Who went on to work with animals after a career on the Disney Channel? Does the kid from Eerie,
Indiana have an appropriately weird job now that he's an adult? Not all former child stars
burn out, some of them just quietly move on to other professions.
In Stanley Kubrick's classic 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining, the role of
the troubled, psychically-gifted Danny Torrance was played by newcomer Danny Lloyd. Lloyd
discussed his time making the horror film in a 2017 interview with The Guardian, as
he revealed that he enjoyed the experience and has fond memories of it. But he hasn't
kept up an acting career in the decades since. His reasons for leaving the industry have
nothing to do with the film itself. Instead, the work just dried up for him.
Lloyd continued to audition, a process that can be grueling, but he didn't mind it too
much. As he told The Guardian,
"I always enjoyed it. It was exciting. But as I got a little bit older, it got kind of
boring. Then I had to tell my parents that I was ready to quit. Which they were fine
with. They were never stage parents. They made sure I had a normal upbringing."
These days, Lloyd is a biology professor at a community college in Kentucky, and he's
happy with his showbiz legacy. According to him,
"I don't regret trying acting. When I decided to stop, I don't regret that either."
If you know Mara Wilson, you most likely recognize her from early 90s family classics like Mrs.
Doubtfire, Miracle on 34th Street, and of course, as the title character in Matilda.
She was one of those child stars who seemed to be wise beyond her years. At no point did
it ever appear like she was mugging for the camera or attempting too hard to be a cute
kid. Instead, there was a natural quality in her performances that was absolutely unique
to her, and that may very well be why her work in those films is still fondly remembered
all these years later.
While talking to NPR in 2016, Wilson explained that her departure from acting happened gradually,
almost without her even realizing it. After her mother's passing, acting became the only
constant in her life, but she didn't have the same enthusiasm for it. As puberty struck,
she was embarrassed by the natural processes of growing up, and it was difficult to go
through publicly. Eventually, she found that she could survive without acting, so she instead
focused on writing. She composed a play called Sheeple in 2013, and her memoir Where Am I
Now was released in 2016.
"Where is she now? Where did she disappear to?"
Kay Panabaker began her career in 2001 in a short film called Temptation, and she also
recorded some voices in the animated Pixar classic Monsters Inc. Her star then rose so
quickly that she worked almost nonstop for the next ten years. She showed up on TV shows
like Angel and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, while also co-starring in the Disney
Channel series Phil of the Future. Additionally, she appeared in TV movies like Read It and
Weep, alongside her older sister Danielle. And one of the biggest titles on her resume
is the 2009 remake of Fame.
Despite her continued success, Panabaker ultimately decided to walk away from acting. She revealed
to her fans on Twitter her very simple reason for leaving the entertainment industry behind,
while also sharing some life advice, as she wrote,
"I just lost the love for acting. Life is short, we spend too much time at work, gotta
do what you love :) and I love my job!!"
That job that she loves so much is working with animals, as she now has a gig as a zookeeper
at Disney World's Animal Kingdom.
It would be hard to imagine anyone living on Planet Earth for the past few decades who
hasn't heard of the Olsen Twins. The pair absolutely dominated family entertainment
during the early 1990s. They got their start playing youngest sister Michelle Tanner on
the iconic family sitcom Full House, and they then shot into the pop culture stratosphere
thanks to their numerous TV movies like To Grandmother's House We Go and Double, Double,
Toil and Trouble, as well as a mountain of direct-to-video movies and other official
merchandise.
In 2006, the Olsen twins launched The Row, a luxury fashion line that they've worked
on perfecting for over fifteen years. In a rare interview, they sat down with i-D Magazine
in 2021 to celebrate the success of their venture. The conversation included very little
discussion of their acting careers, though they did mention that the reason they're not
open with the public about their lives is they've always been "discreet people," as
that's how they were raised. While we may not know their exact reasons for entering
the fashion world and leaving entertainment behind, it seems pretty clear that they're
happy with their current careers.
Leanna Creel's biggest claim to fame is probably the 10 episodes of Saved by the Bell she appeared
in during the show's final season in which she was set up as a foil for Zack Morris.
She played the headstrong Tori Scott, who wouldn't fall easily for his charm. Before
that, her first credit was in another beloved series: a 1987 episode of the ABC sitcom Growing
Pains. Shortly afterwards, she and her sisters starred in the TV movies Parent Trap III and
Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon, alongside acting legend Hayley Mills, who starred in
the original Parent Trap movie as well as Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the series that
became Saved by the Bell.
Creel may not be acting anymore, but she's still involved with producing visual content
through Creel Studio, a production company that she runs with her wife. It's the company's
commitment to philanthropy that really helps it stand out. According to its website,
"We believe The Good Life is about more than just material comforts, it's also about living
a life marked by doing good. In illuminating all aspects of The Good Life we convey an
enlightened sense of luxury lifestyle content."
