Nine Of Our Favorite Child Stars: Then and Now

The entertainment industry is always in need of child actors since the world in which TV and movie characters live would look really weird if none of them contained kids. Some of these children end up becoming household names, making tons of money, and even sustain their careers into adulthood. On the other hand, others move on to other careers. Here’s a look at 9 child stars from the 80s and 90s, and what they’re up to today.

1. Mayim Bialik

For younger folks, Bialik is best known for playing neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler in The Big Bang Theory, but she got her start as the titular character in Blossom, which ran from 1990 until 1995. Even before that, her breakthrough came when she played the younger version of Bette Midler’s character in the 1988 movie Beaches. Aside from acting, she also holds a PhD in neuroscience and has co-written two books and written two by herself on topics related to the science of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood.

2. Jeff Cohen

If you’re a big fan of 1980s movies, you have undoubtedly seen Goonies, a story about teenagers who hunt for hidden treasure. Cohen steals the movie in his role as Chunk, but it would turn out to be the only Hollywood movie he’d make. He had some roles in a few TV movies and made an occasional appearance in sitcoms such as The Facts of Life and Family Ties, but that’s as far as his acting career would go. But don’t feel too bad for him; today he’s a successful entertainment lawyer and in pretty good shape.

3. Jonathan Lipnicki

Lipnicki is best remembered as the “Did you know the human head weighs 8 pounds” kid from the Tom Cruise hit Jerry Maguire. Six years old at the time, he would go on to make a few more movies into his preteens, but these days he focuses exclusively on indie films. He also dabbles in mixed martial arts, although he has stated he has no plans to get into it competitively since he’s too busy acting to devote himself to the amount of cardio training required to be successful in the sport.