Then & Now: Cute Child Actors

eyradanira · Post time 3-4-2013 04:36 PM

Danielle Fishel

THEN: When she was just 10 years old, Danielle Fishel started booking acting gigs in commercials and on TV shows like "Full House" and "Harry and the Hendersons." Then came her big break. Although the role of Topanga Lawrence was meant to be a bit part on "Boy Meets World," the producers were so taken with Fishel that they soon gave her a recurring role. When the show returned for Season 2, the free-spirited tween had become a series regular -- and Cory Matthews' best girl.

NOW: 2012 was a good year for Danielle Fishel. She'd been flying under the Hollywood radar ever since "Boy Meets World" ended in 2000. But when news broke that there was a revamped version of the show titled "Girl Meets World" coming to the Disney Channel, fans started to wonder whether or not Ben Savage and Fishel would reprise their iconic roles as Cory and Topanga. "BMW" devotees were delighted to learn that they would, in fact, play the parents to a 13-year-old daughter in the spinoff.

That isn't the only happy news that Fishel has had in recent months. Earlier this summer, the 31-year-old actress announced that she is engaged to boyfriend Tim Belusko. And on December 19, she posted on Tumblr that she graduated from college after completing her last two final exams.

eyradanira · Post time 3-4-2013 04:38 PM

Danny Tamberelli

THEN: Danny Tamberelli had four professional credits under his belt before he became a sitcom star. Tamberelli took on the part of Little Pete Wrigley on "The Adventures of Pete and Pete." Along with his co-star, Michael C. Maronna, who played his equally redheaded brother, Big Pete, the young star enjoyed a three-season run on Nickelodeon.

NOW: Finally officially squelching the Internet rumor that he had died, Danny Tamberelli was a guest on Yahoo!'s "Yo Show" a few months ago. Despite having gotten "fatter and put this facial hair on," Tamberelli told Michael Yo he continues to get recognized by fans every single day. In fact, he's known to still hang out with Big Pete, Michael C. Maronna, since they both live in Brooklyn. He recounted, "Sometimes it becomes like hipster ground zero if we're in, like, Williamsburg or something, at a bar having a drink. One person says something, and then five people say something, and then they text on their phone, and within like 20 minutes, the bar is like blown up… People get all crazy. 'It's Pete and Pete in a bar. They're drinking beer.'"

eyradanira · Post time 3-4-2013 04:39 PM

Elisabeth Shue

THEN: While attending Wellesley College in the 1980s, Elisabeth Shue decided to try her hand at acting. In "The Karate Kid," Shue played Ralph Macchio's girlfriend: the role that cemented her place as America's sweetheart. After one semester at Harvard, she dropped out of school for good to pursue acting.

Shue went on to huge big-screen success with "Adventures in Babysitting"; "Cocktail," starring Tom Cruise; and "Back to the Future 2" and "Back to the Future 3," playing Marty McFly's girlfriend. She married "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim in 1994 and had three children before returning to work in "Leaving Las Vegas." Her turn playing a prostitute opposite Nicolas Cage earned her Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, and Oscar nominations.

NOW: Over the last few years, Elisabeth Shue seems to have kicked her career back into high gear. She started with appearances in projects like the edgy TV comedy "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and the horror flick "Piranha." Then earlier this year, she returned to series television for the first time since 1985. Her character, Julie Finlay, served as the replacement for Marg Helgenberger's Catherine Willows on CBS's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

eyradanira · Post time 3-4-2013 04:40 PM

Alyssa Milano

THEN: Alyssa Milano rose to fame in the '80s sitcom "Who's the Boss?" portraying Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Tony Danza's character. Her sudden rise to fame won her some feature film roles, most notably "Commando" in 1985, in which she co-starred as Arnold Schwarzenegger's kidnapped daughter. When "Who's the Boss?" ended, Milano tried to shake her good-girl image, playing Amy Fisher in "Casualties of Love: The 'Long Island Lolita' Story," and made a few erotic thrillers, including "Embrace of the Vampire" and "Poison Ivy II: Lily." She returned to TV on "Melrose Place" and then on "Charmed."

NOW: It's hard to believe that little Samantha Micelli turned 40 this year. But Alyssa Milano celebrated the big day in style with a surprise party, thanks to her husband, David Bugliari. The CAA agent threw her a huge bash that included celebrity guests, like big-time Hollywood producer Brian Grazer, rapper Ludacris, and "The Hangover" star Ken Jeong. The prom-themed extravaganza was planned to make up for the fact that the actress missed her own high school coming-of-age party because she was a child star.

This should be a good year for the actress, too. Her new series, "Mistresses," is set to premiere in 2013 on ABC. Milano will play an attorney in the new show by "Gilmore Girls" scribe K.J. Steinberg. It is based on the British series of the same name and follows the romantic drama of four women. Rochelle Aytes, Jes Macallan, and Yunjin Kim will co-star.

eyradanira · Post time 3-4-2013 04:43 PM

Jodie Sweetin

THEN: Few child stars have been able to play the sassy kid-sister role as well as Jodie Sweetin did on "Full House." She made her primetime debut as Stephanie Tanner when she was just 5 years old and grew up in the public eye. When the show ended in 1995, Sweetin was a young teen and out of work. In 1996, she appeared as Lydia Lump on an episode of "Brotherly Love," but it would be three years before she was seen on the tube again, playing Rhiannon Marcus on two episodes of "Party of Five."

NOW: The actress hasn't been shy about sharing the problems she's had since "Full House" ended. In her 2010 memoir "unSweetined," she admitted that she had been addicted to crystal meth, cocaine, and ecstasy. She struggled through a stint in rehab and survived a failed marriage to police officer Shaun Holguin.

But the actress insists that she is now clean and sober. All signs seem to indicate it's true. She's currently engaged to Morty Coyle, who is the father of her 2-year-old daughter, Beatrix. And her career seems to be gaining some momentum, too. In 2011, she reunited with her "Full House" co-star Dave Coulier in the Web series "Can't Get Arrested," which took a comedic look at their lack of post-"Full House" success. Earlier this year, she shot the pilot for a sitcom titled "Singled Out," which co-stars former child star Mackenzie Astin.

eyradanira · Post time 3-4-2013 04:47 PM

Hilary Duff

THEN: As a young girl in Houston, Texas, Hilary Duff wanted to follow in the footsteps of her older sister, Haylie, and pursue acting. She had minor roles in "True Women," "Playing by Heart," and "Casper Meets Wendy" before being cast in the title role on "Lizzie McGuire." The role propelled her to superstardom and led to a line of Lizzie merchandise, Lizzie recordings featuring Duff, and the film "The Lizzie McGuire Movie."

After "Lizzie" ended, Duff went on to star in "Cheaper by the Dozen," "A Cinderella Story," "Raise Your Voice," and "War, Inc." She also pursued her singing career more intensely, releasing "Metamorphosis," which featured the singles "So Yesterday" and "Come Clean." The album went to number one.