When child actors and actresses shy away from fame in later life, it is their childhood aesthetic that is burnished into the public consciousness. Yet time neither waits for man nor precocious young thespian, and the reality is these once cherubic stars change just as much as you and I! This is certainly the case for the childhood prodigies of the ‘90s, a particularly abundant time for the breed. Discover which star lost his teeth to drug abuse, the Nickelodeon actress who opted for a face tattoo and wigs, and many more temporally-induced transformations as HELLO! reveals the ‘90s child stars who look completely unrecognizable.
Angus T. Jones
© Getty ImagesHe played baby-faced Jake Harper on Two and a Half Men alongside Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer, but left the show in 2013 after a public religious conversion.
© GC ImagesAngus largely stepped back from acting to focus on business ventures, education, and music. He enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder to experience a normal life outside of show business. You'd be hard pressed to recognize him today with a shaved head, thick beard, and a completely casual look.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
© Getty ImagesHe once harboured aspirations to become the next Macaulay Culkin, but you'd now be hard-pressed to pick Jonathan Taylor Thomas out of a lineup. He was a major fixture in films and TV throughout the ‘90s but is best known for Home Improvement.
© jtthistory via InstagramJonathan stepped away from acting to focus on college, so it came as quite a surprise when paparazzi snapped pictures of Jonathan looking worlds away from his Home Improvement character, having broadened out, with darker hair.
Mara Wilson
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyA favorite comfort movie for many is the 1996 hit Matilda. Fringed, freckled and with neatly cut brown hair, Mara Wilson was every inch the cutest leading lady, and such was her pulling power that she starred in other classics like A Simple Wish and Mrs Doubtfire early in her career.
Since her child star days, she's replaced her harsh haircut with side bangs, and Mara has fluctuated between curly and straight tresses, returning to her bob then back to a longer length in the years since.
© Getty ImagesHer face has also lost its youthful roundness and her eyebrows are thicker and darker, making it hard to look at Mara today and see much of Matilda.
Candace Cameron
© Disney General Entertainment ConJoining the cast of Full House in the late Eighties as D.J. Tanner, Candace starred in over 200 episodes. Replete with long, fluffy hair (tied in a scrunchie, of course), a fringe and a ‘90s wardrobe that would make Rachel Green jealous, It's hard to find a child star who looks more ‘of the time’ than Candace.
© Getty ImagesNowadays, she looks miles removed from her childhood self, with considerably more modern hair, toned physique and incredible cheekbones. She reprised her role in Full House from 2016-2020.
Macaulay Culkin
© Getty ImagesAs the wide-eyed, canny protagonist in Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin cemented himself in the ‘90s child star hall of fame, winning plenty of points for Kevin's cuteness as well as his pranks. But as with all children, Macaulay grew up, leaving behind his character and youthfulness.
First, he debuted dark hair and a noticeably more haggard look when his 2004 mugshot did the rounds.
© Getty ImagesA photograph of him also emerged in 2012, which prompted concern over his noticeably gaunt appearance.
© Astrid StawiarzThis was followed by his rock-star era, where he wore his blond hair long for five years, before he defaulted to a shorter haircut.
© Getty ImagesOlsen twins
© Disney General Entertainment ConAmong the most iconic child actors of the ‘90s were the Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley. It won't surprise you that this fashion-forward duo have done plenty to distance themselves from the coordinating outfits and matching hairstyles (think big blowouts, boxy bangs and pigtails) of their youth.
© WireImageNowadays, the stars of films like It Takes Two and Passport to Paris have a very different look, opting for a chic appearance, long hair and darker clothes. As is to be expected with the ageing process, their faces look longer and cheekbones more pronounced.
© Getty Images for The Met Museum/One thing that hasn't changed is their similarity to each other – you're still seeing double!
Raven-Symoné
© Getty ImagesYou might remember her from Disney Channel classic That's So Raven, but Raven-Symoné had her big break long before then, first as step-granddaughter to Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show in the late ‘80s and ‘90s, and then in Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.
© WireImageRaven shifted from her wide-eyed and cutesy early years, with hair frequently piled on top of her head or in bunches, to long, straight hair in her teens.
© Robin L MarshallThen came the years of the coiffure transformations, from blonde dye with shaved sides, grey hair, back to white-blonde and cut short, to multicoloured braids – hair-raising, to be sure.
