Kids These Days
October 29th 2007 22:19
It’s a little bit disconcerting when a six year old is more successful than oneself. When I see kids that are famous, talented and raking in millions it’s hard not to think back to what I was doing at such an age. Watching Gumby? Learning to tie my shoes? Having temper tantrums and squabbling with siblings? Certainly not walking the red carpet and signing autographs anyway.
I look at Dakota Fanning’s impressive CV, and am stunned. At thirteen, she has more than twenty films under her belt, an array of TV appearances, and is the youngest person ever to win a Screen Actors Guild Award. How does she do it? How does she cope? Will she continue to cope?
Just think of what happened in the lives of these child stars:
Macaulay Culkin – Was married at seventeen, divorced at nineteen; arrested for drug possession; his work in the last decade has been less than noteworthy.
Haley Joel Osment – Crashed his car last year; charged with four misdemeanours; joined Alcoholics Anonymous at the age of eighteen.
Lindsay Lohan – Had three car accidents in 2005; is known for diva antics on the set of her movies; has been arrested twice; was admitted for drug and alcohol rehabilitation this year.
Mary-Kate Olsen – Rehabilitated for anorexia and rumoured to have had a drug addiction.
Jonothan Brandis – Reportedly suffered from depression over the slow-down of his career after childhood; committed suicide by hanging at the age of twenty-seven.
The Brady Bunch children – Maureen McCormick: bulimia, drug abuse, and an alleged affair with her on-screen sister. Barry Williams: has tried to relaunch his acting career, and start a singing career, with little success. Is known for being stuck in the past of his childhood acting.
Judy Garland – Had five husbands and died of an accidental overdose in her late forties.
Drew Barrymore – smoking and drinking, and a regular at nightclubs at the age of nine, and taking drugs by the age of ten; admitted to rehab at thirteen, and again at fourteen. Luckily, she managed to turn her life around and has since prospered in her career.
The child actors that seem to have coped better with sudden fame and fotune:
Jodie Foster – Successful transition to adult acting; a very strong career on the whole with Taxi Driver, The Silence of the Lambs, Nell and Contact; also a director and producer.
Elijah Wood – Many successes as a child and as an adult.
Frankie Muniz, Anna Paquin and the Harry Potter kids – All seem to be doing fine so far.
There’s no denying it: these children must face an enormous amount of pressure very early in their lives, and be almost completely immersed in an adult world. To hear Dakota Fanning in interviews you would think she was thirty, not thirteen. Her poise amazes me, but also makes me wonder just how fast she was forced to grow up.
Maybe I was better off watching Gumby after all.
Michaelie Clark
Gumby and Pokey - my childhood pals. Image courtesy of answers.com
Just think of what happened in the lives of these child stars:
Macaulay Culkin – Was married at seventeen, divorced at nineteen; arrested for drug possession; his work in the last decade has been less than noteworthy.
Creepy Culkin - image courtesy of thesmokinggun.com
Lindsay Lohan – Had three car accidents in 2005; is known for diva antics on the set of her movies; has been arrested twice; was admitted for drug and alcohol rehabilitation this year.
Mary-Kate Olsen – Rehabilitated for anorexia and rumoured to have had a drug addiction.
Jonothan Brandis – Reportedly suffered from depression over the slow-down of his career after childhood; committed suicide by hanging at the age of twenty-seven.
The Brady Bunch children – Maureen McCormick: bulimia, drug abuse, and an alleged affair with her on-screen sister. Barry Williams: has tried to relaunch his acting career, and start a singing career, with little success. Is known for being stuck in the past of his childhood acting.
Judy Garland – Had five husbands and died of an accidental overdose in her late forties.
Drew Barrymore – smoking and drinking, and a regular at nightclubs at the age of nine, and taking drugs by the age of ten; admitted to rehab at thirteen, and again at fourteen. Luckily, she managed to turn her life around and has since prospered in her career.
Drew seemed so innocent in ET, yet her childhood was all but gone. Image courtesy of girls.com.au
The child actors that seem to have coped better with sudden fame and fotune:
Jodie Foster – Successful transition to adult acting; a very strong career on the whole with Taxi Driver, The Silence of the Lambs, Nell and Contact; also a director and producer.
Elijah Wood – Many successes as a child and as an adult.
Frankie Muniz, Anna Paquin and the Harry Potter kids – All seem to be doing fine so far.
There’s no denying it: these children must face an enormous amount of pressure very early in their lives, and be almost completely immersed in an adult world. To hear Dakota Fanning in interviews you would think she was thirty, not thirteen. Her poise amazes me, but also makes me wonder just how fast she was forced to grow up.
Maybe I was better off watching Gumby after all.
Michaelie Clark
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Comment by katyzzz
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Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
My childhood drug of choice was caramel chocolate buddies.
Thanks katyzzz!
Comment by Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
I have thought the same thing myself q few times. They seem to have 'achieved' more than most of us in their short lives - but with one huge price to pay for it all.
I suppose successs is in the eyes of the beholder though. A girl my sister went to school with is now splached across the tabloids every now and again. Recently on a stint in the French Riviera my mother said, 'Just look at her. That could have been one of your girls you know.'
"But mom I have been to the French Riviera too, don`t you remember the photos?' I replied
to which she said
"yes dear but you weren`t in a million dollar boat!'
Ash
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Very, very interesting re your Mum's comments. I guess how people perceive that life really is subjective.
A few manage to stay relatively grounded, but for many it just seems too much. I suppose it comes down to family and personality a lot too. After all, quite a few of the parents of those kids could have been pushing that lifestyle on them and driving them to succeed at a very young age.
I wonder how it really is for your sister's school friend, beneath all the 'glamour'?
Probably bloody fabulous. Lol.
Thanks Ash.
Michaelie
Comment by Aimzster
Health and Beauty
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Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
I like that girl. I hope she doesn't end up like so many other child stars.
Great to see you!
Michaelie
Comment by Louie
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Phil's Wellness Tips
love the Gumby shot,,,he was my favourite
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
I think this generation of child stars may get better support after the catastrophes of previous ones.
Gumby was my favourite too! Though I loved all of them - Pokey, Prickle, Goo, the elephant and the chicken... but not those dastardly Blockheads! Lol.
Thanks Louie!
Michaelie
Comment by Bernadette
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Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Thank you for the comment!
Michaelie
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
I suppose Hollywood will do that to them!
Michaelie
Comment by Mr Nice Guy
Pop Culturist
Successfully manipulating their kids into glitz, hype and all the trappings that go with it - both good and bad.
As for my kids - I'm happy that they're happy.
MNG
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Well you sound like a very sensible and loving father.
I can't imaging having such pushy parents. I think I'm generally harder on myself than they ever were! Even on the small scale it's bad enough - I remember parents of kids at school that would be heckling them - heckling! - and making gestures or generally showing their disappointment if their kids didn't perform as they wanted them to in any activity, school sports, speeches, etc...
I don't know if my parents would actually be happy if I became a garbage man (they assure me they would), but they'd do their best and not let on to me (particularly in light of the sex-change I'd have to undergo, lol.)
Michaelie
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
...some of them take this quite literally it seems.
Must be a very unbalanced existence.
Thanks Kylie!
Michaelie
Comment by Benjamin Hay
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
I certainly hope you're right - the world can do without another Lindsay Lohan I think.
It's a very adult world though. Even if they don't end up high end slappers, they can't remain completely unaffected. I hope they still have time to be kids, between the premieres and promotion tours.
Thanks for the visit!
Michaelie