Top 25 Child Movie Stars
Biggest Child Movie Stars of All Time
From Hollywood's earliest days, child stars have proven that you don't have to be grown to rake in grown-up box office grosses -- or give performances that wring laughter and tears out of audiences. Moviefone counts down the top 25 child stars of all time. -- By Marilyn Beck, Stacy Jenel Smith, Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster
25. Kirsten Dunst
She started her career as a model at the age of 3 and made her feature film breakthrough at 12, starring alongside Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in 'Interview With a Vampire.' These days she's famous for playing Spidey's main squeeze, Mary Jane, in the 'Spider-Man' films and for attending the same rehab facility as Lindsay Lohan.
Warner Bros. / Everett Collection
24. Lindsay Lohan
Before the sex scandals, arrests, cat fights, car crashes, hospitalizations and pantyless pics, LiLo was a brilliant child actress. She convincingly played twins (one of them British) in 1998's 'The Parent Trap' remake and channeled a mother's personality in 'Freaky Friday.' The hit 'Mean Girls' seemed to assure her huge future, but ...
Everett Collection
23. Sean Astin
Who didn't want to be a Goonie? When Chunk, Mouth, Data and Mikey (played by Astin) went in search of buried treasure, they launched one of the greatest adventure movies of all time. The son of child star Patty Duke and actor John Astin, Sean played Sam in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy two decades later, making him a kid favorite all over again.
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22. Keisha Castle-Hughes
Playing Paikea in 'Whale Rider' at age 11, the talented New Zealander became the youngest female ever nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. She went on to play the Virgin Mary in 'The Nativity Story' and, ironically, got pregnant in real life at 17.
Newmarket Films
21. Natalie Wood
A three-time Oscar nominee by 25, Wood first stole the nation's heart at age 9 in 'Miracle on 34th Street.' She repped teen angst beautifully with James Dean in 'Rebel Without a Cause' and made audiences cry as Maria in 'West Side Story.' Remarried to Robert Wagner, she drowned under mysterious circumstances off Catalina Island at 43 in 1981.
20th Century Fox / Getty Images
20. Christian Bale
Sure, a 12-year-old can play cute, but when Christian Bale starred as a young internment camp prisoner in Steven Spielberg's 'Empire of the Sun,' he proved pre-teens can handle drama, too. Bale has since dropped 63 pounds for a film ('The Machinist'), gone Western ('3:10 to Yuma') and war hero ('Rescue Dawn'), and played Batman, a role he'll reprise in this summer's 'The Dark Knight.'
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19. Abigail Breslin
At just 11, the Oscar-nominated 'Little Miss Sunshine' breakout is in hot demand in Hollywood. Though her recent 'Definitely, Maybe' with Ryan Reynolds disappointed at the box office, she's everywhere in '08, with this month's 'Nim's Island' (co-starring Jodie Foster), the big-screen version of 'Kit Kittredge' and 'My Sister's Keeper' (with Cameron Diaz).
Fox Searchlight
18. Elijah Wood
Now this is one child star who's kept it together. Wood began acting at age 8 and was soon winning critical acclaim for films like 'Avalon,' 'Radio Flyer' and 'Forever Young.' Roger Ebert said then, "Elijah Wood has emerged, I believe, as the most talented actor in his age group, in Hollywood history." He's since become our favorite hobbit in the 'Lord of the Rings' films.
Warner Bros. / Everett Collection
17. Jodie Foster
The Oscar-winning actress had a booming career as a kid star -- 'Freaky Friday,' 'Candleshoe,' the 'Paper Moon' TV series -- before her indelible performance, at 14, as an underage hooker in 'Taxi Driver.' That netted her an Academy Award nomination and a deranged fan named John Hinkley Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan trying to impress her.
Everett Collection
Reader Comments (31)
Vannicola at 10:08PM on Jun 12th 2008
Shirley Temple is without doubt truly the best child actor ever !!!
Tatum O Neal, Jodie Foster, and Haley Mills were great also.
