Finding fame at a young age has proved difficult for a handful of stars, including Zachery Ty Bryan, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.
Each star found themselves in handcuffs after a wildly successful career start at a young age. Bryan, Spears and Lohan have each struggled with alcohol or substance abuse publicly while attempting to steer their careers in the right direction.
Spears was charged with a hit-and-run while both Lohan and Bryan were arrested for a DUI.
‘HOME IMPROVEMENT’ STAR ZACHERY TY BRYAN DOWNPLAYS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ALLEGATIONS: ‘BLOWN OUT OF PROPORTION’
Here’s a look at seven child stars who struggled after finding fame.
Zachery Ty Bryan
Zachery Ty Bryan was arrested in Eugene, Oregon, in 2020. (Getty Images)
“Home Improvement” star Zachery Ty Bryan was arrested in 2020 after a domestic dispute involving his girlfriend, Johnnie Faye Cartwright. He gained fame from the sitcom, led by Tim Allen, and eventually transitioned into a producer role.
Bryan, who had been seeing Cartwright for two years while married, was arrested in October 2020 and charged with felony strangulation, fourth-degree assault, coercion, menacing, harassment and interference with making a police report. Police dropped the charges besides menacing and fourth-degree assault, and Bryan chose to plead guilty.
He’s now downplayed the events, saying the arrest “got so blown out of proportion” during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Zachery Ty Bryan starred in “Home Improvement.” (Getty Images)
“I definitely have an issue with drinking,” Bryan noted in the interview but stopped short of labeling himself as an alcoholic. The actor revealed he began drinking at age 14, but he has since switched to a sober lifestyle.
“Back then, I was going to nightclubs, and they would just let me in because I was the kid from ‘Home Improvement.'” He now tries “to stay away from [alcohol],” saying, “I’ve just kind of disengaged. I’ve got my routine, I’m not going out and getting lit, and that takes away a lot of problems.”
Bryan was first arrested for DUI in 2004 at age 22. He was booked again in 2007, 2017 and 2020 – just months before the domestic assault occurred.
Britney Spears
Britney Spears gained fame in the ’90s after releasing her first album “…Baby One More Time.” (Sam Levi/WireImage)
Britney Spears shot to stardom after appearing in “The Mickey Mouse” club. Just a few years later, she would release her first album at age 15 in 1998.
Spears’ success continued as she released songs such as “…Baby One More Time,” “Oops!…I Did It Again” and “Toxic.” The pop star has likely sold nearly 100 million records worldwide throughout her career.
However, Spears found herself charged with a hit-and-run in 2007 after she was caught on video sideswiping a vehicle in a parking lot and then driving off.
At the time, Spears and her ex-husband, Keven Federline, were locked in a custody battle. Just days before being charged with hit-and-run, a judge ruled that Spears was a “habitual, frequent and continuous” drug user and ordered her to submit to random, weekly drug testing.
Britney Spears arrives for a child custody hearing at Los Angeles Superior Court on Oct. 26, 2007. (Getty Images)
Britney Spears is currently married to Sam Asghari. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Nearly a year later, Spears would be put into a conservatorship headed by her father, Jamie Spears.
The conservatorship lasted for 13 years before a judge ended it in April 2022. Spears has said she plans to create new music, and she released a duet with Elton John in August. The two collaborated on a new version of “Hold Me Closer.”
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan’s breakout role came with her casting in “The Parent Trap.” (Barry King/WireImage)
After she began modeling at age 3, Lindsay Lohan made a name for herself after landing the lead role in the 1998 version of “The Parent Trap.” Lohan was only 11 years old at the time.
The movie’s success led to more roles for Lohan, including “Freaky Friday,” “Mean Girls,” “Life-Size” and “Get a Clue.”
Lohan has been arrested a handful of times through the years, and she was famously released less than 90 minutes into an L.A. jail stint. (Getty Images)
As she became more famous, Lohan ended up having a few run-ins with the law, beginning with a 2007 DUI arrest. Nearly four years later, Lohan was charged again for allegedly stealing a $2,500 necklace.
In total, Lohan found herself sentenced to jail six times.
Lindsay Lohan and her husband, Bader Shammas, are expecting their first child. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Netflix)
Lohan has seemingly got her career back on track and recently starred in a new film. The actress appeared in Netflix’s holiday movie “Falling for Christmas,” which marked her first major production in roughly 10 years.