Jonathan Lipnicki
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyYou'd be hard pressed to find a more adorable child star than Jonathan Lipnicki, a spiky-haired kid with round, wire-framed glasses and a toothy smile. He became one of the most recognizable young actors of the ‘90s in films like Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little.
© Getty Images for JITC HollywoodSince then, he's debuted hair that sticks up, flops down à la blond surfer boy, before settling on a mousy brown — npun intended — hairstyle with short back and sides and a face decorated with stubble. You'd be hard-pressed to match the man with the child star if you passed them in the street.
Jaleel White
© Getty ImagesWe're used to seeing Family Matters star Jaleel White with trouser braces, big glasses and a checked shirt, but he's come a long way from his supernerd persona on the hit TV show.
© Getty ImagesHis boxy haircut and clean-shaven appearance is gone, replaced with a neat goatee and more tightly cut hair. The actor has transitioned from nerd to quarterback!
Jake Lloyd
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyStepping into the shoes of a young Anakin Skywalker would be a challenge for any child actor, but Jake Lloyd did so with gusto when he was just eight years old in The Phantom Menace. Star Wars fans will remember a baby-faced and earnest Jake alongside more established actors like Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman – I certainly remember thinking he was the cutest padawan!
© FilmMagicRemembered as a sweet child with a mop of straight, blond hair, Jake looks very different now. He had to step away from acting after mental health problems and struggles with schizophrenia. He has sported a variety of different facial hair options, including a goatee, and the blond hair is gone, replaced with shorter dark hair.
Edward Furlong
Actor Edward Furlong attained pin-up status in his breakout role as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, wowing audiences with his dark hair and brooding looks and securing more roles in Hollywood, including films like American Heart, American History X – where he shaved his long locks for the role – and Detroit Rock City.
© Getty ImagesThere is often a price to fame, especially for those stars who come to it before adulthood, and Edward certainly paid it, with multiple run-ins with the law, jail time, stints in rehab and drug and alcohol addiction.
© Getty ImagesRecent photographs of the star make him nearly unrecognizable to his former self, markedly dishevelled in appearance. Most notable are his teeth, which suffered at the hands of his drug abuse.
© Getty Images"It sounds weird for me to be talking about teeth because I don't live and breathe the way I look but every time I looked in the mirror, it just bummed me out as a reminder of what I had done for all those years," he told The Daily Mail. Edward has been sober for seven years.
Lindsay Lohan
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyFreaky Friday star and leading lady of the ‘90s and ‘00s, Lindsay's appearance has undergone multiple evolutions throughout her career. She started as a fresh-faced, red-haired twin of herself at 12 years old in The Parent Trap, but her early glow somewhat dulled in early adulthood as the pressures of fame caught up with her.
© Patrick McMullan via Getty ImageLindsay's facial appearance shifted distinctively, documented in her various mugshots as she struggled with substance abuse issues and time in and out of court. She dyed her trademark red hair blonde and looked noticeably different.
© Getty ImagesBut with sobriety and her television comeback came an entirely new look — first, she appeared to 'age backwards' with noticeably smoother skin and a return to red hair, then back to a blonder, fresh look that was so far removed from her mugshot days that fans questioned how she'd achieved it. Lindsay credits her dramatic, glowing transformation to her rigorous approach to staying healthy.
She's also a mom to her son, who was born in 2023.
© GettyAmanda Bynes
One of the most marked transformations on this list is that of actress Amanda Bynes, who came to fame in Nickelodeon shows like All That and The Amanda Show before breaking away to become a leading lady in her own right, starring in ‘00s classics like She's the Man and What a Girl Wants.
© FilmMagicIn a fashion typical with many child stars of her ilk — the Jonas brothers and Demi Lovato spring to mind — Amanda kept a clean-cut image.
In her earlier years, the most drastic transformation the Sydney White star made was hair extensions, and swapping her natural brunette hair colour for honey blonde to play Penny Pingleton in Hairspray.
© WireImageTurning away from the limelight, Amanda retired from acting at just 24 years old. With her retirement came a slew of physical changes: pink hair dye, a blue wig with a fringe, a nose piercing and tattoos, including one outline of a heart under her left eye. Gone were the 'no makeup makeup' looks from her Nickelodeon days, replaced instead with black hair, a side fringe and dark eyeliner.
© GC Images