I thought the little boy on "The Shining" was great too!
Daniel Martinez at 11:50PM on Jun 13th 2008
25. KIRSTEN DUNST:Great actress, works as a redhead. And what beautiful features.
24. LINDSAY LOHAN: Ah, those were the good old days.
23. SEAN ASTIN: Obviously worthy of an Oscar for "Best Supporting Actor".
22. KEISHA CASTLE-HUGHES: Irony is quite cruel.
21. NATALIE WOOD: What a beautiful girl. And absolutely cute!
20. CHRISTIAN BALE: Great Batman.
19. ABIGAIL BRESLIN: I'd hire her for a movie, too. Just look at those eyes.
18. ELIJAH WOOD: He had (and still has) such huge eyes, which is an advantage.
17. JODIE FOSTER: She is quite a convincing actress, especially in "Flightplan".
16. HAYLEY MILLS: She's too adorable to play Dolores Haze.
15. FREDDIE HIGHMORE: One of the best Charlies since Peter Ostrum.
14. FREDDIE BARTHOLOMEW: Why does mommy want his earnings after she left him?
13. ANNA PAQUIN: What a powerful actress.
12. CHRISTINA RICCI: I loved Casper. Flat-out awesome actress. What a beauty and cutie!
11. TATUMM O'NEIL: You have guts to play opposite your father.
10. HALEY JOEL OSMET: What is he doing these days?
09. ELIZABETH TAYLOR: No wonder I heard her name before! She's legendary!
08. PATTY DUKE: It must've been hard to play Helen Keller.
07. JACKIE COOPER: How adorable.
06. DAKOTA FANNING: She ages very well.
05. DREW BARRYMORE: I loved E.T. as a kid. And she went through so much before 18.
04. MICKEY ROONEY: 9 films beside Ms. Garland herself?
03. JUDY GARLAND: Classic actress.
02. MACAULAY CULKIN: No wonder he's a household name.
01. SHIRLEY TEMPLE: Obviously.
regina at 9:07PM on Jun 19th 2008
Jackie Coogan, the little boy in Charlie Chaplin's silent classic, The Kid, should rank in the top five.
Lucy at 10:32PM on Jun 23rd 2008
What about Kurt Russell's brother Emil? He had dark hair and was in Disney movies too. What ever happened to him?
Lucy at 10:31PM on Jun 23rd 2008
Is Disney ever going to show the Scarecrow movie(s)? Patrick McGoohan was a 'scarecrow' hooded horseman that came out at night and did helpful things for poor English farmers. The Scarecrow was a wealthy/noble sort and didn't want to be known for his benificent behavior hence his goodwill was done in the dark. Who remembers? I sure would love to see them again. I remember well lying on my stomach on Sunday nights at 7:30 to watch the Wonderful World of Color by Walt Disney and Walt himself would introduce the program. What a fond memory! Once he introduced the Disney studio artists and what they did; it was AMAZING and captivated our minds to see the how they had to draw countless frames for one film. There was no computer graphics at the time and our kids now can't appreciate this. That episode should be on DVD or rerun! thank U!
MARY at 9:46PM on Jun 26th 2008
Macaulay Culkin????!!!!! WHAT??? How did HE get on the list??? Let alone even CLOSE to Shirley Temple.... If you've made less than 5 good movies you shouldn't be on this list. ( Dont misunderstand me. There are plenty of fine actors that haven't made any movies.....Don't Give Up !!)
KARIN at 10:14PM on Jun 26th 2008
MACAULAY CULKIN WAS NUMBER TWO?????? I guarantee you more people are familiar with The Wizard of Oz, than Home Alone.
DENISE at 11:05PM on Jun 26th 2008
no one was ever as adorable as drew barrymore in et! she was sooo cute!
thepuma at 10:59PM on Jun 26th 2008
Shouldn't Ron Howard be in there somewhere? What about his roles in Andy Griffith and in Courtship of Eddie's father? I guess they're only including movie roles as a child.
thepuma at 11:01PM on Jun 26th 2008
What about Ron Howard? His roles in the Andy Griffith show and in The Courtship of Eddie's Father are classics! I guess they only consider movie roles and not TV as much.
