It would seem that there is some unfortunate connection between being a child star and having a difficult life. While that notion is not always the case, there are a fair number of child starts and actors/actresses that went on to tragically pass away, often while they were still very young. Perhaps dealing with being famous is just too much for children to handle, and that certainly seems like the case. So just how apparent is this issue with young child stars? We are going to take a look at a list of 20 child starts that died way before their time.
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20. Carl Switzer
Carl Switzer was an American actor who was best known for his role of Alfalfa in the beloved Our Gang series. He portrayed that role as a child for many years, but upon growing up, he faced many difficulties trying to break away and distance himself from that role. After the Our Gang years, Switzer made appearances in a few B movies, but never saw success quite like the days when he was a child. He was later shot and killed at the age of 31 in an altercation with a man who believed he owed him money.
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19. Corey Haim
Corey Haim was a Canadian actor who became famous as a child and teen star back in the 1980’s. He made a number of notable appearances in films like Lucas, License to Drive, Murphy’s Romance, and his most famous appearance in the 1987 classic, The Lost Boys. After his years as a child star, Corey found it difficult to gain work as an adult. He would eventually turn to drugs, and in March of 2010 he died at the age of 38 from a pneumonia.
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18. Madison Wright Morris
Madison Wright Morris was an American actress who quickly entered the scene at a young age. She was initially scouted as a child model which would lead to an acting career in television commercials. This would then lead to her receiving roles in movies, most notably in the film Grace Under Fire. Madison battled ongoing illnesses and a heart condition throughout her life, and she even received a heart transplant at the age of 15. Unfortunately she tragically based away at the age of 21 due to a heart attack.
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17. Rob Knox
Rob Knox grew up as a normal child in England where he kept up with his studies. At the age of eleven he began receiving small roles in a variety of English television shows. Then in 2009 he saw his big break when he portrayed the role of Marcus Belby in the hit Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Knox was locked in to appear in the next Harry Potter film, however he tragically died at the age of 18 when he tried to save his brother from an attacker who was carrying a knife.
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16. Ashleigh Aston Moore
Ashleigh Aston Moore quickly entered into the world of acting when she was just four years old. After making numerous appearances in commercials, the child star from California eventually landed a major role in the television show The Odyssey. Ashleigh would then go on to portray the role of Chrissy in the 1995 hit Now and Then, which became her best-known role. However she had a difficult life and soon became involved with drugs which would eventually lead to her death via an overdose at the age of 26.
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15. Bobby Driscoll
Bobby Driscoll is one of the more well-known child stars who tragically passed away before his time. The American quickly entered into the world of acting at a young age, making numerous appearances in films and television shows from 1943 to 1960. He’s best know for his work with Disney in Song of the South and Treasure Island, in addition to being the voice of Peter Pan in the 1953 animated hit of the same name. However later in life Bobby began to develop a drug habit, which brought about a number of health problems. He eventually passed away at the age of 31 due to heart complications that were only heightened by his drug use.
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14. Josh Ryan Evans
From America, Josh Ryan Evans soon became involved with acting when he began making appearances in a few commercials. This would lead to him being cast as the role of Timmy in the popular soap opera Passions. Despite portraying a child, Evans was 17 at the start of filming. He suffered from a rare condition called achondroplasia, which is a form of dwarfism. This disease gave him the appearance of being a young child, which obviously caused many difficulties in life. After battling health issues for all his life, Josh Ryan Evans died in 2002 at the age of 20 from complications related to a congenital heart condition.
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13. Brittany Murphy
At the young age of just 4, Brittany Murphy was taking dance and singing lessons as her parents were hopeful that she would one day become an actress. This would eventually lead to a host of small roles in commercials and television shows. She would find her breakthrough as a teenager in the film Clueless. Brittany would go on to make appearances in a number of other films until she was tragically found dead in her bathroom at the age of 32. It was ruled that she died from cardiac arrest.
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12. Matthew Garber
Matthew Garber was an actor from London who was best known for his role as Michael Banks in the instant 1964 classic, Marry Poppins. He never made many appearances in other films after as his life was taken quite quickly. He contracted hepatitis sometime in 1976, which went untreated for months, allowing the disease to infect his pancreas which ultimately lead to his death.
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11. Heather O’Rourke
Heather O’Rourke was scouted at the age of five by Steven Spielberg, who would eventually cast her as Carol Freeling in the iconic horror film Poltergeist. She would go on to make appearances in the two sequels, in addition to having a role in Happy Days and a few other television shows. However her life was tragically cut short at the age of 12 when she passed away from a heart attack and septic shock.
