Child Stars: Then & Now

Abigail Breslin won moviegoers' hearts when she starred in the 2006 charmer, "Little Miss Sunshine," when she was 10. She's continued to act since, and says many don't recognize her with her new platinum blond hair.

Quite the difference. Miley Cyrus is seemingly doing her best to erase her image as the child star of "Hannah Montana." She looked very clean-cut back in 2007, contrasting with her risque and controversial performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2013.

Drew Barrymore, part of a famous Hollywood family, started in show business at 11 months old, when she appeared in a dog-food commercial. But her breakout role was that of Gertie in "E.T." She had just turned 7 when the movie came out in 1982.

Many of the tweens who watched Kristen Stewart in the "Twilight" movies and envied her clinches with Robert Pattinson may not even know she was a child star. She was just 12 when she played Jodie Foster's daughter in the 2002 film "Panic Room," for which she received a Young Artist Award nomination.

She was the tiniest Cosby kid when she played Bill Cosby's step-granddaughter Olivia in "The Cosby Show" -- Raven Symone was just 3 when Cosby met and cast her. She later had her own show, "That's So Raven," and has released albums and performed on Broadway.

Maybe you know him as Opie from "The Andy Griffith Show." Or as wisecracking teen Richie Cunningham on "Happy Days." But Ron Howard is still making headlines as a director -- and his voice famously narrated "Arrested Development."

Remember Mayim Bialik as the often sunflower-hatted, granny-sweater-wearing "Blossom" on the 1990s hit sitcom? She was just 15 when that show began. She's also brainy -- Bialik has a PhD in neuroscience.

Macaulay Culkin was famously left "Home Alone" in the blockbuster 1990 movie, which came out when he was only 10. He's done less acting as he gets older, but still occasionally makes tabloid headlines.

Dakota Fanning made her acting breakthrough at age 7 in the 2001 movie, "I Am Sam," for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She began moving to more adult roles as a teenager, and played rocker Cherie Currie in "The Runaways," which starred another former child star -- Kristen Stewart -- as Joan Jett.

Elle Fanning, the younger sister of Dakota Fanning, started acting at age 2, and sometimes played the younger version of her sister's characters. Her breakout role was in 2011's "Super 8," which came out when she was just 13.

Sara Gilbert played brainy daughter Darlene on "Roseanne" in the 1990s. She later created and co-hosts "The Talk," and is a regular on "The Big Bang Theory."

You may not remember that Ryan Gosling, now a movie star, was once a child actor. He started out on the "Mickey Mouse Club" and moved on to a variety of family-friendly shows such as "Goosebumps" and "Young Hercules."

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! The blonde Brady sister was the teen dream for many young viewers, who either had a crush on her or wanted to be her -- or at least be her sister. Maureen McCormick has more recently done a batch of reality shows, including "Celebrity Fit Club."

And of course, Marcia Brady's older brother Greg, played by Barry Williams, held the male version of her heartthrob status. He moved on to Broadway musicals, various Brady reunions, and even became a satellite radio DJ specializing in the music of the 1970s.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen began acting on "Full House" as babies, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner. Millions watched them grow up on-air, and the twins later became tabloid and fashion-magazine staples.

Yes, that's Batman -- er, Christian Bale -- shown at left as a child actor. He was just 13 when he starred in Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun."

Jodie Foster had already been acting for a decade when she famously played a 13-year-old prostitute in the 1976 film "Taxi Driver." She's continued to act since, and claimed Oscars for "The Accused" and "The Silence of the Lambs."

Now batting for the Bears, number 3, Kelly Leak. Jackie Earle Haley played the motorcycle-riding, cigarette-smoking star athlete Kelly Leak in "The Bad News Bears" in 1976. He returned to acting as an adult in much creepier roles, including that of Freddy Krueger.

Wil Wheaton's breakout role was in the film "Stand By Me," but he will be forever remembered for playing young genius Wesley Crusher on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Today he's a well-known for his writing and blogging, and plays himself on "The Big Bang Theory."

Wednesday Addams has really grown up. Christina Ricci played the morbidly charming daughter of "The Addams Family" in the 1991 film based on the beloved show. She later went on to numerous movie and TV roles, and was nominated for an Emmy for her role on "Grey's Anatomy."

Neil Patrick Harris starred as medical prodigy "Doogie Howser" when he was just 15. He also has numerous film, television and Broadway credits, including starring as Barney Stinson on "How I Met Your Mother."

Tatum O'Neal was just 10 when she starred in "Paper Moon," for which she would later win an Oscar. A popular child actress, she then left the business for a while and returned in the 2000s.

Anna Paquin was 11, just one year younger than Tatum O'Neal, when she won her Oscar, for "The Piano." She's best known as an adult for playing Sookie Stackhouse in the vampire drama "True Blood."