Child Stars Who Keep Making It Big

Adorable and doomed: That seems to be the fate of many a child star. But not all the performers who charmed us in their youth have gone on to lives of drug overdoses and jail time. Here are seven who are still thriving:

Brooke Shields

Her career began at 11 months old, when she was in an Ivory soap commercial. Now, she’s the lead in Broadway's "Addams Family." Shields famously hawked Calvin Klein's jeans at the age of 14, had a string of so-so movies but has been a longstanding favorite on TV's sitcom circuit (including her own show, "Suddenly Susan"). Though her mother tried to control her every career move, Shields broke free years ago, went on to marry and have two children and remains popular with her many fans.

Ron Howard His freckles won our hearts both as the pint-sized “Opie” on “The Andy Griffith Show” and as Richie Cunningham on “Happy Days.” Adulthood stole his hair but not the disarming likeability of this successful actor-turned-director. A family man who’s now a grandfather, he has directed such feel-good hits as “Parenthood” and “Cocoon.”

Jodie Foster She appeared in TV commercials at the age of only 3, but it was her film role at 14 as an underage prostitute in “Taxi Driver” that secured her place as a Hollywood heavy. She’s hardly been away from the big screen since and has picked up two best-actress Oscars (for “The Accused” and “The Silence of the Lambs”). Foster has added producing and directing to her movie portfolio.

Janet Jackson When her world-famous brother Michael introduced his 7-year-old little sister during a performance in the early 1970s, some thought she’d go the forgettable way of the superstar’s other siblings (can you say Tito?). But Janet—who’s avoided the scandals that plagued her brother and other family members—has gone on to sell millions of albums and still packs concert halls wherever she goes.

Sara Gilbert The lovable brat of the TV mega-hit “Roseanne” has kept a fairly low profile in the years since the show left the air. If her acting career has had its fits and starts, the openly gay Gilbert has at least avoided tabloid-style scandals. While the show she co-hosts today, “The View” knockoff “The Talk,” has yet to gain serious traction, Gilbert has shown herself a thoughtful interviewer and conversationalist.

Mario Lopez As the host of the celebrity-news show “Extra,” Lopez reports daily on the cluelessness—and sometimes lawlessness—of Hollywood stars. But ever since his dimples charmed teen fans of the late-1980s comedy “Saved by the Bell,” in which he played A.C. Slater, Lopez appears to have kept his real life as squeaky-clean as his image.

Jerry Mathers Forever identified with the perfect family at the heart of TV’s “Leave It to Beaver” (he was “The Beave” as anyone who remembers black-and-white TV can tell you), Mathers has continued to act in movies and television. But he’s also taken his mega-watt smile on the road, where he’s been a longtime hit on the public-speaking circuit. --By Jim Brosseau