There are plenty of child stars that help bring our favorite childhood shows to life. A lot of them don’t stop there, either. Many move on to continue their celebrity status in one way or another. Here, we’ll take a look at where some of your favorite child stars from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s are today!
Lisa Bonet
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Lisa Bonet is an incredibly recognizable child star from the ’80s. In fact, she’s still a pretty recognizable face now, even decades later. Back in the ’80s, you might have seen her on The Cosby Show or A Different World. Her personal life has made a lot of headlines since then, including her marriage to Lenny Kravitz back in the ’80s. More recently, she was in a relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Jason Momoa.
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Danica McKellar
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Danica McKellar was well-known for a few roles in the ’80s. This included appearances in The Twilight Zone and The Wonder Years. In more recent years, you can hear her work in appearances on Phineas and Ferb or Transformers: Rescue Bots. More surprisingly, she’s worked hard alongside that to earn a Ph.D. in math! If you want to learn math with her, she’s also written Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape and Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who’s Boss.
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Sean Astin
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When it comes to some pieces of media, it’s hard to find an ’80s kid who wasn’t aware of them. Who could have missed The Goonies? One actor that made his first silver screen appearance there was Sean Astin, who played Mickey Walsh. Of course, most people know his later work in Lord of the Rings as Samwise Gamgee. The rest of his career has varied in genre, ranging from voice acting on Sofia the First to appearing as a fan-favorite character in Stranger Things.
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Emmanuel Lewis
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If you were a fan of Webster anytime during its run from 1983 to 1989, you’ll quickly recognize Emmanuel Lewis as the main character. The star has continued to act as well, although he hasn’t been seen on screen much since his 2013 appearance on Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis. A year later, he would appear on the podcast TV Guidance Counselor. In 2019, he briefly appeared in a music video done by Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz.
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Soleil Moon Frye
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1980s kids will remember Soleil Moon Frye from her child star days when she played in Punky Brewster. You might have also caught her on Saved by the Bell or The Wonder Years. Nowadays, you’re more likely to hear Frye in a voice-acting role. If you’ve checked out The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, or if you’re a fan of Robot Chicken or Planet Sheen, you’ve likely heard her work. For one 2021 season, Peacock even brought her back for a Punky Brewster revival.
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Corey Feldman
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As a kid, you might have caught Corey Feldman in The Bad News Bears. If you became a fan of his when he was a bit older, you might have seen him in the vampire film The Lost Boys. Moving into the ’90s, Feldman switched up from just acting. He branched out into work as a musician and has even written an autobiography and starred in an autobiographical documentary. He’s even lent his voice to a few video games over the years!
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Jenny Lewis
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Jenny Lewis has a laundry list of credits from the 1980s. As a child star, she appeared in Growing Pains, Roseanne, The Twilight Zone, and The Golden Girls. In the later half of the ’90s, Lewis added music to her repertoire as well. In fact, it was successful enough to continue to this day. Her most recent album came out in 2019 and is titled On the Line. Alongside this, she hosted the online special Jenny Lewis’ On the Line Online.
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Tracey Gold
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Tracey Gold made her ’80s debut when she appeared in Growing Pains as Carol Seaver — a role she’d keep well into the ’90s. The star would continue to work as an actress even after Growing Pains, but she branched out into a few other roles as well. If you want to see a bit more of her personality, she appeared on and won a season of Worst Cooks in America and wrote an autobiography titled Room to Grow: An Appetite for Life.
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Kirk Cameron
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Another star you might recognize from Growing Pains is Kirk Cameron. During his tenure on this show, he played Mike Seaver. He picked up a variety of smaller roles in the ’80s as well. The star even managed to get himself a spinoff show bearing his name, Kirk. Since then, he’s become a lot more selective with the titles he chooses to star in. A few notable ones throughout the 2010s and 2020s include Saving Christmas and Lifemark.
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Ricky Schroder
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Ricky Schroder made his initial debut in 1979 in The Champ. He’d later show up in a recurring role on Silver Spoons as well. His most recent movie appearance was in 2010 for Get Him to the Greek But you can catch this child star on TV more recently than that. In both 2015 and 2016, he played Robert Lee Parton in Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors and Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love.
