Fame doesn't always last forever, and for some of Hollywood's most iconic child stars, that's just how they like it. After breaking out at a young age and becoming household names before they could even drive a car, many of these former stars from the '70s and '80s decided to step back from the spotlight entirely.
Join HELLO! as we discover which '70s and '80s child stars have gone on to lead ordinary lives away from the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown.
Josh Saviano
© Disney General Entertainment ConIn the late 1980s, Josh Saviano starred in the iconic television series The Wonder Years as Paul Pfeiffer, making him a popular face on the screen. The series chronicled the Arnold family during the 1960s and '70s, with Paul as the nerdy best friend of the protagonist, Kevin Arnold (played by Fred Savage).
© Disney General Entertainment ConFollowing his time on the show from 1988 to 1993, Josh appeared in a handful of television series, including NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, though none matched the scale of The Wonder Years.
© Getty Images for Saks Fifth AvenIntriguingly, his character's storyline mirrored his real life: In The Wonder Years' finale, it's revealed that Paul eventually graduated from Harvard and became a lawyer. Off-screen, Josh went on to attend an Ivy League university (Yale) before becoming a lawyer - talk about cast types! The 50-year-old later founded an advisory firm supporting artists, entertainers, athletes, influencers, and entrepreneurs, ensuring his background in acting even remained relevant to his legal and business career.
Carrie Henn
© Sygma via Getty ImagesStarring in the James Cameron film Aliens in 1986, Carrie Henn was just 10 years old when she got the part. Co-starring with Sigourney Weaver, she played Rebecca "Newt" Jorden in the classic science-fiction film. You would think after starring in one of the greatest sci-fi movies of the '80s she would want to continue, or even venture further into the genre.
© Getty ImagesHowever, after earning her BA in liberal studies from California State University, Stanislaus in 2000, Carrie pursued teaching instead. The 50-year-old now teaches and leads a rather normal life away from the Hollywood spotlight. What is incredibly sweet, though, is that she still features at fan conventions occasionally for the film, which has left behind a huge pop-culture legacy.
Kristy McNichol
© Getty ImagesKristy was lauded as a rare talent when she was introduced to the world as Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence in Family in 1976, a role which saw her nominated for the Best Supporting Actress for multiple Primetime Emmys, winning two.
She stepped out on her own two feet in 1980's Little Darlings alongside Tatum O'Neal, and went on to act in Dream Lover, You Can't Hurry Love and The Forgotten One. Kristy was starring in Empty Nest when she abruptly quit the show in 1992 and left Hollywood behind altogether, a decision that left her many fans baffled.
© Getty"Many people have asked me why I left the show," she said in a 2001 statement. "It was because I was suffering from manic depression [bipolar disorder], but I didn’t want to talk about it at the time. It was very private. Now I want to tell people the truth."
In that same statement, she announced her decision to retire from acting and move on from her starry career. "A lot of people have wondered what I've been up to. I retired from my career after 24 years. My feeling was that it was time to play my biggest part – myself!" she said.
© Getty Images"I must say that it has been the best thing that ever happened to me. So many fans are disappointed that I'm not currently acting; however, some may not realise that the process I'm in at this time is necessary and vital for my personal happiness and well-being."
Kristy shunned the spotlight and became an acting teacher at a private school in Los Angeles. She also found a passion for charity work, particularly with United Way, and joined the Los Angeles Valley Community College choir. "This phase of my life is so good," she told People. "My home life is happy and serene. I love singing. I also enjoy travelling and seeing the world. One of my favourite stops is Hawai'i."
Jeff Cohen
© Getty ImagesJeff was one of the most recognisable child stars of the '80s, thanks to his role as Chunk in the iconic 1985 flick The Goonies. After the film made stars out of its cast of child actors, Jeff went on to nab minor roles in projects like Family Ties, and Perfect Harmony.
