11 Celebrities Revealed The Prices They Paid For Childhood Fame, Including Poor Treatment And Exploitation
Being a famous child sounds great to ordinary people, but for some of them, it was a living hell.
Childhood fame can look glamorous from the outside, but for some stars, it came with pressure, control, and exploitation long before they were old enough to understand it.
In this story, 11 celebrities look back on the early years of their careers and the painful treatment they say came with success. From strict parents to unsafe sets and financial abuse, their experiences show how complicated child stardom can be.
Here are the stories that still follow them today.
1. Jennette McCurdy: She revealed that when she was six years old, her mother, Debbie, became obsessed with making her a celebrity.
"My mom had always dreamt of being a famous actor, and she became obsessed with making me a star," said Jennette.
Getty ImagesJennette said that her mother started dyeing her hair to make her blonde when she was 10 years old, but that wasn't all. She was whitening her teeth and even taught her how to calculate calories, which manifested as an eating disorder a few years later.
Getty ImagesHer mother died in 2013 of cancer, and Jennette decided in 2018 to seek help in recovering from an eating disorder, so she went to therapy.
"I know if my mom were alive, I'd still have an eating disorder," said Jennette.
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2. Shirley Temple: Her mother sent her to the film industry when she was only 3 years old; she played in War Babies (1932).
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It was a short, provocative movie about kids impersonating grown-ups.
In her autobiography, Shirley defined it as "a cynical exploitation of our childish innocence."
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She still remembers what the punishment was for children if they acted out in the movie. In her autobiography, she also cited some examples of sexual harassment by studio leaders during her earliest career.
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3. Alyson Stoner had an audition for scenes depicting sexual violence when she was 6, and it affected her emotionally.
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At the age of 12, she was overworked and very stressed, which caused her eating disorders and resulted in being underweight.
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She said that her working conditions weren't ideal. She worked more hours than legally defined, the set conditions were improper and unsafe, and she was a victim of sexual harassment.
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4. Ariel Winter said she never dreamed of acting, but her mother did.
Her mother, Crystal Workman, wanted to be an actor herself; since she didn't succeed in that domain, she redirected her obsession with acting to her daughter.
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When she started acting, her mother put her on a rigorous diet and ignored her schooling.
She also made her wear an inappropriate wardrobe for her age, describing it further as “the smallest miniskirts, sailor suits, low-cut things, the shortest dresses you’ve ever seen. People thought I was 24 when I was 12.
If there was going to be a nude scene when I was that age, my mother would have a thousand percent said yes.”
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Ariel said she received a lot of abuse and exploitation from her mom, Crystal.
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Even Ariel's teacher on the set, Sharon Sacks, became worried.
Sharon said she started sharing meals with Ariel because of her strict diet. She added that Ariel's mother kept her at parties late when she was only 12 and 13 years old.
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5. Macaulay Culkin's father, Kit, started Macaulay's childhood career and organized all his schedules back then.
He kept him overworked from 1990 to 1994 and forced him to study his lines every night until the wee hours.
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Macaulay described his father as "such a crazy person."
He even made him perform on SNL without cue cards at only 11 years old.
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Macaulay added, “He was a bad man. He was abusive—physically and mentally.”
His father was mean to all his family members, and by the time Macaulay was 15, his parents had separated. After that, he ended contact with his father.
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That kind of pressure left a lasting mark on more than one young star.
6. Cole Sprouse said, "Every single person going through that trauma has a unique experience."
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He added, "When we talk about child stars going nuts, what we're not actually talking about is how fame is trauma."
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He was talking about the damage that can hide behind the spotlight.
7. Raven-Symoné said she was body-shamed in her earliest career because people used to tell her that she was fat.
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She described her unpleasant experience while filming The Cosby Show:
"I remember not being able to have the bagel or anything at—we would call it crafty, where it’s just a table of food, ready for you to eat whatever you want. And I remember people would be like, ‘You can’t eat that, you’re getting fat!’
I’m like, ‘I’m 7! I’m hungry!’"
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Her story adds another uncomfortable layer to the list.
8. Aaron Carter said that his family spent his $500 million on 15 houses and 30 cars.
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The selfishness of his family left him 70% deaf in one ear because his father shouted at him with a .44 magnum near his ear to make him sign a $256,000 check.
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9. Christy Carlson Romano said that her mother wanted all of her children to act, but only Christy succeeded.
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Christy said that she didn't want to take the role in Even Stevens because things were going well for her in Connecticut, and she didn't like the idea of moving to Los Angeles.
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She said that now, as an adult, she realizes that she had no control over her childhood life.
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10. Miley Cyrus has admitted that the fame she gained from her role in Hannah Montana brought her considerable psychological trauma.
She adored performing and being on the show, but it became overwhelming when she went on tour as Hannah Montana.
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People couldn't distinguish between Miley Cyrus and Miley Stewart, the TV character, as she toured as Hannah in real life, and she explained that it affected her as well.
She said, "I think that's what's probably a little wrong with me now. I attribute that to doing some extreme damage to my psyche as an adult person."
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11. Drew Barrymore's mom put her daughter in a dog commercial when she was only 11 months old.
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Drew became famous after acting in E.T. at 7 years old.
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When she was 9 years old, her parents got a divorce, and she stayed with her mom. Then she started taking her to Studio 54.
There, she found friends and started using drugs; by the age of 12, she was already in rehab.
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When asked if her parents had exploited her, she said, “I mean, well, yeah, I think with my mother, it was definitely too out there."
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Every parent wishes the best for their child, but sometimes they can go too far, and their best intentions may end up being a child's worst experience ever. Just like in these cases.
All these parents desired their children to be famous and have a good life, but their actions were too rigorous. Luckily, many of them realized their parents' mistakes and eventually managed to cope with the consequences.
Childhood fame can leave scars that do not fade easily.
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