'80s Child Actors, Then And Now

Buzz Feed

14-05-2025

Child stars are without a doubt some of the most fascinating people in all of Hollywood. While they obviously age out of child acting roles, it sometimes feels like they're frozen at the age they became famous, especially for those of us who constantly rewatch old TV shows and movies.
We've covered the "then and now" transformations for '90s–'10s child stars — but if you thought those were shocking, hold onto your hats, because we're going back to the '80s today! And seeing these people all grown up is low-key making me rethink the entire aging process. So here we go: your fave '80s child stars, then and now...
First, here is Raven-Symoné from The Cosby Show at age 5:
And here she is now, age 39:
Here is Ricky Schroder from Silver Spoons at age 13:
And here he is now, age 55:
This was actually from 2020, so he was technically 50 in this photo.
Here is Alyssa Milano from Who's The Boss? at age 11:
And here she is now, age 52:
Here is Corey Feldman from The Goonies and Stand By Me at age 14:
And here he is now, age 53:
Here is Fred Savage from The Wonder Years at age 11:
And here he is now, age 48:
Here's Danny Cooksey from Diff'rent Strokes at age 8:
And here he is now, age 49:
This was also the most recent photo I could find of him. It's from late 2019.
Here is Danielle Brisebois from Archie Bunker's Place at age 12:
And here she is now, age 55:
Here's Tracey Gold from Growing Pains at age 11:
And here she is now, age 55:
Here is Drew Barrymore from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial at age 7:
And here she is now, age 50:
Here is Sean Astin from The Goonies at age 14:
And here he is now, age 54:
Here is Aileen Quinn from Annie at age 10:
And here she is now, age 53:
Here is Tiffani Thiessen from Saved by the Bell at age 15:
And here she is now, age 51:
Here is Candace Cameron Bure from Full House at age 11:
And here she is now, age 49:
Here is Mario Lopez from Saved by the Bell at age 15:
And here he is now, age 51:
Here is Lukas Haas from Witness at age 9:
And here he is now, age 49:
Here is Soleil Moon Frye from Punky Brewster at age 8:
And here she is now, age 48:
Here is Alfonso Ribeiro from Silver Spoons at age 13:
And here he is now, age 53:
Here is Danny Pintauro from Cujo at age 8:
And here he is now, age 49:
Here is Peter Billingsley from A Christmas Story at age 15:
And here he is now, age 54:
Here is Kim Fields from The Facts of Life at age 11:
And here she is now, age 55:
Here is C. Thomas Howell from The Outsiders at age 17:
And here he is now, age 58:
Here is Justin Henry from Kramer vs. Kramer and Sixteen Candles at age 14:
And here he is now, age 53:
This photo was also from 2019! So he was 48 here.
Here is Molly Ringwald from Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club at age 17:
And here she is now, age 57:
Who's your favourite child actor from the '80s? And whose transformation shocked you the most? Tell me in the comments below!
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