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Gloria Peters at 7:09PM on Jun 27th 2008
How wonderful it was to see Jackie Cooper's name in print again. He was Hollywood's the first child actor and the best of all times in my opinion. Charlie Chaplin needed a child actor for as his sidekick in his movie, "The Champ". Since it was a silent film, this child hd know how to act purely through body expression and had to know to pantomime in his acting skills. A cattle call was made for such a child and Jackie Cooper was selected among bestof the best child actors of his time. Charlie Chaplin was a perfectionist and Jackie being a child was no excuse for Charlie Chaplin expecting him t be perfect. Biography it states: Roddy McDowall called him the most gifted child star in movie history. In fact, he is the only actor ever to have been nominated for a Best Actor or Actress Academy Award before his 18th birthday.
Vic at 1:14AM on Jun 27th 2008
What about Brooke Shields? Born in 1965, she began modeling as an infant, was the youngest person to ever appear on the cover of Vogue magazine, began acting in 1978, and her career is still going pretty well today. She's even the voice of "Mama Bear" in the 2009 Goldilocks film. No list of famous child stars is complete without her.
Emily at 1:16AM on Jun 27th 2008
What about Thora Birch, Gabby Hoffman, River Pheonix? I think they left off a lot of great child actors/actresses off of their list.
Sabrina Kaleta at 2:40AM on Jun 27th 2008
Anna Paquin is Not Canadian - she's a Kiwi - raised in the Hutt Valley outside Wellington, New Zealand.
Tyler at 2:43AM on Jun 27th 2008
In terms of sheer international impact and worldwide recognition, Jackie Coogan was, without question the dominating force in silent films
Indeed, he earned so more than any child of his era (the equal to billions today) which was spent on drugs by his parents that he inspired the federal "Coogan Act" to protect Hollywood children from adult spending abuse.
Regretfully, to later generations he was known only as TV's "Uncle Fester" from the Addams Family.
michele at 3:13AM on Jun 27th 2008
Some of these so-called "child stars" are a blip on the screen compared to those you left out. Where is Margaret O'Brien? She was America's favorite child actress all through the 40s. Peggy Ann Garner ( A Tree Grows in Brooklyn )? Jane Withers? Her popularity during the 30s was second only to Shirley Temple. Brandon DeWilde and Patty McCormick ( The Bad Seed ) were 50s child stars. Robert Blake started in the Our Gang series and later appeared in films from "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" to "In Cold Blood." Roddy McDowell ( How Green Was My Valley, Lassie ) and Dean Stockwell ( talk about a long career! ) deserved mention. AOL picked names that might be more recognizable to younger people, but they are not the "greatest" child stars of all time. Not even close.
tom at 3:42AM on Jun 27th 2008
You miss again! Ron Howard and Angela Cartwright were two of the best. The list you came up with was NOT complete.
Beth at 5:19AM on Jun 27th 2008
Yes, Shirley deserves the top spot. I think it was partially for kids like Freddie Bartholomew that the Coogan law, for Jackie Coogan, whose parents squandered his earnings as a Little Rascal, and his appearances in the classic Chaplin movie mentioned in the above comments... and who later played the classic Uncle Fester, was enacted. Where are any of the Little Rascals (from the originals)... this list could have used a few of them and weeded out...for heaven's sake... Macaulay Culkin!
Beth at 5:17AM on Jun 27th 2008
Yes, Shirley deserves the top spot. I think it was partially for kids
like Freddie Bartholomew that the Coogan law, for Jackie Coogan, whose
parents squandered his earnings as a Little Rascal, and his
appearances in the classic Chaplin movie mentioned in the above
comments... and who later played the classic Uncle Fester, was
enacted. Where are any of the Little Rascals (from the originals)...
this list could have used a few of them and weeded out...for heaven's
sake... Macaulay Culkin!