Inside homes of former child stars
They were once the child stars who graced our screens in beloved TV shows and films.
As the spotlight faded, their paths varied, with some leading to personal challenges, while others building vast fortunes outside Hollywood.
Here’s a look at where these former child stars are now, their properties and the journeys they’ve embarked on since their early acting days.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas
In the 1990s, Jonathan Taylor Thomas was the teen heart-throb who captured the hearts of young girls everywhere.
Affectionately known as JTT, the former child star was best known for his role as Randy Taylor on American sitcom Home Improvement and for voicing young Simba in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King.
He subsequently took on other film roles, including Man of the House with Chevy Chase, the Mark Twain adaptation Tom and Huck, and lending his voice as Pinocchio in the live-action 1996 film The Adventures of Pinocchio.
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Tim Allen and Jonathan Taylor Thomas in TV show Home Improvement.
With a net worth of $US12 million ($A18 million), Thomas was one of the highest-paid teen actors in the world.
His salary for Tom and Huck was $US600,000 ($A910,000). At one point, his Home Improvement salary was reportedly $US8,000 ($A12,000).
But by the early 2000s, the actor took a step back from Hollywood to focus on his education.
“I’d been going non-stop since I was 8 years old,” he explained to People in 2013. “I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.”
Thomas made a surprise return to entertainment in 2013, appearing on his TV dad Tim Allen’s sitcom Last Man Standing. However, according to IMDb, he has not acted in anything since.
Thomas purchased a lagoon-facing residence in Westlake Village, California, for $US683,000 ($A1.04 million) in 2000.
He still owns property, despite his unsuccessful attempts to sell it from 2015 to 2016 for around $US2 million ($A3.06).
Jonathan Taylor Thomas in Last Man Standing
Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf rose to fame as a child playing Louis Stevens on the Disney Channel original series Even Stevens from 2000 to 2003.
He transitioned to film, with breakthrough roles in Holes and Disturbia. He gained international fame in the Transformers franchise and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The Daytime Emmy Award winner’s net worth is reportedly $US25 million ($A38 million). He was paid $US400,000 ($A607,000) for each of his roles in Disturbia and Surf’s Up.
In 2010, his earnings reached $US8 million ($A12 million) for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
For his role in the Transformers film series, LaBeouf’s paycheck was significantly bumped.
He received $US750,000 ($A1.1 million) for the first movie, followed by $US5 million ($A7.5 million) for the second, and a substantial $US15 million ($A22.7 million) for the third instalment.
Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf in 2007’s Transformers
LaBeouf’s professional and personal life have been muddled with controversy over the years.
He made waves in 2013 after showing up to the movie premiere of his film Nymphomaniac wearing a paper bag over his head that read “I am not famous anymore.”
In 2015, LaBeouf was arrested in Austin, Texas, for public intoxication, the New York Post reports.
The star was accused of physically and emotionally abusing his ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs.
LaBeouf denied the accusations and had checked into a “long-term inpatient treatment” facility, with his lawyer saying at the time that he “needs help and he knows that”.
“I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalisations. I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years,” LaBeouf told The New York Times in 2021.
“I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say.”
LaBeouf has since welcomed a daughter, Isabel, with Mia Goth.
In 2020, the Fury actor paid $5.475 million ($A8.2 million) for a home in Pasadena, California.
He bought a property in Sherman Oaks, California, for $US1.8 million ($A2.7 million) in 2009.
The house was listed for sale at $2.25 million ($3.4 million) in July 2020 and sold for $2.4 million ($A3.6 million) in September of that same year.
In 2020, the Fury actor paid $5.475 million for a home in Pasadena, California. Picture: Realtor
Angus T. Jones
Angus T. Jones became a household name when he played Jake Harper on the hit sitcom, Two and a Half Men.
Jones starred alongside Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer for nearly 10 years before exiting the series in 2012, Page Six reports.