Creel also started an app that assists real estate professionals in creating content.
Originally a dancer, Ami Foster is probably best remembered for two projects: the 1989
Shelley Long comedy Troop Beverly Hills, which was about a troop of rich, privileged Girl
Scouts, and the NBC sitcom Punky Brewster, on which she played the rich, entitled, and
slightly oblivious Margaux. But those are only two credits on a long and impressive
resume that Foster assembled over the course of an 11-year acting career.
While catching up with her Punky costar Cherie Johnson on the Cherie's World Podcast in 2021,
Foster discussed what she's been up to since walking away from acting. For a brief time,
she entered the music industry and moved to Nashville. However, she wanted to be with
her family in Los Angeles, and her husband got a job there working as a firefighter.
After the birth of her daughter, she decided that she would rather be home instead of working
in showbiz. So she might have the most grown-up gig of anybody on this list: full-time mom!
Michael Oliver's career may have only lasted six years, but when your first role out of
the gate is the meanest little kid in cinema, there isn't much else you need to do after
that. He also had small roles in other notable movies like Forrest Gump and Eraser, but it's
his portrayal of Junior in Problem Child and Problem Child 2 that left the biggest impact.
In 2015, Oliver was a guest on his Problem Child co-star Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing
Colossal Podcast. The two reminisced about working on the original film, learning from
the late John Ritter, and what happened to Oliver in the years since. Around the time
that Oliver's parents pursued legal action against the studio for failing to pay them
the money they were owed, they lost their house and he was losing interest in acting.
He likened his life experience to the opposite of a kid wondering what it must be like to
be famous. To him, he was looking at the lives of normal kids and wondering what that was
like. At the time of the interview, he was working in the tech support industry.
The biggest title on Omri Katz's resume is probably the primetime soap opera Dallas,
on which he played John Ross Ewing III. But anyone who grew up in the early 90s will surely
know him best for the quirky TV show Eerie, Indiana and the Halloween classic Hocus Pocus.
He also worked with director Joe Dante in the 1993 movie Matinee, a cult classic ode
to 60s B movie schlock and cold war tensions.
In March 2020, Katz posted a message on his Instagram that he was getting into the cannabis
apparel business, as he wrote,
"Being a member of the cannabis community for almost 20 years now and jumping thru [sic]
hoops of fire to get here I'm proud to announce our online apparel store will be opening up
soon."
The store in question is called The Mary Danksters, and the about section on their website declares: "We, The Mary Danksters are ambassadors of the cannabis culture, with deep roots within the traditional cannabis community.
We represent positivity, herb, and unity.
Ariana Richards appeared in a few films and TV shows in the 90s that are still a big deal
today. She's surely best remembered as Lex in the original Jurassic Park. Additionally,
she also appeared alongside Kevin Bacon in 1990's Tremors, she played the title character's
love interest in 1995's Angus, and she turned in a heartbreaking performance as a young
girl being abused by her father in an episode of Boy Meets World.
In 2020, Richards spoke with Amblin Entertainment about her experience making Jurassic Park
and what her life's like now. A painter from an early age, she took part in a mentorship
through the California Arts Club after college. She credits everything she learned during
those four years with sending her down her current path as a professional painter.
Eva Amurri started her acting career in the 1992 film Bob Roberts, alongside the father
of her half-siblings, Tim Robbins. Her mother is actress Susan Sarandon, and the two worked
together in Dead Man Walking, Earthly Possessions, Anywhere But Here, and The Banger Sisters.
Amurri also appeared on huge TV shows like Friends and How I Met Your Mother. Her acting
career was still going strong for several years until she ultimately decided to step
away in 2016.
Following the birth of her daughter, Amurri realized that she couldn't raise a child to
spend her life doing something that made her happy when she wasn't doing that herself.
While talking with Yahoo! Finance in 2019, she explained that she made a list of things
that did make her happy. Her then-husband told her it looked like a lifestyle blog,
and he encouraged her to learn how to make a living in an online space. Her blog "Happily
Eva After" then launched in 2015 and it covers her favorite topics, which are "Style, Decor,
Food, and Crafting."
Even if you've never seen a single film starring this tiny megastar, chances are you still
recognize the name. Simply put, there would be no Olsen Twin empire without Shirley Temple.
Her image was so recognizable and popular that it was plastered all over various kinds
of merchandise in the 1930s. She was such a huge star so early in life, but then she
retired from acting at the tender age of 22. Considering that she started her life on screen
at the age of 3 and starred in 34 films over a 14-year period, it's safe to say that she
had a full career before most people even got started.
During the late 50s and into the early 60s, Temple briefly returned to entertainment both
in front of and behind the camera. She then transitioned to a new role in 1969 when she
became a diplomat. As she traveled around the world, she witnessed atrocities that put
her on track to becoming the ambassador to Ghana in 1974. And then in 1989 she was appointed
by President George H. W. Bush to be the first female ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
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