This article contains references to mental health struggles, suicide, murder, addiction, and abuse.
Child stars occupy a complicated position in pop culture.
While some child stars grow up into well-adjusted adults, the same can’t be said for everyone.
Even the ones who do make it out often have a complicated relationship with their past.
“Full House” star Mary-Kate Olsen once toldMarie Clarethat she had trouble relating to her childhood.
“I would never wish my upbringing on anyone.”
The stars on this list all died tragically young, their bright flames extinguished far too early.
Cameron Boyce
Cameron Boyce found fame as a kid on The Disney Channel.
“Let someone really be who they are.
And it’s a cool thing that we tell.”
He had epilepsy, and that night he had a fatal seizure in his sleep.
It has created a gaping hole that is raw and gut-wrenching."
Boyce’s Disney Channel castmates paid tribute to him, too.
“He made me such a better person,” she said.
“He was younger than me and he would teach me something every day.”
“Remember that whole ‘Poppa’ scene, where I break down?”
she said, referring to the emotional climax of the film.
In 2014, she died at only 21.
“The girl has lived such an amazing life.”
He was only 37.
“My admiration for him is inexpressible,” he said.
However, forThe Hollywood Reporter, “L.A.
Confidential” writer James Ellroy reinvestigated the case and determined that the knifing was likely random.
As he grew up, he found critical acclaim in films like “My Own Private Idaho.”
Unfortunately, River’s career was cut short in 1993 by what turned out to be a drug overdose.
While he was alive, River supported his younger brother’s plan to follow in his footsteps.
Still, River had big plans for Joaquin’s career.
As Aaron grew up, however, his young adulthood was dogged by negative headlines.
In 2012, Aaron and Nick were rocked by the loss of their sister Leslie Carter.
Aaron was also in and out of rehab, evidently struggling with alcohol and drug addictions.
In 2019, in a series of troubling tweets (viaE!
News), he accused various members of his family of having abused him as a child.
Millennials everywhere mournedAaron Carter’s heartbreaking deathin 2022.
Nick shared a post onInstagramafter Aaron’s death, writing, “My heart is broken.
That was the one thing.”
It seems that Haim’s troubled early fame followed him into adulthood.
On the show, he was open about his lifelong struggle with addiction and his mental health.
In 2010, he died at 38 from pneumonia.
“I went through my recovery, but he decided he didn’t want to grow up.
I understood why: We’d never had the chance to live our childhoods.”
Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Brandis played the young Bill Denbrough in the Tim Curry-starring “IT” miniseries.
“I never perceived myself like this a teen magazine kid.
“Then when you start getting mail!
I sure never knew it was coming.
It’s not something you prepare for.”
Unfortunately, Brandis' career slowed as the 1990s became the 2000s.
In 2003,the LAPDreported that they’d received a troubling call about the former child star.
Brandis had died by suicide, only 27 years old.
His death touched the fans who followed his career.
“Punky Brewster” star Soleil Moon Frye toldPeoplethat she’d come across old voicemails from her friend.
“Some of them were 10 minutes long, his innermost thoughts,” she said.
“It just made me cry listening to them.
He was a real friend.”
She was 10 years old.
“We couldn’t listen to the voice,” he said.
“Everybody would start tearing up … so it stopped everything for a while.”
In recognition of Ducky’s catchphrase, Barsi’s grave reads “Yep!
Unfortunately, O’Rourke died later that decade.
In 1988, when she was only 12, O’Rourke collapsed and was hospitalized for a cardiac arrest.
“Heather was just a sweetheart and shy and beautiful,” he said.
He was weeks away from his 20th birthday,” she said.
“It made it very difficult, because we got out of the Hollywood scene.
We moved out of that.
It wasn’t part of our life anymore,” she said.
“This is someone’s child.”
A few years later, in 2008, Renfro died at the age of only 25.
Renfro was later determined to have died from a heroin overdose.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration websiteor contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