The former TV star has a net worth of $US20 million ($A30,3 million). Once the highest paid child actor, Jones was earning around $US350,000 ($A410,000) per episode when he quit the series.
“If you watch ‘Two and a Half Men,’ please stop watching ‘Two and a Half Men,’” the actor said in a YouTube video posted by the Forerunner Chronicles, a Christian group, after leaving the show.
In his 10-minute testimonial, Jones said he found God and called the show “filth.” He has not made a return to acting since his fiery departure.
“People say it’s just entertainment. Do some research on the effects of television and your brain, and I promise you you’ll have a decision to make when it comes to television, especially with what you watch,” he continued.
“I’m on ‘Two and a Half Men’ and I don’t want to be on it. Please stop watching it and filling your head with filth. People say it’s just entertainment.”
Jon Cryer, Angus T Jones and Charlie Sheen in Two And A Half Men.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor retracted his comments. “I apologise if my remarks reflect me showing indifference to and disrespect of my colleagues and a lack of appreciation of the extraordinary opportunity of which I have been blessed … I never intended that.”
“Without qualification, I am grateful to and have the highest regard and respect for all of the wonderful people on ‘Two and Half Men’ with whom I have worked and over the past 10 years who have become an extension of my family,” he noted.
The actor’s living situation remains unclear, with the most recent information indicating he resides in a home in Glendale, California.
According to Virtual Globe Trotting, his home was purchased under his mum’s name back in 2007 for $US1.595 Million ($A2.4 million).
Jones’ home was purchased under his mum’s name back in 2007 for $US1.595 Million ($A2.4 million). Picture: Google Maps
Corey Feldman
Corey Feldman began his acting career at the age of three by starring in a McDonald’s commercial. He landed major roles with Gremlins, The Goonies and Stand By Me.
The actor later turned to music and released three studio albums.
Feldman struggled with addiction throughout his early career. His heroin habit grew to $US300 ($A460) a day and led to several arrests.
By 1990, The Lost Boys star was “selling my CDs on a corner in exchange for crack rocks.”
In his autobiography, Coreyography, Feldman stated that despite previous struggles with sobriety, he “never had another hard drug again” after a severe but brief relapse in 1995.
Last year during his divorce proceedings to his third wife, Courtney, the actor disclosed his dire financial situation.
He claimed he had just $US34,000 ($A52,000) in the bank in November 2024 and he owed the IRS around $US200,000 ($A306,000).
Will Wheaton, Jerry O’Connell, Corey Feldman and River Phoenix in a scene from the 1986 film Stand By Me.
In 2023, he earned $US78,946 ($A121,000), primarily from paid appearances at fan conventions. He typically receives $35,000 ($A53,000) per convention and attends three to six annually.
However, net earnings are significantly reduced after paying for managers, agents, lawyers, and taxes.
Between 2016 and 2024, Feldman earned a total of $US179,852 ($A275,000) over an eight-year period.
Feldman claimed that despite his highly successful multi-decade career, he received no residuals that significantly contributed to his income or savings.
Courtney was receiving $US2,000 ($A3,000) per month in support from Feldman at the time of their divorce proceedings and was requesting an increase to $US5,000 ($A7,600) per month.
At the time of their divorce, Feldman did not appear to own any real estate. He reportedly rented a home in Woodland Hills, California, for around $US5,500 ($A8,400) per month.
At the time of their divorce, Feldman did not appear to own any real estate. Picture: Jerod Harris/Getty Images
Kirk Cameron
Kirk Cameron became a household name in the late 1980s, playing Mike Seaver on Growing Pains from 1985 to 1992.
The heart-throb graced the covers of teen magazines, adored by young girls across the world.
At the time, the actor was making $US50,000 ($A75,000) a week. He now has a net worth of $US10 million ($A15 million).
In his early teens, Cameron was an atheist. During the height of his career while on Growing Pains, he became a born-again Christian.