As Jeff aged, his career slowed down, and he began to consider other pathways besides acting. "There were basically about four fat kids in town, so every time there was a fat kid role you saw the same people at the audition," he told the Daily Mail.
© WireImage"It was survival of the fattest. But when I hit puberty, it was a career-ender for me. I was transforming from Chunk to hunk, and I couldn’t get roles anymore."
"It was terrible," he continued. "It was a forced retirement. I didn't give up acting. Acting gave me up." The redhead's next move was to enrol in a business degree at the University of California, Berkeley, which The Goonies director Richard Donner paid for in its entirety.
He then earned a law degree from UCLA, and went on to become an entertainment lawyer working in the very industry he had left behind. In a full circle moment, Jeff ended up negotiating a deal for Ke Huy Quan, his Goonies co-star, when the actor signed on for Everything Everywhere All At Once (which won Ke an Oscar).
"When the producer of our movie was trying to make my deal, he said he never imagined that he'd have to talk to Chunk and Data for his movie," Ke Huy joked in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Peter Ostrum
© Getty ImagesPeter portrayed Charlie Bucket in the classic and beloved 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and quickly decided that acting was not for him after all. Peter even reportedly turned down a three-film deal for Wonka in favour of a quieter life in Ohio.
"Being in the film industry as a child was hard, and I couldn't keep it going. But in the end, leaving was the right decision," he told Hollywood Chicago. Instead, Peter went to Cornell University and graduated with a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1984, after being inspired by his local vet.
© Getty Images"My father was a lawyer, and I really didn't have a clue what he did all day. But I knew exactly what the veterinarian did. Someone making a living from something he enjoyed so much really sparked my interest. I thought, if that doesn't work, then maybe I could do something else," he said in an interview with the American Veterinary Medical Association.
"But I would always have in the back of my mind, 'You should've tried to get into veterinary school.' If I didn't pursue that, I'd always kick myself."
While Peter initially distanced himself from Wonka, and even kept the secret from his wife until right before he met her mother, he now attends reunion events and speaks openly about his experience as a one-time child star.
Barret Oliver
© Picture Alliance via Getty ImagesBarret shone as Bastian Balthazar Bux in the 1984 fantasy flick The NeverEnding Story, and continued to land major roles in films like Frankenweenie and D.A.R.Y.L. His final on-screen credit was in 1989's Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, after which he left Hollywood altogether and decided to pursue his passion for photography.
More specifically, Barret is now a photographic historian who specialises in 19th-century photographic technology. He wrote a book on the topic, titled A History of the Woodburytype, in 2007, and made a short film about his work in 2012, called In the Usual Manner.
© YouTubeThe former child star explained to PhotoCulture in 2019 that he became interested in 19th-century photography after making his own materials like photo developers and papers.
"I'm also just a sucker for a challenge, and because I have a professional photography background, I was really interested in getting things precise and accurate and repeatable, so if someone asks you to make five copies of something, they all look the same," he shared. "That's really hard to do when you're making things by hand."
Mike Lookinland
© Disney General Entertainment ConMike starred in The Brady Bunch as the youngest son, Bobby, for five years between 1969 and 1974, catapulting him to worldwide fame. After the show came to an end, he made appearances in projects like The Towering Inferno and Little House on the Prairie, as well as several Brady spinoffs like The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
In early adulthood, Mike moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and struggled to find himself. "I lived my childhood in my 20s because I couldn't when I was a child," he recalled on The Real Brady Bros podcast. "And in my twenties, I had a car and money and freedom…I was fully off the rails."
© Getty Images"I'm just thankful that not every man, woman, and child had a high-def camera in their pocket when I was 25, like they do now, because it would have ruined my life," he added. After Mike was arrested on a DUI charge in 1997, he completed a stint in rehab and got sober.
He now owns a small business making decorative countertops, benches, fireplaces and concrete items. The former actor still makes occasional TV appearances, like in Blending Christmas in 2021 with his Brady co-stars, and The Masked Singer in 2022.
