Danielle Fishel
Everybody loves an ugly duckling story and the child stars included on this list reflect just that! Let’s face it, not everybody was born a great beauty and that includes celebrities, even ones that have always been in the spotlight!
Sometimes it takes celebrities a few years to really grow into their looks, and when they do, everyone can’t help but be blown away!
Who could forget Topanga, the oddly named love interest of the titular “boy” in Boy Meets World? When Topanga was first introduced, she certainly wasn’t the perky cheerleader type. She had strong opinions, a quirky family and an excellent sense of self.
Danielle Fishel
Unlike many “nerdy” characters, Topanga never concerned herself with what others thought about her. Instead, she was an extremely confident foil and friend for the two main male characters of the show.
Unlike many other nerdy kids turned to supermodels, Topanga actually experienced her change in appearance on the show. Boy Meets World lasted for a long time, so long that the show transitioned from grade school to high school, and from high school to college.
Patrick Dempsey
(The show even joked around that the teachers seemed to follow them from school to school… which was strange.) Danielle blossomed during the later years of the show, becoming a curvy beauty as the show transitioned from high school into college.
Dempsey’s early career was actually on the stage; he was initially discovered on a performance of Torch Song Trilogy. Unlike the other actors on this list, Dempsey wasn’t discovered when he was young–his first major role was when he was 21.
Patrick Dempsey
But it would have been difficult to guess what a force of nature his career would later become.
Few actors can claim to have as massive appeal as Dempsey, who literally had a character on a show called “McDreamy.” Grey’s Anatomy is perhaps one of the most popular and well-known TV dramas, and Patrick’s character was often there simply to appear attractive. If that isn’t good for your ego, what is?
Alexa Vega
But Patrick was not content to leave it there.
Alexa Vega began her career on Spy Kids, as Carmen. Spy Kids was a fun, exciting re-imagining of the standard spy movie as, well, a kid’s movie.
Alexa Vega
It was a fantastic success. Though these types of movies are often flops, Spy Kids was able to successfully fulfill its premise through the strength of its young actors and its script (which probably explains the sequels, too).
In recent years, Alexa has had roles in The Clockwork Girl, 23 Blast, The Remaining and Spare Parts. She’s also toured and been on a variety of television shows, from Royal Pains to The Tomorrow People.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
It would appear that Alexa is still searching for her “home,” either her next hit television show or her next hit movie.
The current generation may not even remember that the gorgeous and sassy Jennifer Love Hewitt got her start, like many others, as a Disney channel star.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt began acting at a young age, being featured on Kids Incorporated on the Disney Channel as “Love Hewitt.”
Following Kids Incorporated, Jennifer Love Hewitt’s career took a turn towards young adult drama. Unlike other Disney stars, she wasn’t locked into a lengthy contract with them, and this enabled her to control her career right out of the gate; and, in fact, may have been a poor choice for Disney as it’s certain that she would have been quite marketable.
Joseph Gordon Levitt
She quickly became a sex symbol following her role in Party of Five, which was then set in stone with the breakout success of I Know What You Did Next Summer.
Joseph Gordon Levitt, affectionately known as JGL to his fans, experienced his first success as the youngest main character on the show Third Rock From the Sun. This was an extraordinarily demanding role for the long-haired, nerdy actor, as it demanded that he play a character many years older than himself-and quite a bit smarter than any human on the show.
Joseph Gordon Levitt
As the show progressed, JGL slipped into his nerdy teen years and it would have been hard to believe that he would be just as beloved as he is now.
Following Third Rock From the Sun, JGL quit acting temporarily to finish his studies. But after this brief break, he starred in hit after hit, emerging as a breakout star. It seemed as though he was unstoppable.
Madeline Zima
Perhaps this was because he was naturally charismatic… or maybe it was because he finally got a haircut. It may also have been that he was able to sidestep the young adult actor problem by remaining out of public view during his more awkward stages.
Don’t recognize the name? You’d definitely recognize the actress.
Madeline Zima
Fans of the show The Nanny knew Madeline Zima as a young child, Grace. But that wasn’t her first acting role; this was in the wholesome Downy fabric softener commercials.
As Madeline grew, her appearance became more and more unique. Tall and lithe, Madeline’s large eyes and confident demeanor soon won her some rather interesting roles.
Matthew Lewis
In Californication, Madeline Zima would go on to play a defiant, sexually mature 16-year-old girl-the role that brought to light the actress’s ability to play different types. It also secured a theme; Madeline would continue to find roles that were similarly quirky, mature and unique.
It seems as though most of the characters from Harry Potter could fall under this distinction. Matthew Lewis played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter series, a shy, dorky child who wasn’t very popular and was usually discarded.
Matthew Lewis
While Neville wasn’t his first role, it is definitely his most famous and he was featured throughout all of the films. Prior to Harry Potter, Matthew showed up in a few television shows.
Following Harry Potter, Matthew moved on to an interesting and eclectic mix of projects. He’s been in video games, music videos, short films and television series.
Lacey Chabert
His largest role outside of Harry Potter was his role in Syndicate. Of course, one can most definitely hope that he will start making appearances in films again shortly and it will be interesting to see what direction his character takes.
As the voice of Eliza Thornberry, on Nickelodeon, Lacey was one of the most geek-positive characters on television in the 1990s. Eliza was an always-excited nerd who had an affinity for animals. In fact, her affinity for animals was so severe that she could even talk to them!
Lacey Chabert
From episode to episode, Eliza would get into quirky misadventures based primarily on her need to learn and to help. Lacey was able to bring a vibrant attitude to this character, but she’s really known for her prior role as Claudia in Party of Five.
One might never imagine that someone who spent so much time as a voice actress would be so beautiful. Following the first season of Family Guy, Lacey worked on Lost In Space, Daddy Day Care and Mean Girls.
Lindsay Lohan
But she still does a variety of voice roles, including Star Wars: the Old Republic, Robot Chicken and Baby Daddy.
For a time, Lindsay Lohan was the hardest working young actress in Disney’s roster. Those from a certain generation will remember growing up with a constant stream of Lindsay Lohan films flooding the Disney Channel.
Lindsay Lohan
After initially being discovered by Disney she was placed into a new version of The Parent Trap. Indeed, she was to play both a shy character and a bolder, more stubborn character in this film.
Mean Girls was, in some ways, a breakout role for Lindsay Lohan because it was the first role she completed outside of Disney. Written by Tina Fey, Mean Girls had a different feel from the Disney films that Lindsay had previously been pumping out; it was dark, clever and sardonic.
Justin Timberlake
While she had definitely turned into a beautiful, fiery spirited young woman, the transition took place largely in public consciousness, with each film being a bit of a departure from the last.
Could anyone have anticipated that Justin Timberlake would be the one to gain the most success? Probably not: he was always the shy nerdy member of the group, and his chaste relationship with Britney Spears only solidified this impression (though in later years he has come back and stated that it wasn’t really as chaste as they made it sound).
Justin Timberlake
Justin began his career when the boy band NSYNC was constructed and did a significant amount of work with Disney following it.
Justin Timberlake always made it a point to make fun of himself, and his featured appearances on Saturday Night Live greatly improved public perception of him as clever and amiable. This likely helped continue his popularity after the band had long been dissolved.
But none of that would have helped if he didn’t ultimately show that he had an incredible amount of raw talent. He released several incredible singles during his solo career, currently having racked up 4 Emmys and 9 Grammys, the most popular of which was “SexyBack,” which showed off his new and unique sound.