Here’s What 14 Of The Most Famous Child Stars From Our Youth Are Up To Now

Speaking of Zachery Ty Bryan, let's talk about his Home Improvement brother, Mark — known offscreen as Taran Noah Smith. Soon after he turned 18, he seemingly tried his hardest to free himself from his parents — who, reportedly, bought a mansion on his dime. At the time, Taran was upset about it, until he later realized his parents were just trying to help him out.

But he still rebelled. At the age of 17, he realized he didn't want to act anymore and married Heidi van Pelt, who was much older than he was. The two divorced in 2007 after having a child together and launching an ill-fated vegan company called Playfood.

Now, he's found happiness working at the Community Submersibles Project. He's known best as just "Taran Smith" these days, and pilots submarines for a living.

We might as well include all of the Home Improvement brothers, right? Jonathan Taylor Thomas was arguably the most popular on the show, and was prominently featured on many bedroom walls, thanks to his photos in Tiger Beat. JTT, as we all lovingly called him, was also a popular movie star.

He was also wise beyond his years, and it may vhave been why he never suffered from a public scandal or meltdown. Talking about his career at the ripe old age of 14, JTT once discussed his job as an actor, telling Premiere, "I think most [fallen child stars] weren't prepared for the end. I mean, it's not the end of your life! You can't base your life around one thing."

Jonathan went to Harvard University when he was 19, studying philosophy and history. As his co-star Tim Allen said, "This is a kid that's really intelligent. He likes directing, he loves this business, but he's not sure that this is what he wants to do." So, it seems like he's just living his life and choosing projects wisely.

JTT made the news in July 2021, when someone managed to photograph him for the first time in roughly 8 years. Those years in-between must have been a nice break for him, after constantly being photographed as a child.

You're likely already familiar with the chaos that Lindsay Lohan got herself into after starring in the beloved hit Mean Girls. But even before taking on the role of Cady Heron, Lindsay proved to the world that she had talent.

But, it might have all been too much for her at the time. Lindsay had an extremely public battle with substance abuse and got herself into a few too many car accidents after adopting the clubbing lifestyle. In time, she became a liability on set, and people weren't quite as determined to work with her. Even Oprah reached out to the star and couldn't get her under control, as viewers witnessed in the hard-to-watch documentary Lindsay.

So, what did she do? She moved to a different country. And, it may have helped. While she is reportedly close with her mom, both Dina Lohan and her father Michael Lohan also became headline news for years due to their tumultuous relationship. Being far away from them likely helped. She was briefly in the MTV show Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club, which only lasted for one season. That said, she's been ready to make her big comeback.

Next to JTT, Devon Sawa was a top celebrity crush for many youngsters. And, it's easy to see why. He was cast in plenty of '90s films, like Casper, Now and Then, and Little Giants. If there was a summer movie for families or tweens, chances are, Devon was in it.

He's still working hard, but mostly living a more relaxed life these days. Not only is his Twitter gaining popularity due to his quick wit and political takes, but he's a father to a son and daughter.  One of his most recent projects from 2019 also stars John Travolta. It's a thriller called The Fanatic, and it was shockingly directed by musician Fred Durst. Let's just say it wasn't his most popular film.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that actress Raven-Symoné doesn't have people yelling "That's so Raven" at her on the streets. Especially since Raven has done a lot since her Disney hit series. (But, she's still a fictional Raven as well. She's currently starring on Raven's Home as a divorced single mom.)

In 2013, Raven came out by declaring her support for the legalization of same-sex marriage, which was important for all of her LGBTQ fans. But, she also confused some fans when she said she preferred not to be labeled. In an interview just a year later, she said she doesn't identify as gay or an African American. She's just herself.

In 2020, she got married to social media manager Miranda Maday. "I got married to a woman who understands me from trigger to joy, from breakfast to midnight snack, from stage to home," Raven wrote on Instagram.

Much like Raven's catchphrase, let's hope that Haley Joel Osment isn't still hearing "I see dead people" when he's out and about. He admits that aside from one car accident — which he paid his fine for — he's mostly stayed out of trouble since being one of Hollywood's most sought-after child actors.

