Remember those adorable and talented child stars who entertained us on our TV? It’s easy to think that these stars from our favorite shows and movies are ageless, so it can be really surprising to see them as adults. But what happened to them now that they are grown up? Bridget Mendler, Macaulay Culkin and Lindsay Lohan were household names for most of us in the late 90s/early 2000s. Where are they now?
Bridgit Mendler is remembered from her time on Disney Channel. She grew very popular from her role as Teddy Duncan on Disney’s hit sitcom “Good Luck, Charlie.” When she first started filming for “Good Luck, Charlie” she was 17-years-old. About a year and a half later, Mendler started filming a Disney Channel original movie “Lemonade Mouth.” She earned the hearts of all viewers at home with her bubbly personality and fun characters she played. Around this time of filming for “Good Luck,Charlie,” she released her song “Ready or Not,” which became a viral hit.
Now, Mendler is 31 and married and has made headlines with her impressive career since being on Disney Channel. This year she completed her masters degree at MIT in media arts and science and she earned a Juris Doctor Degree from Harvard Law School. In early March, Mendler announced that she will serve as the CEO of her own company, Northwood Space which is a startup on a mission to create a “data highway between earth and space.” In between going to school and launching her own company she revealed in February that she is a mom to a four-year-old boy. She explained that she started fostering in 2021 and adopted him near Christmas of 2022.
Junior Taylor Hasty shares, “I loved watching Bridget Mendler on Disney when I was little; she was always one of my favorites on Good Luck, Charlie. I think what she is doing now is so cool with her new company and family.”
Macaulay Culkin is known for his iconic role as Kevin McCallister in “Home Alone.” Before reprising his role for “Home Alone 2” he also appeared in “My Girl” and “Wish Kid.” He continued acting in shows and movies as he was growing up.
In 2017 Culkin decided to start up his own comedy brand “Bunny Ears,” which has a podcast, website and video content,and he became successful in regards to that. In 2021, he appeared as the character Mickey in “American Horror Story” season 10. This childhood star is now engaged to Brenda Song, a fellow childhood star who appeared on “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.” They welcomed their first son Dakota in April 2021 and their second son Carson at the end of 2022. He was most recently honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 2023 for his strides he has made in the acting industry.
Another childhood star who has grown up since we have watched her on TV is Lindsay Lohan.
Lohan has appeared on TV since she was 12-years-old, starring in the wildly successful remake of “The Parent Trap.” When she was around 17, she played Cady Heron in the original “Mean Girls,” which has become very popular since its release in 2004, along with other hit films she was in. In 2014 Lohan moved to Dubai to live a quieter life than one in the spotlight. She opened three beach clubs in Greece between 2016 and 2018. And in 2019 she starred in a MTV reality show “Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club,” which was eventually canceled. A few years later, in 2020, she met her now husband Bader Shammas, and in July of 2023, they had their first son named Luai. She still lives in Dubai and lives a happy life with her husband and son.
These childhood stars definitely live very different, fun and interesting lives than we remember from watching them on TV.
