Which former child star helps cows give birth now? These famous figures didn't quit their day jobs.
Nikki Blonsky was a fantastic Tracy Turnblad in 2007's "Hairspray" — her
first big-screen role — and she rode that wave of success to star in the ABC Family
series "Huge" in 2010. However, Hollywood hasn't always been kind to Blonsky, who has
expressed frustration with the challenge of pursuing roles for plus-sized women.
In an episode of "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" the actor shared that casting directors had
told her she'd probably have to drop some pounds if she wanted to land big roles.
"I'm not like a Mr. Potato Head doll that you can just, like,
put this on and take that off. No, it doesn't work like that."
Despite not being able to replicate the success of "Hairspray," Blonsky hasn't
stopped hustling. According to E! News, to make ends meet between acting and voice-over gigs,
she worked in a high-end shoe store in her native Long Island and as a
cosmetologist at a salon. However, Blonsky is set to make a return to
the big screen alongside actors Vivica A. Fox and Tyrese Gibson in the thriller "Bosco."
Tiffany Darwish, better known as just Tiffany, was a 1980s sensation thanks to her stunning face,
fiery red hair, and catchy cover of "I Think We're Alone Now." These days,
instead of shooting music videos in malls, she sells vintage clothes in her shop,
Tiffany's Boutique, in Nashville, Tennessee. She told the New York Daily News —
"I was a shopaholic as a teenager. I've been collecting vintage pieces
for 10 years now [for my] tiny little store. I'm still involved in the music industry,
so I'm always traveling. And shopping!"
Tiffany talked more about her boutique and her inspiration behind it to People, sharing —
"I thought, 'Wouldn't it be cool to open up a boutique that is a little bit of glamour,
and a little bit different?' I'm a real girl. I get it. I gain weight, I lose weight. My styles
change. My goal is to provide fashion for real women — any size, any age.'"
Tiffany never really left music and released several albums in the '90s and 2000s,
but they never amounted to the same success as her debut record. She has released a
total of eleven full-length albums, with another scheduled to drop in December 2022.
Erik Estrada has a handful of credits to his name and continues to act today,
but his most well-known role was as police officer Frank Poncherello in the 1977 television
series "CHiPs." Estrada loved playing a cop so much, he became one in real life.
"I wanted to be a cop since I was four years old. But at eighteen,
I was chasing a blonde into this drama thing… then I got bit by the acting bug."
Estrada got the gig as the California highway patrol officer in "CHiPs" in his late twenties,
and got to live out his original dream career later in life.
According to Today, Estrada started a policing career as a reserve police officer in Muncie,
Indiana, in 2008, and became a full-time deputy sheriff in
Bedford County, Virginia a year later. In 2016,
he was sworn in as a reserve police officer in St. Anthony, Idaho and shared on Twitter —
"An honor for me and my partner Daryl Williams, we now serve saint Anthony police dept. Proudly."
Today also reported that Estrada, who is the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation,
has a focus on keeping children safe from online predators.
Former "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" star Dylan Sprouse sent fans into a tizzy in 2013,
when it was revealed that he worked as a host in a New York City restaurant
while going to college. He soon took to his Tumblr page to clarify that he wasn't broke,
just trying to live that normal life. Sprouse clarified —
"To clear up the air (which is admittedly pretty rude),
I did not take this job because I 'lost all my money,' I am financially secure,
and took this job as a way to primarily feed my over bountiful video game addiction."
It wasn't just for the money, though. He continued —
"I also took this as a way to try a new experience, working somewhat below the means
I'm used to, as well as a way to socialize and get out of the house [...] in no way do
I think any experience is a step down for me, but rather a new step in another direction."
Sprouse's LinkedIn profile also reads that the actor is a Master Brewer and
owner of the Brooklyn, New York-based All-Wise Meadery, which has been around
since 2017. Talking to People in 2018, Sprouse shared that he has had a passion
for brewing mead since he was a teenager, and would even brew in his college dorm, saying —
"It's something that I love to do, and it's not acting which
is very important for creatives in general — to do other things."
Geoffrey Owens played Bill Cosby's son-in-law Elvin Tibideaux on "The
Cosby Show." When the series had its reruns pulled from the air in light of the titular
star's sexual assault allegations, all the actors involved stopped receiving residuals.
Photos of Owens working as a cashier in a Trader Joe's in New Jersey went
viral in September of 2018. He told "Good Morning America" that while he wasn't ashamed of his job,
he kept the gig on the DL because he didn't want the entertainment industry to think he'd quit.
"I wanted a job that I could have some flexibility, um, try to stay in the business."
Owens received an outpouring of support after the images went viral, including a $25,000 donation
from Nicki Minaj and a job offer from Tyler Perry, which Owens accepted. He told GMA —
"I hope what doesn't pass is this idea that people are rethinking about what it means to work — the
honor of the working person and the dignity of work. Every job is worthwhile and valuable."
