Every child’s idol is either his/her father or his/her favourite character from his/her favourite TV show. A kid looks up to his idol at every moment of his childhood; most of you might have experienced it as well. I used to look up to my favourite child actors at my time. After growing up, I looked them up on the internet and received a huge blow, because in reality some of those have gone to the worst side any person can wander off to. It demolished my beautiful childhood memories about them.SmashingLists is providing some of the famous child celebrites who went to the dark side after growing up.
10. Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton, 30 is a producer, model and an actress. She started her career at the age of 19 by modelling, mostly at charity events. She has participated in different fashion shows such as, Ford Models in New York, Models 1 Agency in London, Nous Model Management in Los Angeles, and Premier Model Management in London. In acting career she wasn’t a success. She has made cameo appearances in several films notably Zoolander, Wonderland, and The Cat in the Hat. Her musical career is not going well as well. Hilton is an example of the modern trend of the ‘celebutante’, a celebrity who gains fame not because of their talent or work but because of their inherited wealth and odd/unusual lifestyle. On August 28, 2010 she was arrested on suspicion of cocaine possession in Las Vegas. In order to avoid being convicted of felony, Hilton pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors on September 17, 2010. Under the terms of the plea bargain, she was sentenced to one year probation, 200 hours community service, $2,000 fine and ordered to complete a drug abuse program. Clark County District Attorney David Roger said that: “If she is arrested for anything besides a minor traffic violation she will spend a year in jail. There will be no discussion. The court will have no discretion. In 2003, a homemade sex video of her leaked on the internet which is considered as a publicity stunt. Now after all these bad acts what would her fans think of her even though I don’t think she has many.
9. Brad Renfro
Brad Barron Renfro (1982-2008), was an American actor. He started his career at the age of 12 in the lead role of Joel Schumacher’s “The Client”. After his big break he was starred amongst many famous actors in different movies making him a successful actor of his time. Renfro and his cousin were arrested and charged on June 3, 1998, with drug possession. They were carrying two small bags of cocaine and a bag of marijuana. He tried to avoid the trial by agreeing to be screened randomly for drugs. Once again Renfro was arrested alongside his friend Harold Bond who were trying to steal a 45-foot yacht from the Fort Lauderdale Harbour. Brad got arrested again on January 14, 2002, for violation of his probation on charges of public intoxication and driving without a license in Knoxville. As a result he was put into a three month substance abuse treatment program. He was arrested yet again in December 2005 for the possession of heroin. Renfro admitted that he was using heroine at that time. He pleaded guilty to the charges in court, for which he was sentenced to probation. In 2006, he committed the same crime for which he spent 10 days in jail. He died in 2008 due to an overdose of heroin.
8. Todd Bridges
Todd Anthony Bridges, 46 is an American actor and a former child star. Many know him by his childhood character’s name Willis Jackson from the series Different Strokes. Todd was the first African-American child actor to have a lead role on a successful TV series, “The Waltons”. During his 20s, he fought off a crack cocaine addiction. In 1988, he had been charged and arrested for the attempted murder of a Los Angeles drug dealer named Kenneth “Tex” Clay, but was acquitted of all charges due to testimony of a witness who said that Todd was not present at the time of shooting. In 1993, Bridges was yet again involved in a murder scene against David Joseph Kitchen, who had brought a 15 year old girl to his house. According to bridges, David tried to attack him with a sword to which he defended himself by stabbing David in the chest, due to which he was again said not guilty because of self-defence act. His legal troubles started from 1983 till 1997, in which he was arrested for concealing a weapon, for making a bomb threat against a car dealership, putting a gun on his mechanic during a dispute over a bill. In a positive change of pace, in 2001 Bridges made headlines by rescuing a woman who had fallen out of her wheelchair while fishing.
7. Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore, 36 is an American actress film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She belongs to “Barrymore Family” of American actors and is the granddaughter of John Barrymore. Barrymore’s career started when she was barely 11 months old. She was cast in a dog food commercial. She started her acting career in 1980, in Altered States. Barrymore got her big break in 1981, when she appeared as the younger sister of Elliott in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which made her famous. She is considered to be a very good actor from the beginning. And much has been expected from her as she belongs from the famous Barrymore family. But having a rich and famous family doesn’t mean that “I’m king of the world” thing. Even though she never went to jail but her pre-teen years were very troubling. The world was aghast when cutesy Gertie in E.T grew up hard and fast and turned into a crazed addict. The press hounded young Drew as she puffed on her first cigarette aged nine, was boozing/drinking alcohol at age eleven and smoking marijuana at 12. She was hooked on cocaine before she barely hit her teens. A suicide attempt at age 14 put her back in rehab, followed by a three-month stay with singer David Crosby and his wife. But this new is too old that most people don’t remember it. But her fans from that era must be hurt by the concept that what a mere dog food advertising baby has become in her early teen.
6. Haley Osment
Haley Joel Osment, 23 is an actor and a former child star. Haley started acting in 1994, in the movie “Forest Gump”. In 1999 he rose to fame amongst the children and adults as well with his performance as Cole Sear in “The Sixth Sense” which made him nominated for academy award for actor in a supporting role .And that was his entrance to the big Hollywood productions such as Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence. The Actor has many fans that look up to him for his work. But sadly on July 20, 2006; 18 year old Hayley was charged after he crashed his car while returning from a concert while drunk. He overturned his car and before had struck a brick mailbox near his home. The accident didn’t result in some serious damage but it did include a broken rib, fractured right shoulder blade, cuts, and abrasions. He was charged with illegal marijuana possession of October 19, 2006. He was sentenced to 3 years in probation 60 hours in an alcohol rehabilitation and education program, a fine of $1500, and a minimum requirement of 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over a six-month period. Now he personally might have not been blown but his fans sure are. Because the image of one young, cute and innocent child has been perished by these acts.
5. Gary Coleman
Gary Wayne Coleman (1968-2010), was an actor and a former child star. He is best known as his childhood character named Arnold Jackson in Different Strokes, and for his small height as an adult. He had a successful childhood acting career, but later on had to struggle financially. Being a famous person doesn’t make him/her GOD. If anyone wants to take your autograph or wants to have a picture with you then why the hell would anyone deny it? But Mr Coleman did something which caused hatred of fans towards him. The violent acts caused many arrests of Coleman. In 1998, while he was working as a security guard. Tracy Fields, a fan of Coleman, approached him and requested his autograph while he was shopping for a bulletproof vest in a California mall. Coleman refused, an argument started, and fields mocked Coleman’s downfall as an actor. This caused Coleman to punch Fields in the face, later saying that she had threatened him for which he naturally defended himself. He received a suspended sentence and was ordered to pay Field’s hospital bill which was approx. $1,665. In 2008, another fan asked to take a picture of him, but Coleman once again refused on the basis that taking a picture with him would cost the man $20. The person tried to take it either way which caused Gary to knock that person over with a truck, a full-sized real truck. And with these types of acts people want us to love them.
4. Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears, 29 is an actress turned singer. Britney tried for “The All New Mickey Mouse Club” (1989) at merely the age of 8, but was turned down due to her young age. After she turned 11, she tried again and succeeded as a mouseketeer alongside many stars of today (Justin Timberlake and J.C. Chasez of NSYNC and Ryan Gosling). She got her big break when she was signed as a Jive Recording Artist in the late 90s with the release of her debut album, “Baby One More Time” in early 1999. Britney Spears has a huge amount of fans across the globe. But that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. In 2007, she underwent a public breakdown in front of the army of paparazzi that follows her. In addition to losing custody of her children to ex-husband Kevin Federline, being charged with a hit-and-run, and several brief stays in rehab, Spears attacked a photographer’s car with an umbrella and shaved off her hair. On January 3, 2008, police were called to her house when Spears refused to hand her children over to Federline’s representative. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, Spears’s visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. These violent cases not just even caused her not only public humiliation but also losing her children.
3. Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan, 25 is an American actress, pop singer and model. She started her career in 1989 as a child fashion model. But in 1998, she got her big break in acting through a Disney movie named “The Parent Trap”. Lohan gained more fame between 2003-2005, with leading roles in blockbuster movies such as Freaky Friday, Mean Girls and Herbie: Fully Loaded. She was arrested for drunk driving twice and cocaine possession and went to rehab three times. As she gained more fame through movies and music, she also became a fixture on the Hollywood party scene. The problems in life for Lohan started from 2007. She was almost fired from the film “Georgia Rule”, due to her exhaustion while shooting the film. The producer released a memo saying that the cause of exhaustion is due to heavy partying going all night. Then Lohan went through a series of car crashes, arrests and stints in rehab. Lohan was charged, imprisoned for one day and had to do 10 days community service on August 23, 2007 for cocaine use and driving under the influence. She was also instructed to complete an alcohol education program, and was given three years’ probation. Lohan served 84 minutes in jail on November 15, 2007. The probation was extended by an additional year, following several instances in which Lohan failed to attend the court-ordered substance abuse treatment classes. On September 24, Lohan failed a drug test for which she spent part of the day in jail before being released on bail. A few days later she entered a drug and alcohol treatment center, where she remained for three months under court order. Lohan has also been charged with felony grand theft of a $2,500 necklace stolen from a jewellery shop on February 9, 2011, but was said not guilty. Lohan spent 35 days under house arrest, wearing a tracking ankle monitor, between May 26 and June 29 because of the violation of her probation. While under house arrest, Lohan failed a random alcohol test on June 13. On June 23 a judge decided it did not constitute a probation violation and Lohan would receive no additional punishment.
2. Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Carson Culkin, 30 is an American actor, who is known all over the world by the name “Kevin McCallister”, due to his role in blockbuster movies “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”. At the peak of his fame, he was regarded as the most successful child actor. He is one of my personal favorite child stars because of his movies. And anyone who has seen these movies can’t help but to admire the actor’s acting. But here again, the influence of bad environment led our innocent looking child star into doing some bad stuff. Culkin was arrested on September 17, 2004 for the possession of 17.3g of marijuana and two controlled substances, 16.5 mg of Alprazolam and 32 mg of Clonazepam, but was soon released on a $4,000 bond. Culkin was arraigned in court for drug offenses to which he pleaded not guilty at the trial, and then later reversed the plea to guilty. Culkin received three one-year suspended prison terms forced enrolment into a probationary drug treatment program and a $540 fine. The news of these penalties sure gave me a shock, and also will to anyone who has seen the innocent looking boy in the movie and comparing him to the crimes he has committed.
1. Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-2009), is a name not unknown to any person who walks this earth. Many love him; a few despise him, but whatsoever he was and will be a legend. The title “King of Pop” was always meant to be his. Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. Michael Jackson started his career in 1964, at barely the age of 6 years. He was a member of his family singing band “The Jackson 5”. He topped the charts at merely 11 years of age with his family band the Jackson 5. After growing up, he emerged as one of the biggest pop star ever. Jackson’s “wacko jacko” reputation included hanging out with a chimp; trying to buy the Elephant Man’s bones and sleeping in an oxygen chamber, which seemed harmless but in 1993, the father of a 13 year old child who was a guest at MJ’s Neverland Ranch accused the pop star of sexually molesting his child. The accusation was supported by Jackson’s sister LaToya. Jackson settled lawsuit filed by the child’s family by paying over $20 million. Criminal charges were also dropped because the accuser was no longer willing to testify. He admitted in 2002, while giving an interview to Martin Bashir that he has slept in the same bed with “many children”. This interview led to Jackson’s arrest and trial on child sex abuse charges. Jackson was found not guilty on June 13, 2005. I personally think that this filthy act was done just to destroy the reputation of MJ by the haters. But who knows what the truth is and what’s not.