Child stars with surprisingly normal day jobs revealed

The world has watched as child star after child star has either made it big in the industry as an adult, or failed to reach the heights of their childhood. A select few, however, took matters into their own hands and left Hollywood altogether to pursue careers with relatively normal jobs.

From the Disney Channel actress who became CEO of a space startup to the sitcom king who worked in management, join HELLO! as we explore what your favorite child stars are doing now. 

Jennifer Stone

The Wizards of Waverly Place actress starred opposite Selena Gomez in the hit Disney Channel show as Harper Finkle, the eccentric best friend of Alex Russo. After the show wrapped in 2012, she landed a handful of roles, but ultimately left the entertainment industry to become a nurse. 

She graduated in 2019 and went straight to the pandemic frontlines, working tirelessly to care for the sick. Speaking to Deadline, Jennifer opened up about the surprising similarities between acting and nursing. 

“It still continues to blow my mind – all of the parallels that I have found and continue to learn about,” she said. “I’ve been an actor since the age of six…I think it strengthens your sense of empathy, and it strengthens your area of questioning of why people do what they do. It also leads me to an understanding that people are very much the same.”

“In nursing, you come across so many different kinds of people that to be able to view people that way is such a gift. To be able to say, ‘I may not know what you’re going through because I personally haven’t gone through it, but I can only imagine and I’m here to listen. I’m here to empathize. I’m here with you for whatever you need me to do.’ I don’t know if I would have been able to do that as effectively without being an actor.”

Bridgit Mendler

Jennifer’s fellow Disney Channel alum Bridgit Mendler has a resume so incredible that it has become somewhat of a running joke on the internet. 

After starring in Disney’s Good Luck Charlie from 2010 until 2014, she began her music career in earnest and found success with singles like “Ready or Not” and “Hurricane”. She wrapped up that chapter of her life in 2016, and went on to study at the University of Southern California. 

Bridgit became one of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab’s Director’s Fellows in 2017, and then entered into a graduate program at MIT. She then earned her master’s, began working on a PhD, and completed her Doctor of Law. 

As if that weren’t enough, the 32-year-old announced that she had co-founded a space startup called Northwood Space to create a “data highway between Earth and space.” 

Ashlie Brillault 

Ashlie played mean girl Kate in the hit Disney series Lizzie McGuire opposite Hilary Duff. She also acted in The Lizzie McGuire Movie in 2003 but left the industry shortly after. 

Ashlie began her studies at the University of Denver where she earned her Doctor of Law, and now works as a criminal defense attorney in California. 

Clayton Snyder

Ashlie’s Lizzie McGuire co-star also opted to leave acting behind shortly after the 2003 film was released, and while he returned for smaller roles in 2017’s The Reunion and 2019’s Ham on Rye, he ultimately stuck to his career as a real estate agent in California. 

Clayton opened up to E! News about the pitfalls of being recognized at his job, sharing that he wanted to be hired based on his skills alone. 

“I would really like it to be you want to work with me because I’m really good at what I do, and if it’s a nice piece of trivia that I’m ‘that guy,’ then that’s wonderful,” he told the outlet. 

“We’ve had plenty of clients, where halfway through showing them homes, they’re like, ‘My wife and I just found out who you are, and we can’t believe it!’ But that makes me feel good because I know that’s not why they’re working with me.”

Jeff Cohen 

Jeff skyrocketed to fame after playing Chunk in 1985’s The Goonies, and continued to act until his last credit in 1991’s Perfect Harmony. 

Jeff went on to become an entertainment lawyer, and incredibly, was hired by his Goonies co-star Ke Huy Quan to help him negotiate his Everything Everywhere All at Once contract, a film which won him an Oscar. 

“When the producer of our movie was trying to make my deal, he said he never imagined that he’d have to talk to Chunk and Data for his movie,” Ke joked in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. 

Angus T. Jones

The Two and a Half Men star was just ten years old when he landed the role of a lifetime opposite Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer. 

Angus even became the highest-paid child star on TV in 2010, but decided to step away from the industry when the show wrapped to become a manager at the event planning company Tonite. 

“If you’d asked me a few years ago if I wanted to get back involved in the industry, I would have said, ‘No. Not at all,'” he told People in 2016. 

“Going to college was something I was really, really excited about. I wasn’t the center of everyone’s attention, and that was nice.”