After Geoffrey Owens was shamed by some for working at Trader Joe's,
athlete-turned-actor Terry Crews rushed to his defense on social media. He wrote on Twitter —
"I swept floors AFTER [playing in] the @NFL. If need be,
I'd do it again. Good honest work is nothing to be ashamed of."
Indeed, Crews has had other jobs in between his football career and his acting roles,
including co-founding a furniture design firm and a stint as a courtroom sketch
artist covering a high-profile murder case in Flint, Michigan.
Though he's wildly successful today, the entertainer has made
it clear that side hustles have always been a part of his equation. During a
sit-down on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Crews said that humility has gotten him far,
noting that he put his artistic talents to use while playing in the NFL.
"It would literally take me about two months to do a painting, and they would
give me like five grand, and I would survive off that. My whole family survived off that."
Reed Alexander was in his teens when he got the role of Nevel Papperman in
Nickelodeon's "iCarly," but his passions for acting started to fade as he became
more interested in the world of journalism. Alexander has got one impressive resume,
having worked as a journalist for companies such as HuffPost, the BBC, CNN, and the Dow Jones.
Now a financial reporter for Business Insider and adjunct professor at the
University of Miami, Alexander told the Miami New Times that
he made the difficult decision to leave acting behind. He admitted —
"Even at 17 or 18, my decision to walk away from it made me question,
well, who am I if I'm not an actor? I think just having the courage to
leave situations is something a lot of people don't have."
Although he's since been busy reporting the news,
Alexander returned to the "iCarly" reboot for a single episode in 2021.
"Mean Girls" star Jonathan Bennett went from smooching an in-her-prime Lindsay Lohan to
becoming a spin instructor. In 2013, BuzzFeed reported that the erstwhile Aaron Samuels was
a staffer at Flywheel in Los Angeles, where he reportedly specialized in encouraging
aspiring stars in his classes. Are you suddenly interested in working out again?
ABC News reported that the actor's bio for his new gig read —
"Behind the pedals, Jonathan brings to the cycling world his positive attitude. He strives
to bring out the best in all riders, leaving them feeling accomplished and ready to face the day."
We hate to break it to you, but Bennett eventually bounced back into showbiz when
he became the host of "Cake Wars" on the Food Network. He also starred alongside Hilary Duff
in the 2019 horror film "The Haunting of Sharon Tate," and took up roles in several
holiday Hallmark movies, including "Christmas Made to Order" and "The Christmas House."
Peter Ostrum starred alongside Gene Wilder in "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory." He played
Charlie, the lovable little boy with a heart of gold, then never acted in another movie again.
"After the film, I always denied my involvement with Willy Wonka.
I was just — I didn't really want to have anything to do with it."
So what did the former child star do instead?
Ostrum ended up becoming a large animal veterinarian in Lowville, New York. He told Oprah,
"For me, veterinary medicine is a really nice mix between using your head, using your brain,
problem-solving, but at the same time, there's a physical aspect of the work that I enjoy. I
won't get fat doing this job! You're always on the go and each day is a little bit different."
Ostrum is passionate about his work as a vet, with his bio on the Countryside
Veterinary Clinic website stating that he graduated from Cornell University in 1984.
"American Pie" star Chris Owen is still an actor,
but he's also waited tables at a high-end sushi eatery to pay the bills.
According to Daily Star, photos were taken of Owen working as a waiter at the Los Angeles
restaurant Sushi Roku. Owen confirmed his second job to the New York Daily News, saying —
"Life doesn't always go the way you planned.
I love acting and this job lets me stay in the fight."
Though big roles may not be racing his way, Owen's apparently made a lasting
impression as Chuck Sherman in the "Pie" franchise. He elaborated —
"I get recognized a lot. I walk up to the table and see the look in their eyes. ... People get
excited and it feels good. I like connecting with people for that brief moment in time."
Owen, a.k.a. "The Shermanator," appeared in a few of the movies in the "American
Pie" franchise — and a reported "American Pie 5" might be in the works. Tara Reid,
who starred as Vicky in the films, told ET in 2021 —
"It might happen. OK, I can't tell you when, because I don't really know when,
because we have to get all the actors and at the same time to get our schedules together."
Soul singer Al Green has won 14 Grammys, sold millions of records,
and was inducted into the Rock and Roll, Gospel, and Songwriter Halls of Fame. While
he still records and performs occasionally, he left the bulk of his past as a crooner behind
to devote his life to religion in the late '70s. After being attacked by an angry lover in 1974,
he grew more serious about his spirituality. Green became a Baptist preacher in Memphis,
Tennessee, where he's served at the Full Gospel Tabernacle for more than 40 years.
When asked about his career change in 2016, Green told The Memphis Commercial Appeal —
"I done did a lot of stuff, man. There's some things I'd like to do,
maybe [play] three or four cities of the United States and then go back to
the house and read some more of the [Bible]. I'm not hankering for anything, not really."