“I had everything that I wanted. I had as much money as I wanted to spend,” ” he wrote in ‘How Do You Know He’s Real’.
“I was travelling around the world meeting famous people. I was a famous person …
But I met a man, who was the father of a girl that I liked, and I got to talking to this man, and he said, ‘There’s still something that you don’t have, though, Kirk.
“You have a lot, but you don’t have the Lord’.”
Kirk Cameron in 1980s TV sitcom Growing Pains
The actor’s religious beliefs led to his isolation from co-stars before the show’s cancellation in 1992. He did not maintain contact with them.
He later expressed his regrets over how his relationship with his castmates changed after his religious conversion during Growing Pains.
“I definitely kind of made an about-face, going toward another aspect of my life,” Cameron told the Los Angeles Times in 2000.
“I shifted my focus from 100 per cent on the show, to 100 per cent on [my new life], and left 0 per cent on the show – and even the friendships that were a part of that show.
“If I could go back, I think I could make decisions that were less inadvertently hurtful to the cast – like talking and explaining to them why I just wanted to have my family at my wedding.”
Cameron married his Growing Pains co-star and on-screen girlfriend, Chelsea Noble in 1991. They have six children: four adopted and two biological.
Cameron and his family relocated from California to Tennessee in 2024. Prior to their move, he and Noble bought a California residence in 1998 for $US645,000 ($A980,000).
Growing Pains cast including Jeremy Miller, Tracey Gold, Kirk Cameron, Ashley Johnson, Alan Thick
Prior to their move, Cameron and Noble bought a California residence in 1998 for $US645,000. Picture: Realtor
Liesel Matthews
Liesel Matthews, famous for her role in the 90s film A Little Princess, had a brief acting career, appearing in only two more films: Air Force One (1997) and Blast (2000).
These days the former child star goes by her marital name of Liesel Pritzker Simmons – leaving her child star past well and truly behind.
Her real life was however just as eventful as a movie because she was an heiress to the Hyatt Hotels fortune which was estimated by The New York Times in 2002 to be around $US15 billion ($A22 billion).
When she was studying at Colombia University that same year, Liesel and her brother filed a $US6 billion ($A9 billion) lawsuit against her father and eleven older cousins, The Sun reports.
They claimed the family had misappropriated their trust funds, and the case proved successful.
Liesel Matthews in 1995 film The Little Princess.
These days she has stepped away from the movie industry. Picture: Getty
The lawsuit resulted in Liesel receiving a $US500 million ($A760 million) payout according to Forbes, and she left America soon after to head to India.
She spent her time as a yoga teacher in a program designed to rehabilitate heroin addicts and also volunteered in a nursery.
Liesel – who has a net worth of $US1.5 billion ($A2.2. billion) – has since dedicated her post-acting career to setting up a number of philanthropic firms such as the Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO).
She currently lives in Greater Boston, Massachusetts with husband Ian Simmons, who she married in 2011 and their two daughters.
In 2007, Liesel forked out $US6.2 million ($A9.4 million) on an apartment at 455 Central Park West, according to the Observer.
She also owns a $US2.29 million ($A3.4 million) condo near the Columbia campus. “I figured that it would make more sense to buy,” she told The New York Times.
However, no details have been reported about her current home.
Liesel Matthews with Harrison Ford and Wendy Crewson in scene from film Air Force One.
In 2007, Liesel forked out $US6.2 million on an apartment at 455 Central Park West. Picture: Supplied
Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams was 12 years old when she made her TV debut, guest-starring on Baywatch in 1993.
She launched her career with a series of television appearances and minor film roles.
Her breakthrough came with her role as Jen Lindley on the popular teen drama “Dawson’s Creek,” which premiered in 1998.
Over the years, Williams has gained critical acclaim for her performances in films like Brokeback Mountain and My Week with Marilyn. She has a net worth of $US30 million ($A45 million).
Michelle Williams plays Jennifer Lindley in Dawson’s Creek.