"I think sometimes there’s an expectation for there to be that darkness," he told Independent in 2019. "But I think there are a lot more stories of people who had positive experiences working as children and didn't have that kind of cliched storyline going forward. And that's been the case for me."

He's actually said that some that can be attributed to not being in a television show that was watched by his peers. "Going back to school, it wasn't like I was on a show that everybody at school was watching at the same time, and I think it made the growing-up process a little bit easier," he said. "Even going back to sixth grade after The Sixth Sense, that was a movie that my classmates were too young to see."

Haley is still acting a lot, and these days, he's made the transition over to television. He was in an episode of the FXX show What We Do In The Shadows in 2020, and also lent his voice to an episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks.

While a lot of focus was on her older sister Britney — who notably had her own issues with fame and the spotlight years back — Jamie Lynn Spears had her acting career take a sudden turn when she became a teen mom. Jamie Lynn was starring on the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101 at the time. It was her last acting gig for a while, as she became more focused on her daughter, Maddie. She officially called it quits with the father of her child, Casey Aldridge, in 2010.

After having Maddie, Jamie Lynn more or less disappeared for five years. Because people assumed she glamorized teen pregnancy, as a teen star at the time, she likely knew it'd be a good chance for a career break.

She's now married to businessman Jamie Watson. In 2018, she had her second daughter, Ivey Joan Watson. In 2020, she made her acting comeback in the series Sweet Magnolias.

Jaleel White literally took over Family Matters. His role as Steve Urkel wasn't meant to be a full-time gig, until America literally fell in love with him. That's a lot of pressure to keep up with, and it's even harder when you realize the character is even bigger than you. Jaleel had his own doll made and his own catchphrase, which might have made it tough for him to continue his career after the show's run.

But, he did. While the show didn't last long, he starred on the series Grown Ups from 1999 to 2000. Still, he got some flak for mocking the role that made him a household name. "I let him die," he told The New York Times when he was in his early 20s. "I've got a mental tombstone for that character. I've got lots of flowers around it, but that boy is dead."

"The bottom line is that the studio machine had a lot invested in Urkel," he continued. "They sold that character for a decade. You think you can go out and break that in a year? No way."

Jaleel has had some other hardships in his life, including his custody battle with ex-wife Bridget Hardy. Daughter Samaya was born in 2009, and by 2012, his ex was accusing him of spousal abuse.

"As much as I would love to go detail for detail refuting Ms. Hardy's claims about the specifics of what was our relationship, the family court judge made it very clear to me any public discussion of our case and ordeal would be held against me in a court of law," he told People.

Much like Jaleel White, Frankie Muniz was a former child star who appeared on Dancing with the Stars. And during his run, the former Malcolm in the Middle stars admitted that he suffered from some scary health news.

Frankie has had around nine concussions and several mini-strokes that have impaired his memory. He reportedly can't remember much about his time on set, yet is still quite fond of the bonds he made while filming the show.

The actor did make headlines back in 2011 for a scary incident involving a gun and accusations of domestic abuse. Ex-girlfriend Elycia Turnbow said Frankie shoved her, and at one point, held a gun to his own head. Frankie's publicist has since stated that these events didn't occur as initially reported.

Frankie has since found love again, marrying Paige Price in 2020. The two just announced they're expecting a baby boy.

Abigail Breslin has been an actress since she was 5 years old, when she made her debut in the movie Signs. But, it was her role as young Olive in Little Miss Sunshine that really made her stand out.

In 2017, Abigail shared a personal yet horrific story, recalling an incident where she was raped. When it happened, she didn't report it. After the incident, she said she was in "complete shock and total denial," trying to pretend it didn't happen. She also felt as if she wouldn't be believed. Since coming out with the story, she's done a wonderful job advocating for others who've been abused or assaulted.

She's also still acting. Her most recent role was in 2019's Zombieland: Double Tap.

Amanda Bynes arrived on Nickelodeon's All That, and became one of the show's biggest breakout stars. She even had her own spin-off, and was reportedly a delight to work with. Back in the day, everyone felt as if her career could only go up.