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Joey Lawrence
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Joey Lawrence had his first roles in the ’80s when he was still quite young. You might have seen him on Blossom or Gimme a Break! back then. If you want a more recent sitcom with a grown-up Joey Lawrence, you can try out Melissa & Joey with none other than Melissa Joan Hart of Sabrina the Teenage Witch fame. You can see some of his reality TV work on Cupcake Wars and Celebrity Big Brother.
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Melissa Joan Hart
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Speaking of Melissa Joan Hart — she’s another child star that’s still busy in show business. Other than Sabrina the Teenage Witch, she also starred in Clarissa Explains it All. We’ve already covered how she was in Melissa & Joey, but what else has the star been up to since then? Well, she’s acted in some children’s roles recently, including The Loud House. She also tried her hand at Dancing With the Stars, making it through six weeks of the competition.
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Fred Savage
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Back when Fred Savage was a child star, there were a number of roles that you may have caught him in. He’s another Wonder Years alum, for one. He also had roles in both Little Monsters and the famous film The Princess Bride. By the ’90s, you could catch him in Working. If you want something even more recent, he starred in The Grinder with Rob Lowe.
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Lukas Haas
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Early on in his career, you could catch child star Lukas Haas in the 1980s titles Testament and Witness. His career continued beyond that too. He’s been in a few roles that most people recognize. He’s appeared with Leonardo DiCaprio twice, in Inception and again, five years later in 2015, for The Revenant. More recently, you can see him in Widows as well as First Man. These are only a few films in an expansive filmography.
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The Olsen Twins
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In the late ’90s and early 2000s, the Olsen twins were hard to miss. Oftentimes, Mary-Kate and Ashley appeared as a dynamic duo or playing the same person. The twins continued to act for a time after they hung up their hats on roles like Michelle Tanner in Full House. Now, you’re more likely to see these sisters working in fashion as designers. However, they’re still active in film, now working in distribution as the owners of Dualstar Entertainment Group.
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Tia and Tamera Mowry
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It seemed like twins were pretty popular on TV in the ’90s and 2000s. Another famous set of child star twins is Tia and Tamera Mowry. When they were young, they starred together in the show Sister, Sister. They’d play together again in Twitches and its sequel later on. As adults, they wrote four books in a series called Twintuition, although each woman has taken on her own solo projects as well.
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Macaulay Culkin
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Macaulay Culkin is one actor who seems to need no introduction. Who hasn’t seen his early roles in the ’90s in both Home Alone and Home Alone 2? In the 2000s, he took on a few different roles, both on the big screen and the small one. One interesting thing Culkin did was start his own band, The Pizza Underground. As the name might suggest, it was a play on The Velvet Underground, changing all their songs to be about the popular takeout dish. If you want to see him act, he was on American Horror Story’s 10th season.
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Jonathan Taylor Thomas
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Jonathan Taylor Thomas had quite a few things that made him a household name in the ’90s. From playing in The Bradys to Home Improvement, he was charming on the small screen. He made a move to the big screen, too. It’s his voice behind the younger Simba at the beginning of The Lion King! More recently, he’s appeared in a few episodes of another Tim Allen show, Last Man Standing. He’s also studied at Harvard but mostly kept his life private in recent years.
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Raven-Symoné
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Raven-Symoné is often recognized for her work in the 2000s on the Disney show That’s So Raven. Yet, her career started even earlier than that. Back in the ’80s, when the actress was still a small child, she was introduced on The Cosby Show as Olivia Kendall. She’d also take on a role in the Disney movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. More recently, Raven-Symoné has appeared on A Black Lady Sketch Show and Mighty Oak.
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Leonardo DiCaprio
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There are some stars that are so famous you might not really remember exactly when their career started. As for Leonardo DiCaprio, he was a child star in the ’90s. By now, DiCaprio might just be one of the most famous names in Hollywood. The star has taken on a number of roles, including The Wolf of Wall Street and more. The star would even take home a long-awaited Oscar for his work in The Revenant.
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Danielle Fishel
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Most people recognize Danielle Fishel from her most famous role as Topanga in Boy Meets World. She also appeared in other popular titles, including Full House and Harry and the Hendersons. If you’re looking for a little bit of nostalgia, you can still catch her as Topanga, this time in a more parental role in Girl Meets World. Outside of this role, she’s hosted The Dish and tried on her hat as a director for a few recent Disney Channel shows.
