There are actresses today that we applaud for their ability to bring to life characters in movies and in episodic TV series. Some may wonder where they got this talent for performing on camera. For few actors, we can travel back in time and find they had time to develop their skills set through childhood gigs. Here’s a list of 8 actresses you had no idea were child stars.
Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba appeared in The Secret World of Alex Mack and Chicago Hope at the bright age of 13 years old when her career started. Who knew she would be such a huge name in the industry after playing these roles at such a young age? Check out these performances to see how far she’s come since 1994.
Kristen Stewart
Twilight star Kristen Stewart started off her acting career early as well. You can catch her early work in Panic Room, Speak and Catch That Kid. Though, many can agree she found a breakthrough from starring in the Twilight Saga.
Diane Lane
Diane Lane — the beautiful star that we all know and love-began acting in 1979 in A little Romance at just 14 years old. You can also find some of her early work in A Walk on the Moon. Quickly climbing to fame in her latest work with House of Cards, I’m sure we will continue to see her work.
Katherine Heigl
Early 90’s starter Katherine Heigl rose to fame with her roles in Grey’s Anatomy and 27 Dresses. Little did you know some of her earlier roles include That Night, King of the Hill, and Wish Upon a Star. With her successful transition to adult roles, she is sure to continue getting more acting work.
Regina King
From her incredible career, it’s easy to see how Regina King went from child star to adult star. Some of her earlier work includes appearances on Living Single and, New York Undercover. At just 14 (can you see the trend?) Regina appeared in Boyz n the Hood. She continues by playing Brenda on the TV show 227.
Reese Witherspoon
Another well-known star, but maybe not well-known child star, is Reese Witherspoon In her time in this career field, she has developed her own company and line of clothing. She started at 15 years old with The Man in the Moon in the 90’s. She has gained plenty of roles since and has had an amazing career.
Scarlett Johansson
Speaking of amazing careers Scarlett Johansson has had one. Her beauty and ability to land roles has afforded her this. What has also made an impact is her earlier time being in the field of film and TV. She has starred in Home Alone 3, The Horse Whisperer. Even before gaining these roles Ms. Johansson started as early as to her adolescent years.
Keri Russell
Last but certainly not least we have Kerri Russell stars in early films like Honey I Blew up the Kids, and let’s not forget Boy Meets World. She also showed up in Married… With Children.
In this industry being a child star can prove to afford you a rewarding career. Well, for these women it did. This list provides a detailed list of the women performers in the film and TV industry that started off as child stars. Each person on the list has continued to gain success in their careers and in their future roles. Anyone looking to get into acting can certainly take notes from a few of these women, if they were going to start as a young person in this career field. Starting early definitely has its perks in this field.