But, Amanda suffered from some bumps in the road. "I started smoking marijuana when I was 16," she revealed to Paper. "Even though everyone thought I was the 'good girl,' I did smoke marijuana from that point on. I didn't get addicted [then] and I wasn't abusing it. And I wasn't going out and partying or making a fool of myself … yet."

She eventually started taking Adderall, which Amanda admits she had a major problem with.

"When I was doing Hall Pass, I remember being in the trailer and I used to chew the Adderall tablets because I thought they made me [more] high [that way]. I remember chewing on a bunch of them and literally being scatterbrained and not being able to focus on my lines or memorize them for that matter."

Amanda is still actively fighting her demons. In 2020, she revealed she was in treatment for two months. She also revealed that she had face tattoos.

"Worked on coping skills to help with my social anxiety that caused me to drop out of school months ago," she said on Instagram, per Today. "Back on track and doing well! I'm now living in transitional living and doing therapy during the week."

Shaun Weiss might not be a name you remember all that well, but you'd recognize him from classic family movies like The Mighty Ducks and Heavyweights. Many know him best as Goldberg the goalie.

But since the '90s, he's had trouble with addiction — and is nearly unrecognizable these days. In 2018, he was arrested for public intoxication. And later, he was found trespassing in someone's garage. Luckily, 2020 has been treating the former star pretty well.

In September, he reported 230 days sober, according to Today. He even got a new set of teeth. According to a friend of his named Drew Gallagher, Shaun just needs the extra support.

"There's not a blameless Shaun Weiss here, he is definitely to blame for a lot of stupid s–t he does," Drew said, reports the outlet. "But if you were to spend any time with him you would have a drastically more compassionate understanding of what he was about … He's sick, he's mentally ill. He's just sick and everybody gives up on him."

Everyone's seen Home Alone at least once — it's a holiday classic. After Mack's career started taking off, things got difficult for the star. But, he wants to make things clear: Despite the headlines at the time, he didn't "divorce" his parents when he was a teen.

"We didn’t want to go with my father,"  Macaulay told Esquire in February 2020, in discussing his parents' messy divorce. "It's always misconstrued, that I 'emancipated' myself from my parents. I legally took my parents' names off of my trust fund and found an executor, someone who would look over my finances, just in case anyone wanted to stick their f–king pinkie in the pie. 'But the next thing you know, the story was that I divorced my parents. I just thought I was doing it cleanly — taking my father's name off, taking my mom's name off, so my opinion is unbiased. And when I did that, the whole thing kinda ended a lot faster."

It was also misconstrued that Macaulay was in deep trouble with drugs. He was quick to clear that up with Esquire, as well. "I played with some fire, I guess is the best way to put it," he admitted. "At the same time, I've never been to rehab or anything like that. I've never had to clean out that way. There were certain times when I had to catch myself, once or twice. You're having too good a time, Mack. I mean, I've had friends who ask me, 'How do I get clean?' And I go, 'I'm the last person you should ask, because I'm gonna give you the worst advice, which is: Just stop. Just stop!' And that's not the way it works. But I never went so far down that road where I needed outside help."

These days, he's enjoying his life the way he sees fit. He's been dating former Disney star Brenda Song. He also has a podcast called Bunny Ears.

Since Urkel was profiled earlier, obviously you must be a little curious as to what happened with Laura Winslow, the object of his affection in Family Matters. Kellie Shanygne Williams — who's now known best as Kellie Jackson — has put acting aside for a little, and is now focused on working with the Kellie Williams Program with co-creator Jeff Rawluk. The program helps kids form a television broadcast, similarly to the children's theater program that Kellie enjoyed as a child herself.

Kellie is also a mom of two. She got married to Hannibal Jackson in 2009, and the two are parents to daughter Hannah Belle and son John Ervin.

She admits that she was mostly scandal-free back when she was in the spotlight — and thanks her parents for that. "I had some old-school parents and they kept me grounded and allowed me to have a childhood," she told Black Doctor. "Jaleel [White] and I talked about that, because looking back on it, people were living these interesting lives but we had no idea."