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10. Tara Correa-McMullen
Tara Correa-McMullen was an American actress who as best known for her work in the TV series Judging Amy. She exhibited a lot of potential within that show and looked to further her acting career, however it was tragically cut short. She was murdered via a shooting in 2005, and died at the age of 16. Her killer was eventually caught and sentenced to five consecutive life sentences in prison.
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9. Scotty Beckett
Scotty Beckett was another child actor that appeared in the popular Our Gang series, alongside Carl Switzer. Like Switzer, Scotty had a difficult life after the series ended. He was able to find a handful of other roles, but during this time he started to struggle with alcohol and drug dependencies. He was arrested a few times, and in in 1968 he was found dead in his room. Scotty was severely beaten and the cause of death (and the beating) is still unknown, however many have argued that he died from his wounds and potentially overdosed on barbiturates.
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8. Christopher Pettiet
Known for his portrayal of Jesse James in the television show The Young Riders and as Zach Crandall in the popular 1991 comedy Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Christopher Pettiet was an American child actor that also died before his time. Like many other child actors, Pettiet had a difficult life dealing with the fame that comes with being a child star. The young actor would turn to drugs and would eventually die from an overdose at the age of 24.
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7. Dana Hill
Dana Hill was an American actress who began pursuing acting as a teenager. Her small appearances in television shows and commercials lead her to landing roles in Shoot the Moon, Fallen Angel, Cross Creek, and National Lampoon’s European Vacation. However Hill battled with health issues and Type I diabetes all her life. In May of 1996 she went into a coma that was brought on by her diabetes, eventually suffered a stroke, and died at the age of 32.
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6. Billy Laughlin
Billy Laughlin was yet another child actor that appeared in the Our Gang series back in the 1940’s who would go one to die in a tragic way. On the show he portrayed the character known as Froggy, and never really did any work outside of that series. At the age of 16, Billy was delivering newspapers when he was fatally hit by a truck and died later at the hospital in 1948.
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5. Judith Barsi
The story of Judith Barsi is one that is extremely upsetting and tragic. Judith began acting at a very young age as she made small appearances in commercials and television shows. She eventually landed roles in The Land Before Time, Jaws: The Revenge, and All Dogs Go to Heaven. She enjoyed a successful career as a young child actress, however her home life was in constant turmoil. Her father was an abusive alcoholic that was mentally unstable and became jealous and paranoid over his daughters fame. Judith and her mother Maria attempted to flee many times, but were always drawn back in due to a variety of circumstances. Child services and the police were brought in on different occasions, however it was enough to get them away. Judith (and her mother) were eventually murdered by her father in their sleep, who then burned the bodies and then committed suicide. Her death was one of the most upsetting tragedies in the acting world, and her legacy is remembered by those that loved her.
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4. Lee Thompson Young
Lee Thompson Young was an American actor that gained fame through the Disney Channel show The Famous Jett Jackson. His role in that series lead him to secure roles in Friday Night Lights, Rizzoli & Isles, Akeelah and the Bee, and a variety of other roles in both television and movies. Unfortianley Lee had an on-going battle with depression and bipolar disorder throughout his life, and he eventually took his own life at the age of 29.
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3. Bridgette Andersen
From California, Bridgette Andersen was an American child actress that gained fame for her appearances in the 1982 film Savannah Smiles. After that she made a number of other appearances in films and had a few small roles in some television shows. However when she was a teenager, she developed an addiction to heroin. She would continue to battle her addiction throughout her life, but would eventually die from an overdose at the age of 21.
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2. River Phoenix
The late brother of Joaquin Phoenix, River Phoenix, gained fame as a child actor thanks to his first major appearance in the film Stand By Me. The popularity of that film helped River acquire many other roles as an actor, making appearances in the films Running on Empty and My Own Private Idaho, where he was even nominated for an Academy Award. However during this time River developed a drug habit, and he would eventually die from a drug-related heart attack on October 31st, 1993 at the age of 23.
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1. Gary Coleman
The star from Diff’rent Strokes, Gary Coleman, is another child actor who died before his time. While he did have a successful career as a child actor, he dealt with many difficulties later in life. He suffered from an autoimmune kidney disease that stunted his growth and brought about other health related issues. He dealt with financial struggles, a public divorce, and depression throughout his life as well. In 2009 the actor had a seizure which caused a host of other medical issues which would eventually lead to his death.
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