She also announced in March that she is expecting her first child with husband Bader Shammas.
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Drake Bell
Drake Bell starred in “Drake and Josh” on Nickelodeon. (Getty Images)
Drake Bell, who gained fame on Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show” and “Drake and Josh” pleaded guilty to charges of child endangerment in 2021. The charges stemmed from Bell’s inappropriate relationship with a young fan.
The victim had claimed that she was groomed by Bell beginning at the age of 12 and that the actor had an inappropriate sexual encounter with her.
However, Bell’s attorney denied the majority of the accusations during the sentencing hearing. He said there were no explicit photos or sexual contact between Bell and the victim, that the inappropriate conduct that did occur was reflected in the charges to which Bell pleaded guilty.
Drake Bell pleaded guilty in 2021 to one felony and one misdemeanor charge. (Cuyahoga County Sherrifs Office via AP)
The victim first contacted police in 2018 and authorities began an investigation that lasted three years.
The woman recalled the relationship she had with Bell during the sentencing hearing, appearing via Zoom.
She said she initially felt loved and protected by him during online chats and that his messages became “blatantly sexual” after she turned 15. She said his remarks made her feel uncomfortable, but she felt trapped because she “idolized” Bell.
“I was definitely one of his biggest fans,” said the woman, who allowed her face to appear on Zoom. “I would have done anything for him.”
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore’s mother sent her to a mental institution after the young actress struggled with drug and alcohol abuse. (Getty Images)
Drew Barrymore became a fixture in Hollywood with performances in “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Firestarter” and “Irreconcilable Differences.” Despite never finding herself in handcuffs, Barrymore became addicted to cocaine at the age of 12 and was blacklisted in Hollywood as a result.
Barrymore opened up about her drug addiction in her memoir. The actress revealed that she “loved cocaine.” Due to her drug and alcohol abuse, Barrymore’s mother sent the then-13-year-old to a mental health institution.
Drew Barrymore currently hosts her own talk show, “The Drew Barrymore Show.” (Getty Images)
“Just knowing that I really was alone. … My mom locked me up in an institution,” she previously told The Guardian. “But it did give an amazing discipline. It was like serious recruitment training and boot camp, and it was horrible and dark and very long-lived, a year and a half, but I needed it.”
Barrymore got her life on track and later starred in films such as “Charlie’s Angels” and “50 First Dates.” She currently hosts her own talk show, “The Drew Barrymore Show.”
Tatum O’Neal
Tatum O’Neal holds her Best Supporting Actress Oscar with her grandfather, Charles O’Neal. (Getty Images)
Tatum O’Neal shot to stardom at a young age. The actress is the youngest person to ever win an Academy Award, winning for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Addie Loggins in “Paper Moon” at 10 years old.
Her wild success was tainted by a 2008 drug arrest. She was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance after a police officer watched her buy the drugs in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood.
Tatum O’Neal attends an event in 2008, the same year she was arrested on drug possession charges. (Getty Images)
“Just when I was about to change that and wreck my life, the cops came and saved me,” O’Neal previously told the New York Post in 2015.
O’Neal is known for her roles in “The Runaways” and “Little Darlings.”
Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf has been arrested multiple times but continues to land Hollywood projects. (Getty Images)
Shia LaBeouf began his career as a comedian and landed a role on Disney’s “Even Stevens” at age 13. The actor’s first big film role was “Holes,” and he went on to star in other movies such as “Disturbia” along with “Transformers.”
LaBeouf was first arrested in 2013 after displaying inappropriate behavior at a musical on Broadway. At one point, LaBeouf reportedly stood up and yelled at the actors onstage. He was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing and later pleaded guilty.
He was arrested again in 2017 over another public outburst. In 2020, LaBeouf was charged with battery and petty theft after fighting with a man and taking his hat.
Shia LaBeouf praised ex FKA Twigs for saving his life after the lawsuit she filed in 2020 in which she said he abused her while they were dating in 2019. (Getty Images)
That same year, the actor’s ex-girlfriend, FKA Twigs, filed a lawsuit in which she accused the actor of physically abusing her throughout their relationship. LaBeouf told the New York Times that many of the allegations were untrue.
Despite the turmoil, LaBeouf has continued to work. He has starred in “Fury,” “American Honey,” “The Tax Collector” and most recently “Padre Pio.”
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