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Jaleel White
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Jaleel White probably changed the way you think about the phrase “Did I do that?” after his famous role as Steve Urkel in Family Matters. He didn’t say goodbye to Urkel forever when Family Matters ended, though. He’d take on the role again when he voiced Urkel in 2019 for an appearance in Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? Other than that, he’s taken on a variety of roles, including as a gameshow host for Total Blackout.
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Bryton James
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While popular, Jaleel White wasn’t the only actor that brought Family Matters to such popularity. Bryton James played the young Richie Crawford. He’s actually joined another long-standing role since then, playing Devon Hamilton for 16 years on The Young and the Restless. He’s also appeared in roles on The Vampire Diaries, Young Justice, and Pacific Rim: The Black. All in all, he’s stayed pretty busy from being a child star to now!
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Amanda Bynes
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Amanda Bynes really kicked off her career on Nickelodeon when she appeared in All That. This success led to another show, The Amanda Show. In 2010, Bynes took on a few roles, including those in Big Fat Liar and Easy A. However, she took a hiatus from the bright lights of Hollywood for a time after that. She later explained that she was taking time to take care of her health but had mentioned returning to acting one day.
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Jonathan Lipnicki
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There are a few roles that really made Jonathan Lipnicki stand out as a child star. Perhaps his most recognizable, though, was 1999’s Stuart Little. What did Lipnicki do after he stopped hanging out with the little mouse we all loved as kids? Well, he also appeared on a season of Worst Cooks in America and other reality shows like Celebs Go Dating. Of course, alongside the sequel to Stuart Little, he also appeared in titles like A Second Chance.
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Madeline Zima
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If you were a fan of The Nanny growing up, you probably remember Madeline Zima as youngest child of the family, Gracie Sheffield. Moving into the 2000s, you might have seen Zima alongside another child star in A Cinderella Story. However, she didn’t shy away from more grown-up genres either, including a horror role in The Collector. You can also see some of her more recent work in You and the reboot of the classic show Perry Mason.
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Kenan Thompson
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Kenan Thompson has definitely made himself a household name since the days he first appeared on our screens as a child star. Early on in his career, you might have caught him in shows like Good Burger and All That. He’s used his comedic skills well too. Today, Thompson is the longest-running cast member on Saturday Night Live. He even has a sitcom titled after his own name, Kenan.
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Tatyana Ali
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Tatyana Ali was on a wildly popular sitcom — The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. However, she was even younger when she appeared on shows like Sesame Street. She took on a role in The Young and the Restless starting in 2007, which she kept until 2013. After that, she played in Love That Girl!, Second Generation Wayans, and Fancy Nancy. She’s also been in a number of titles since then.
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Mara Wilson
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Mara Wilson was a star from a young age. Most fans think of either Matilda or Mrs. Doubtfire as her roles as a child star that introduced them to her work. Since then, though, Wilson has done quite a bit! She went to school for a time, attending both Idyllwild Arts Academy and the Tisch School of the Arts. As for acting, she’s appeared in titles like Bojack Horseman and Broad City. If you want to read some of her personal writings, she’s released two books: Accidental Fame and Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood.
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Haley Joel Osment
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Haley Joel Osment didn’t stay in the kids’ genre for long, even as a child star. His real rise to fame occurred when he starred in the horror film The Sixth Sense. Since then, the star has continued to show up in a variety of roles. More recently, he’s leaned away from horror and into comedy appearing in titles such as The Eric Andre Show, Robot Chicken, and Comedy Bang! For a mix of comedy and horror, he’s appeared in the show What We Do in the Shadows.
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Anna Paquin
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Anna Paquin had an impressive start to her career as a child actor. Her first appearance was in The Piano at 11 years old, taking home an Academy Award for her work. The actress has taken on a number of new roles since then, a few of which are quite memorable. Who could forget her donning a uniform to play Rogue in X-Men or her role in True Blood? More recently, she’s been in The Irishman and The Affair.
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Ryan Gosling
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Like many child stars, Ryan Gosling had his start on The All-New Mickey Mouse Show. He also had roles in Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Young Hercules. Today, there’s no shortage of movies with Ryan Gosling’s star power behind them. Fans can catch him in La La Land, The Notebook, Blade Runner 2049, and Crazy, Stupid Love. Those are just a few titles from an impressively long filmography!