The Golden Globe winner welcomed daughter Matilda with her then-boyfriend, the late Heath Ledger in October 2005. The pair met on the set of Brokeback Mountain.
Williams is also the mother of three children with husband Thomas Kail — son Hart, born in 2020, and two more, one born in 2022 and another via surrogate earlier this year, whose names have not been divulged.
The couple got married in 2020, less than one year after the Dying for Sex star divorced her first husband, musician Phil Elverum.
In January 2020, Michelle and Kail moved into a $US10.8 million ($A16.3 million) townhouse in Brooklyn Heights he purchased through a trust.
In 2015, the Oscar nominee sold her longtime Brooklyn townhouse for $US8.8 million ($A13.3 million.
She still maintains another home in Brooklyn, which was purchased in 2015 for $US2.5 million ($A3.7 million).
In 2015, the Oscar nominee sold her longtime Brooklyn townhouse for $US8.8 million. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Disney
Williams still maintains another home in Brooklyn, which was purchased in 2015 for $US2.5 million. Picture: Realtor
Stephen Dorff
Although he graced the pages of many teen girls’ magazines in the late 1980s and early ’90s, Stephen Dorff never quite achieved A-level celebrity status.
The Blade star has been working steadily since he was a kid, making guest appearances on shows such as Diff’rent Strokes, Family Ties, Roseanne, and Married … with Children.
Dorff has also starred in a number of TV and movie projects, including The Power of One, Backbeat and Blood and Wine.
With a net worth of $US12 million ($A18 million), the Somewhere star has owned a number of impressive properties over the years.
In 2001 Stephen spent $2.546 million ($A3.8 million) on a beachfront home in Malibu, California.
He also has a penthouse in Manhattan, and a house next to La Costa beach in Malibu, California.
In 2017 he sold his New York City apartment for $US2.7 million ($A4 million).
Stephen Dorff and Jack Nicholson in scene from 1997’s Blood and Wine.
Stephen Dorff’s Malibu beach house. Picture: Realtor
Jami Gertz
Jami Gertz rose to fame as an ‘80s star before quietly building a billion-dollar fortune.
The 59-year-old “Lost Boys” actress is the public face of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, which she co-owns with her husband, businessman Tony Ressler — who, according to Forbes, has a net worth of over $US12 billion ($A18 billion).
She launched her career as a child actress in 1982 when she starred on the CBS sitcom Square Pegs, Fox News reports.
Gertz went on to land roles on TV shows like The Facts of Life, Diff’rent Strokes and Family Ties and appeared in movies including Sixteen Candles, Endless Love and The Lost Boys and Less Than Zero.
While filming The Lost Boys in 1986, Gertz met Ressler. The pair tied the knot two years later.
During a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress opened up about her journey to becoming an NBA team owner and quashed any speculation that it was a “girl-meets-billionaire” tale.
“Everyone thinks I married a rich guy,” she said. “But I made more money — way more money — than Tony when I met him. I paid for our first house. I paid for our first vacation. I married him because I fell in love with him.”
Kiefer Sutherland and Jami Gertz in a scene from 1987 film The Lost Boys.
The couple’s Malibu home is located above Broad Beach, one of the most sought-after areas. Picture: Realtor
In 2015, Gertz and Ressler became co-owners of the Atlanta Hawks. The couple were already minority owners of the Milwaukee Brewers after they joined a group of investors who had bought the baseball team in 2005.
The pair’s primary homes are located in Malibu and Beverly Hills.
Their home in Beverly Hills is situated within the most exclusive gated community in the area, with neighbours including Denzel Washington, Sylvester Stallone, Eddie Murphy, and Mark Wahlberg.
According to tax records, their house is worth a minimum of $US30 million ($A45 million).
The couple’s Malibu home is located above Broad Beach, one of the most sought-after areas.
Parts of this story first appeared in the New York Post,Page Six, The Sun and Fox News and were republished with permission.
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