Awkward Child Stars Who Grew up to be Attractive
Jerry O’Connell
t’s freaking ridiculous how these 30 child stars went from super awkward to insanely hot. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by who you recognize here.
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Danica McKellar started acting at age 13 in her breakthrough role as Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years (1988). Since then she has been in shows like The Secret Life of an American Teenager (2013) and How I Met Your Mother (2005, 2007).
Who could forget Kevin’s Arnold’s dorky best friend, Paul Pfeiffer, again on The Wonder Years. Since then he has only been on one episode of Law and Order: SVU.
Everyone remembers the little redheaded button from the 1998 movie, The Parent Trap. We all know what she has been doing since then (sex, drugs and rock and roll).
Who could forget the precious boy who believed in Santa until the end. Eric Lloyd played Charlie from the Christmas favorite, The Santa Clause (1994).
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. This is DJ Tanner from one of everyone’s favorites, Full House. After Full House, Bure appeared in a wide variety of TV shows at small increments at a time.
Jerry O’Connell started his career as Vern Tessio from Rob Reiner’s 1986 film, Stand by Me. He has since been in movies and television series such as The League, Ugly Betty, Scary Movie 5 and more.
Remember this little troublemaker from Disney’s Max Keeble’s Big Move (2001)? Well, he has definitely had some big changes. Linz hasn’t been in anything new since 2007.
Milano got her big break on Who’s The Boss (1984 -1990) playing Samantha Micelli. Since she grew out of her awkward years, she’s been in Hall Pass, New Year’s Eve, My Name Is Earl and more.
Most people don’t even realize that this British heartthrob is the cutie from the 2002 movie, About A Boy. He plays Marcus Brewer along side co-star Hugh Grant. We’ve recently seen Hoult in movies such as Warm Bodies, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Young Ones.
Justin Berfield is best known for his role as troublemaker Reece in the comedy series Malcom in the Middle. The only thing we have seen him in since his glory days as Reece is in a show called Sons of Tucson.
Stoner is no longer scrubbing it as tomboy Sarah Baker from her breakthrough role in Cheaper By The Dozen (2003). Instead, she is now looking amazing and playing roles in a wide variety of television series.
Alexa Vega was introduced to the world as Carmen Cortez, the spunky older sister from the Spy Kids movies. Since her days as a spy, Vega has been in TV series such as Nashville, Big Time Rush and the movie Machete Kills.
For all of you who know your Nickelodeon, this must come as a shock. That dork, Simon, you once loved and adored from Ned’s Declassified is now this hunk to the right.
Chabert gained recognition for her role as Claudia Salinger in the TV series drama, Party of Five. We have seen her in many more roles since then including Gretchen Wieners from Mean Girls (2004).
The man to the right is indeed the little tike from Maid in Manhattan (2002) starring Jennifer Lopez. He is most famous now for his role as Scott McCall in the hit TV series Teen Wolf.
This has got to make some people feel old. Yes, this is Ashley from the famous show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She most recently played Tyana Jones in the TV series Love That Girl!
Jonathan Lipnicki had a very successful career as a child star. We remember him from movies like The Little Vampire (2000), Stuart Little (1999) and Jerry Maguire (1996).
Our beloved Casper. Devon Sawa played the real-boy version of him in 1995. You might also recognize him as Junior from The Little Giants (1994). Since he’s grown up, he’s been in NCIS: Los Angeles, Final Destination and Nikita.
Josh Peck is officially skinny and handsome. This funny dude made his mark in his role as Josh in the Nickelodeon TV show, Drake & Josh. He was known as the funny, fat brother – but oh no more. Since then, Peck has been in The Big Bang Theory (2014), a voice in Ice Age: Continental Drift, Red Dawn and more.
This once awkward preteen with the wisdom of a 30 year old is now being featured in Maxim (what a total babe!). Fishel played Topanga on Boy Meets World. Interestingly enough, Fishel has most recently starred in a come-back version of Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World.
This little rascal was always a heartthrob. Ewing played Waldo, Darla’s love interest and Alfalfa’s enemy in The Little Rascals (1994). You might also recognize him from his role on Full House as Michelle’s friend Derek. His most recent role was as Kiel on the TV show Jen in Session(2013).
His debut role was as the supporting character in the Harry Potter Series, Neville Longbottom. In the beginning, he was not so…good looking. He rocked super crooked teeth and a bit of a belly. Throughout the series he grew into the man you see to the right.
Another child star who made his fame and fortune in the Harry Potter series. Daniel Radcliffe starred as Harry himself. Since his wizarding days, Radcliffe has been in Horns (2013), The Woman in Black (2012) and more.
“We’re soarin’ -flyin’.” You get it. Efron’s breakthrough role was as Troy Bolton in the Disney hit High School Musical (2006). He has had quite the successful career since then staring in movies such as 17 Again, Hairspray, Charlie St. Cloud, The Lucky One and That Awkward Moment.
Panettiere got her start as Sheryl in the famous movie Remember the Titans. She continued playing tough female roles throughout her career thus far. Her most recent success has been found starring as Claire Bennet in the hit TV series Heroes (2006 – 2010) and as Juliette Barnes on Nashville (2012-present).
When Roseanne Barr met Michael Fishman at auditions she simply had to have him. He had no experience but Barr fought for him to be on the show! That’s were he debuted as D.J. Conner. The most recent movie you might have seen Fishman in is A.I. Artificial Intelligence in 2000.
These ladies are just as spunky now as they were then. Tia & Tamera Mowry starred as themselves in their Disney TV series Sister, Sister (1994-1999). They remain close but have taken their acting careers outside from one another.
You might remember this ripped dude as Bobby Walker from the TV show Cousin Skeeter. Though that’s where he became famous, Ri’chard has been most successful post-Cousin Skeeter. He has been in House of Wax (2005), CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Vampire Diaries and more.
Trachtenberg’s breakthrough role was as Harriet in Harriet the Spy (1996), a movie that many hold close to their hearts. But she didn’t stop there! She has since been in Inspector Gadget, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, EuroTrip, 17 Again, Take Me Home Tonight and much more.
This smart-ass hunk from the hit TV show Saved By The Bell has only gotten better (looking) with age. Hats off to you Mark-Paul. Since his days as Zack Morris, Gosselaar is best known for starring as Peter Bash in the hit TV series Franklin & Bash (2011-2014).
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