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Mayim Bialik
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Mayim Bialik is another child star who took on some darker roles. You can see some of her earlier work in the horror movie Pumpkinhead as well as a variety of TV shows. She continued to act through the ’90s, mostly in kids’ shows like Hey Arnold! and Recess. One of her more popular roles in recent years was her standing character throughout The Big Bang Theory, and she recently stepped in as a host for Jeopardy.
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Christina Ricci
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Christina Ricci earned much of her fame by playing an iconic and unforgettable character early on in her career. Few can forget her role as Wednesday Addams in both The Addams Family and Addams Family Values. In fact, she now appears as a character in the Netflix show Wednesday, a show starring the famous character she once played. Her career has spawned a variety of titles, including everything from Smurfs 2 to The Lizzie Borden Chronicles and even the Matrix 4.
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Harry Melling
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The Harry Potter series brought into the public consciousness a whole host of young talent. One child star from the series was Harry Melling, who played Dudley Dursley. The star is still rather recognizable and recently took on a role in the Netflix show, The Queen’s Gambit. Even more recently, in 2021, he appeared in The Tragedy of Macbeth before dipping his toes into literary history once again to play Edgar Allan Poe in The Pale Blue Eye.
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Michelle Trachtenberg
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Early in her career as a child star, Michelle Trachtenberg had roles in Harriet the Spy and All My Children. She’d later take on roles as a child and a teen in the cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer alongside other well-known titles. After Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended, Trachtenberg joined Gossip Girl as Georgina Sparks. From there, she’s appeared in a variety of roles, spanning from small roles in Criminal Minds to larger roles in Mercy. She was even featured in a series on Facebook Watch called Human Kind Of.
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Will Poulter
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Will Poulter is a rather recognizable actor. One of his earlier roles was actually in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He’s been in quite a lot of different roles since then. Comedy fans will recognize him from We’re the Millers, while Marvel fans will see him more recently in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. If you like video games, you’ll hear his voice and see his likeness in Little Hope.
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JoJo Siwa
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JoJo Siwa wasn’t introduced to the world as an actress but as a child dancer on the reality shows Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition and Dance Moms. After the show ended, the young dancer started to gain her own fame as a YouTuber. With more than 12 million subscribers, the young star has branched out to gain even more attention on other social media platforms like TikTok. She was even named one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020 by TIME.
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Jackson Brundage
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One Tree Hill was pretty popular during its run on television. If you watched it, you probably recognize Jackson Brundage as young Jamie Scott — the son of Nathan and Haley James Scott. While it might seem like a while ago now, One Tree Hill actually ended in 2012. Brundage took on his next role that very year. From there, he moved on to act in See Dad Run until 2015. The star is still young, so there’s still plenty to see from his career!
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Alexa PenaVega
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Many of us remember Alexa PenaVega from her role in Spy Kids as the main character Carmen Elizabeth Juanita Echo Sky Bravo Cortez alongside her on-screen brother, Juni. She followed it up with its subsequent sequels too. PenaVega has been in a few titles since then, including From Prada to Nada and a few Christmas movies as well. Yet, the actress ultimately ended up stepping back from the spotlight. She once told Fox that her husband, Carlos PenaVega, was struggling with living in Los Angeles at the time, although she appreciated the step back too.
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Dakota Fanning
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At just five years old, Dakota Fanning began her acting career as a guest actor on several shows, including ER and CSI. She gained notice in I Am Sam in 2001, and Uptown Girls and The Cat in the Hat in 2003. Thanks to her talent and dedication, Fanning seamlessly made the transition from child star to award-winning actress. She’s still extremely active, especially when she and her sister Elle started their production company, Lewellen Pictures, in 2021.
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Freddie Highmore
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British actor Freddie Highmore got his big break in 2004 at the age of nine when he played Peter in the heartbreaking Finding Neverland. The role won him many award nominations and led to him playing Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As a child and teen, most of his roles were in children’s movies. Of course, as he grew up, so did his roles. From 2013 to 2017, he played Norman Bates Bates Motel. Since 2017, he’s played autistic surgical resident Dr. Shaun Murphy in The Good Doctor.
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Ariel Winter
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Although she had quite a few guest appearances in shows before Modern Family, Ariel Winter is probably best known for the role she landed in 2009 at the age of 11 — Alex Dumphy. Modern Family sadly came to an end in 2020, but Winter has been keeping busy, mostly doing voice acting for a variety of animated shows and video games. She’s also spoken out about the difficulty of maturing physically in the public eye.
