christina Ricci
Then
The actress who made her debut in the 1990 film Mermaids became a successful child actress with her role as Wednesday in The Addams Family and its sequel. Her first major role came in 1995 from Casper.
Before transitioning to adult roles, she had featured in Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain, The Hard Way, and The Cemetry Club.
Now
Her stardom only continued to rise with her appearance in Speed Racers, The Smurfs 2, Pan Am, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, and Z: The Beginning of Everything. Recently, she starred as Marilyn Thornhill, a botany teacher at Nevermore Academy, in the popular Netflix series Wednesday.
5. Ryan Gosling
Then
Ryan started as an actor in Disney Channel’s The Mickey Mouse Club. It was a hit that led him to appear in other family entertainment programs, including Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Flash Forward, and Goosebumps. He also appeared in Breaker High and Young Hercules.
Now
He received worldwide recognition for the 2004 romance film The Notebook. Some other credits include Crazy, Stupid, Love, Drive, La La Land, The Big Short, and Blade Runner 2049.
His most recent work includes First Man and The Gray Man. Barbie and The Fall Guys are two projects he is currently working on.
4. Bryton James
Then
On the popular sitcom Family Matters, Richie Crawford is someone fans could never forget. Bryton played the role, and he was just four years old at that time. Another hit show he featured in is The Young and the Restless.
He also featured as a guest star in the drama The Vampire Diaries. Other popular sitcoms he appeared in are Smart Guy and The Kids From Room 402.
Now
James has been part of The Young and the Restless since 2004. In 2020, he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His popular credits include Young Justice and Star Wars Rebels, and Tales of The Jedi.
3. Raven Symone
Then
Raven was three years old when she began to appear on television. However, before that, she was a model for Atlanta’s Young Faces Inc. when she was an infant.
She appeared in regional newspaper ads. When she was two years old, she worked with Ford Models in New York City and made appearances in commercials for Ritz crackers, Jell-O, Fisher-Price, and Cool Whip.
In 1989, she attended an audition for the Ghost Dad movie starring Bill Cosby. Although she was too young for the part at age three, Cosby loved her so much that he cast her as his stepgranddaughter Olivia on The Cosby Show. She made her debut in the first episode of the show’s sixth season and stayed until the 1992 series finale.
By the time she was a 15-year-old teenager, she had already appeared in Alex Haley’s Queen, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, The Little Rascals, Dr. Dolittle, and Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century.
Now
Fans saw Symone grow up in front of them. Over the years, she has received several awards and accolades for her roles in movies. She was also included on VH1’s “100 Greatest Child Stars of All Time” list in 2012. She has received three nominations for Daytime Emmy Awards.
She became an icon for the LGBTQ community after coming out. Likewise, in 2013, she briefly retired from acting to pursue an associate degree in fine arts but returned in 2015 with the co-host role for The View. She also has interests in politics and endorsed Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson in the 2016 presidential election.
2. Tatyana Ali
Then
Tatiyana Ali was just six years old when she started performing as a regular actor on the Sesame Street of Public Broad Casting’s children’s educational program. Later she appeared in Star Search for two episodes and gave an outstanding performance by covering “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
But Ali made her breakthrough after starring on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a television sitcom telecasted on NBC. She played Ashle Banks in the show and appeared in the entire series from 1990 to 1996. With an amazing voice, she also received an offer to pursue her career in music from Will Smith, but she chose acting.
Now
Tatiyana continued her acting career to this day, making her appearances in various films and series, including The Brothers, Glory Road, Nora’s Hair Salon, and more. Further, she also starred in the web series Buppies, in which she was also a producer.
From 2007 to 2013, she played the role of Roxanne in The Young and the Restless of CBS soap opera. Ali has been awarded several accolades for her relentless outstanding performance in the industry, including the Heritage Organization’s Living Legacy Award.
1. Leonardo DiCaprio
Then
Leonardo DiCaprio auditioned for an acting job while attending school to improve his family’s financial situation. He was raised by his mother and had always thought of only two career choices from his childhood, Marine Biologist or actor. His first television appearance was in Romper Room, but he was dismissed from the show, which the host denied.
When DiCaprio was fourteen, he started appearing in television commercials, making a debut in Matchbox cars by Mattel. Further, he got a chance in a few more advertisements and finally got a role as Glen in the television show The New Lassie.
During the starting days of his career, the successful present-day actor had to remain jobless even after giving over a hundred auditions for one and a half years. He had almost given up his hope in acting, but his father motivated him, and he finally, with the help of a talented agent, appeared in 20 commercials.
Now
He has earned many accolades throughout his career, including three Golden Globe Awards, an Academy and a British Academy Film Award. Additionally, he has also become the world’s highest-paid actor eight times.
Alongside his career in the film industry, he has shown his active participation in environmental activism, politics, and philanthropy. He founded a non-profit firm, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which focuses on spreading environmental awareness.
In addition, he is active in giving to charity and has produced a few environmental documentaries. At present, he is actively working as the UN’s Messengers of Peace.