Being a child star isn't easy.
While some end up with lifelong fame, others get lost along the way and never find their
way back.
Once upon a time, these child stars had it made.
It seemed like the only direction they could go in was up — but then life happened, and
they instead faded into the background.
Jonathan Lipnicki
Back in the late '90s and early 2000s, you couldn't turn on a family film without seeing
Jonathan Lipnicki on your screen.
His roles in blockbuster hits like Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little catapulted him to superstardom.
And don't even get us started on The Little Vampire.
But not everything was going well for the star.
"There was a lot of, you know, bullying I dealt with.
And, um, I was dealing with a lot of uh, even to this day, it's about a lot of anxiety and
depression."
In 2017, Lipnicki revealed on Instagram how bullying led to him ultimately leaving the
spotlight:
"I was told I was a has-been and would never book a job again.
I was made to feel like garbage every day of middle school to the point where I had
a panic attack every night before school, because I wondered how I would get through
the next day.
[…] It was humiliating."
But the actor told E! News that same year that he's managed to quell his attacks with
the help of extracurricular activities and therapy, so there's still a chance his career
could get back on track in the near future.
Fingers crossed.
Kyla Pratt
When she was cast as a nerdy pre-teen in Dr. Dolittle, Kyla Pratt got her big break.
The movie was a commercial success and helped springboard her into starring roles in The
Proud Family and One on One, but she just couldn't manage to build on top of her success.
After the Dr. Dolittle sequels weren't exactly successful, she decided to take a break from
the spotlight to focus on building a family, but did so entirely in private.
"I was doing everything huge, I just ask people to respect my privacy and not post pictures
and then I'd the public when I felt like it, like…"
She opened up about her decision to focus on family life in a 2014 interview with Ebony,
telling the publication: “I’m all about your mindset, being focused,
staying positive, being optimistic, and knowing that these are all aspects of my life that
I love and enjoy.
I have to nurture each of those relationships and give those relationships a great amount
of time.”
She could be gearing up for a major comeback, though, as she starred in a play adaptation
of the 1996 cult classic Set It Off in March 2018, which debuted to favorable reviews.
Andrew Keegan
Teen heartthrob Andrew Keegan was everyone's Man Crush Monday before it was even a thing.
But these days, instead of attracting fans, he's attracting converts.
Keegan leads a spiritual movement called Full Circle, based in Venice Beach, California.
Their reported goal is to promote individuality rather than societal standards.
He explained to Vice:
"I very much speak what comes through [while] in the collective.
We create a resonance of balance and equality of the crew.
When you feel those chakras aligned, there's guided messaging coming in.
If there is something of spiritual ego within that, it must not exist."
He isn't afraid to poke fun at his new life, however, as evidenced by his 2017 appearance
in Hollywood Darlings.
"Do you really believe Joey from '10 Things I Hate About You' is going to take us on a
spiritual journey?"
Tatyana Ali
Thanks to her role as Ashley Banks in the hit TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Tatyana
Ali was poised for superstardom back in the '90s.
Her time on the show even launched her into a successful singing career.
But when the show finished, the demand for Ali dwindled.
So she opted to pursue education instead.
She graduated from Harvard University in 2002 with a degree in Afro-American history and
government.
After taking an interest in politics, Ali went on to travel the United States for Barack
Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
Ali also reemerged for BET's series Second Generation Wayans in 2013, but her comeback
was cut short, as the show was canceled after the first season.
However, she appears to be doing just fine without the spotlight these days.
She married Stanford University English professor Vaughn Rasberry in 2016, and the pair welcomed
their first child that same year.
Jaleel White
After Family Matters wrapped in 1998, Jaleel White's career faltered.
Although he returned to television just a year later for UPN's comedy series Grown Ups,
the show received poor reviews and was canceled just a year later.
Fans presumably just didn't want to see White star as anyone other than Steve Urkel, the
googly-eyed nerd that pretty much stole every scene in Family Matters.
Even so, White made it clear that he wouldn't be picking up another role that was similar
to the one that made him famous, telling a reporter when the show wrapped:
''If you ever see me do that character again, take me out and put a bullet in my head and
put me out of my misery.''
White once again attempted a television comeback with 2017's Me, Myself & I, but that series
was also canceled after just one season.
Frankie Muniz
Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz was forced to take a hiatus from Hollywood after
suffering from an unexplainable string of strokes.
In a 2017 interview with People, the actor described his health struggles:
"First, I lose my peripheral vision.
And I can see people but I can't recognize them.
I can see words but I can't tell what they say.
Then I start going numb.
It's a gross feeling.
But I know now when it's going to come.
I usually go lay down and wait [for it to be over]."
Noting that he'd had nearly every test performed by neurologists, he continued:
"I have no answers as to why it happens.
I got so tired of trying to find an answer that I don't think I'll search for an answer
anymore.
I've accepted it."
The former child star hasn't let it damper his dreams of getting back to work, though.
And with such a positive outlook, who knows, he could be back on the big screen in no time.