The 20 Most Dramatic Child Star Transformations

Vanessa Hudgens

High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens, center, recently shed her good-girl image with the help of experimental film director Harmony Korine, who cast the actress in his latest film, Spring Breakers.

Britney Spears

Britney Spears started her career on The Mickey Mouse Club with co-stars that included Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling. She went on to become the reigning teen queen of the late 1990s/early 2000s but abdicated her throne in 2007 after a long downward spiral that culminated in her shaving her own head in a Tarzana, Calif., hair salon. Recently, she has been on a steady upswing with a prominent gig as a judge on The X Factor.    

Selena Gomez

Along with fellow Disney Channel star Vanessa Hudgens, Wizards of Waverly Place's Selena Gomez plays a bikini-clad party girl in Spring Breakers.

Christina Aguilera

One of many stars to come out of The Mickey Mouse Club star factory, Christina Aguilera released a self-titled debut album in 1999 with the single "Genie in a Bottle." "Genie" went on to become the biggest debut single of 1999 with more than 1.4 million sold in the US.

Amanda Bynes

At the age of 13, Amanda Bynes could boast that she was the headliner of her own sketch comedy show, The Amanda Show. Unfortunately, as of late, the only things the Easy A star can boast are newly acquired cheek piercings. 

Lindsay Lohan

26-year-old Lindsay Lohan began her acting career as a promising young talent in Disney's The Parent Trap, but lately most of her appearances have been in courtrooms, most recently for charges stemming from a 2011 necklace theft.

Drew Barrymore

Coming from a family of well-known American stage and cinema actors, Drew Barrymore began her own acting career in the role of little sister Gertie in her godfather Steven Spielberg's 1982 classic E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Seeking to separate herself from her child-star roots and established family, she posed nude at age 19 for the January 1995 issue of Playboy.

Macaulay Culkin

Macaulay Culkin shot to stardom as Kevin McCallister, the lead character of the Home Alone franchise. He retired from acting at age 14 and in 2004 was charged with misdemeanor drug offenses. 

Shia LaBeouf

Even Stevens star Shia LaBeouf has rejected his docile Disney Channel root and has grown up to become the action star of Michael Bay's Transformers movies. In June 2012, the Icelandic band Sigur Ros released a video starring LaBeouf in which he appeared naked.  

Danielle Fishel

Danielle Fishel is best known for her role as Topanga Lawrence on the 1990s TV sitcom Boy Meets World. After a 2013 spinoff, titled Girl Meets World, was announced, Fishel posed for the cover of Maxim magazine, answering the prayers of many young men who came of age in the late '90s.

Shannen Doherty

After spending her early career in Little House on the Prairie as a mild-mannered farm girl, Shannen Doherty later moved to Beverly Hills, starring as the sinister Brenda Walsh in the original 90210.

Brian Bonsall

Brian Bonsall played the younger brother of Michael J. Fox on Family Ties. After retiring from acting, he found a new appreciation for punk rock music and neck tattoos, and in 1998 founded the rock group the Late Bloomers. Most recently, he was arrested on a charge of marijuana possession.

Leif Garrett

Leif Garrett was a feather-haired teen idol whose greatest hit, "I Was Made For Dancin'," reached #10 on the Hot 100. Later in life, the disco singer developed an addiction to black tar heroin and, in 1999, LAPD arrested Garrett in MacArthur Park after he allegedly tried to buy drugs from undercover officers. On Feb. 1, 2010, Garrett was arrested again for possession of narcotics and entered a court-ordered rehab program.

Christina Ricci

Christina Ricci starred in The Addams Family films as Wednesday Addams, playing a ghoulish but endearing teenager. This innocent role is a far cry from Ricci's more recent cinematic portrayal of troubled nymphomaniac held captive by Samuel L. Jackson, in the 2006 movie Black Snake Moan.

Fergie

The Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie started out on the children's television series Kids Incorporated and later developed an addiction to crystal meth. In an interview with Time magazine, she referenced her drug-abuse issues and was quoted saying, "A lot of it was being a child actor; I learned to suppress feelings."

Elizabeth Taylor

As the star of the original Father of the Bride, Taylor initially was known for her acting ability and violet eyes but became tabloid fodder for her numerous marriages. Her personal affairs even garnered the attention of the papacy, with Pope John XXIII publicly denouncing the actress for cheating on her husband, Eddie Fisher, with her longtime lover and Cleopatra co-star, Richard Burton, who also was married at the time.

Christan Bale

Since his breakout performance in Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun, Christian Bale has had a relatively even-keeled personal and professional life. He has made an organic transition from child star to blockbuster action hero, as seen in Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise.

Janet Jackson

Like her superstar older brother, Janet Jackson entered into the entertainment industry at a young age, playing Penny on the sitcom Good Times and a recurring role on the '80s TV musical drama Fame. She then made a transition from acting to singing, releasing her self-titled debut album in 1982 and eventually scoring 10 No. 1 singles. At the 2004 Super Bowl, Jackson's infamous half-time performance with Justin Timberlake introduced the world to the term "wardrobe malfunction."

Jodie Sweetin

Jodie Sweetin is best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner on TV show Full House. After the show completed its eight season run, the actress began abusing methamphetamine and later chronicling her rehabilitation from meth addiction in a 2009 memoir, aptly titled unSweetined.

Ryan Gosling

Many child stars have a downward-sloping career trajectory, but Ryan Gosling is one of the blessed few to successfully outgrow his Mickey Mouse Club past without developing a serious drug addiction or shaving his head. He has now transitioned into adult roles, including an Oscar-nominated performance in Half Nelson.