Child stars from our favourite Christmas movies – where are they now?

Before she owned the Upper East Side as Jenny Humphrey in Gossip Girl, Taylor Momsen was the youngest resident of Whoville – with some seriously memorable hair. Cindy Lou Who was Taylor’s first major role at just seven years old, and she instantly became synonymous with the sweet character who bravely faced the (the…the…the) Grinch.

Though she stepped away from acting after season four of Gossip Girl, Taylor has been the frontwoman of The Pretty Reckless since 2009, and recently released her EP Taylor Momsen's Pretty Reckless Christmas – one that will be going straight on my festive playlist. The tracklist includes “Where Are You Christmas?”, which fans will remember Cindy singing in the film!

From “I made my family disappear” to orchestrating the most legendary home defences in film history, Kevin McCallister had all of us secretly thinking we could outsmart burglars after watching Home Alone. The festive classic catapulted the young star to fame, who was just 10-years-old during the first film, and Macaulay Culkin went on to star in nineties classics like Richie Rich (1994).

Alongside his adorable partnership with fellow actress Brenda Song, Macaulay recently starred in Zootopia 2 (2025), and has an undisclosed role in the highly-anticipated second season of the Prime series Fallout, set to air shortly before Christmas.

Labelled “truly marvelous” by her co-star Richard Attenborough, Mara Wilson became Susan Walker for the nineties generation, having already wowed audiences as Natalie Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) at just 6-years-old. The child star followed the festive hit up with her memorable starring role in Matilda (1996), and was practically acting royalty by the end of the decade.

After taking a hiatus from Hollywood at the millennium, Mara made a select return to acting in shows like Big Hero 6: The Series (2018–19). The Matilda star remembered her Miracle on 34th Street co-star, who passed away in 2014, as a “gorgeous presence”, adding that “I think there were times that he kind of made me believe that he might have actually been Santa Claus”.

I think this may have been the most-played Christmas movie in my house growing up, and Peter Billingsley’s performance as Ralphie Parker is the heart of this classic. From the endless cries of “You’ll shoot your eye out!” to Ralphie’s adult narration, the film is became a cultural touchstone that launched Peter to stardom.

Peter recently produced the Dennis Quaid-led Broke (2025) as well the highly-anticipated sequel A Christmas Story Christmas (2022), which he also reprised his legendary role in. Reflecting on the film’s lasting legacy, he shared that “even though it’s comedic, it feels very real…there’s chaos in the house but also a lot of love”.

At just 8-years-old, Eric Lloyd was already a seasoned actor, but it was his role as Charlie Calvin in The Santa Clause (1994) and its sequels that made him a household name. Whether he was a sweet, bowl-cut-sporting child or the North Pole’s resident brooding teenager, he always had an adorably heartwarming bond with his father.

While Eric has largely left Hollywood, he made a much-awaited return in an episode of Disney’s The Santa Clauses (2022), where he’s offered the chance to succeed his dad as Santa. In a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” segment from 2014, the actor revealed that his childhood role as Charlie “strengthened my belief in Santa”, sharing that “in my eyes, we were making a biopic of Santa in a way”.

While bringing Hero Boy to life in The Polar Express (2004) was a team effort – Tom Hanks provided the voice for the adult version while Josh Hutcherson performed the boy’s motion-capture – Daryl Sabara was the voice behind the iconic character. His role in the animated classic came after his memorable performance as the pint-size prodigy in the Spy Kids trilogy, which made him one of the biggest child actors of the y2k era. 

While he may have hit pause on Hollywood since becoming a father to two adorable kids with pop star Meghan Trainor, the star still pops up on-screen, most recently in his wife’s music video for "To The Moon".

While “nobody’s walking out on this Griswold family Christmas”, Audrey Griswold may have wanted to. Juliette Lewis’s role as the angsty teen was one of the film’s most memorable, and her acting chops were soon picked up on by big names like Martin Scorsese, who cast the star in Cape Fear (1991) – earning her an Oscar nomination.

Juliette is still a Hollywood mainstay, and TV fans like myself will recognise her amazing performance as adult Natalie in Yellowjackets (2021–). The actress recently got emotional on The Kelly Clarkson Show reflecting on National Lampoon’s enduring popularity, remarking that “you can never imagine that is ever going to happen in a film you do”.

Audrey’s younger sibling in the film, Rusty was equally as integral (and chaotic) to the Griswold family mayhem. Actor Johnny Galecki impressed the film’s star Chevy Chase so much during his audition that he landed the part on the spot, later going on to other hit films like I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). 

Today, Johnny is probably best known as Leonard Hofstadter on The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019), a role which made him one of the richest actors on television. He’s since stepped back from Hollywood to focus on raising his family.

Arguably the most iconic love story of the hit noughties flick has to be Sam’s, who learns drums to impress his crush at his school’s Christmas concert. Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who had his breakout role in the film, told The Telegraph that his classmates tried to pick on him for being a movie star, but “that was my job! I liked doing that!”

Thomas recently reprised his role as Rafe Sadler in the sequel series Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (2024), and is currently portraying the titular character in The Artful Dodger (2023–). Love Actually fans rejoice, because he recently returned to the role of Sam in a recent Google Pixel ad – and you won’t believe how different he looks now.

With her sweet uttering of “every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings”, Zuzu Bailey quite literally made film history. Karolyn Grimes was only 6-years-old when she starred in the beloved classic alongside Hollywood heavyweights like James Stewart, but her acting expertise earned her multiple roles throughout the decade alongside stars like Cary Grant.

Karolyn, now 85, left the acting world behind in the ‘50s, before returning over 60 years later with a brief role in Cassandra's Castle (2016). She regularly attends the It’s a Wonderful Life festival in Seneca Falls, the town believed to have inspired the film’s fictional Bedford Falls.