Author : Jennifer Stone
Image Sourece: j-14.com
Here you will find a list of thriving music artists who started their career as child actors. Most of them have turned their acting popularity into the audience base for their music, growing and glowing with anecdotes of success. Though the combination of actor and singer is not that uncommon, it has become a point when these child actors paved their musical path to find the glory and success one can ever imagine.
Their popularity and their talent have worked out for them. Even there are lists of music artists who found acting later in their lives and aced their way through it. Whatever, the case may be their works resonated with the audience back then and still they are finding great opportunities to be as relevant and impressive, growing with time and season.
1.Miley Cyrus
- Age: 31
- Place of Birth: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
How did she start?
Young Miley was introduced to the audience as the iconic Hannah Montana between 2006 and 2011. With this Disney Channel program, she became widely popular amongst adolescents and young adults.
- How she is doing?
Breaking the preconceived notions people formed for her by watching her in Disney’s Hannah Montana show over and over again, she became a great singer and followed the path of her father Billy Ray Cyrus. In 2023, she released her ‘Flowers’ which won her a Grammy finally, paving her path to success.
2. Drake
- Age: 37
- Place of Birth: Toronto, Canada
How did he start?
He started by playing the role of the tragic Jimmy Brooks in ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’. This highly popular Canadian Drama started in 2001 and continued till 2015.
- How he is doing?
It will be safe to share that the tragic Jimmy Brooks is now a ‘Certified Lover Boy’ with a $200 million net worth. He forced his career into the musical path in the late 2000s and he became a successful musician even before the show ended. He has a very successful career in music with several Grammys and fights for emerging artists so that they can sing a Grammy to their names.
3. Selena Gomez
- Age: 31
- Place of Birth: Grand Prairie, Texas, USA
How did she start?
Selena Gomez played the role of Gianna from Barney & Friends between 2002 and 2004. Alongside this show, she was also a Disney Channel superstar popular for her charismatic role on the Wizards of Waverly Place show. She was extremely popular during her teenagers and she has managed to uphold her popularity even after all these years.
- How she is doing?
Her first step into music was with her band, Selena Gomez & the Scene. In 2011, the brand broke and she embarked upon her solo music journey. She has topped many billboards with her fascinating releases and won many accolades. But, recently alongside her thriving music career, she is returning to acting as she was a phenomenon in her role in the thriller drama Only Murders in the Building as Mabel Mora.
4. Demi Lovato
- Age: 31
- Place of Birth: Albuquerque, USA, New Mexico
How did she start?
In the early 2000s, Lovato was performing alongside Gomez on the show called, Barney & Friends. She played the role of Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock. This was an original Disney Channel movie. She was quite popular in both shows.
- How she is doing?
For her music career, she used her television popularity to boost it to the next level. Her talents with her popularity made her a fast-growing music artist and now she is thriving in her career with multiple studio albums to her name.
5. Macaulay Culkin
- Age: 43
- Place of Birth: New York City, Manhattan, USA, New York
How did he start?
We all have seen and wanted to be a part of his Christmas mischief in the 90s classic Chris Columbus movie franchise Home Alone and Home Alone: Lost in New York. In both cases, he was either left behind or got separated from his family which led to something extremely funny and enjoyable trajectory to witness as a child. Culkin was probably the best child actor and also was widely loved for his role as Kevin McCallister.
- How he is doing?
He formed the Pizza Underground which was a Velvet Underground-themed parody band known for its satirical perspective on the Velvet Underground’s music. Soon the band was touring across the nation, hosting parties and dishing out pizza for every attendee.
6. Ariana Grande
- Age: 30
- Place of Birth: Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.
How did she start?
She started her career at the age of 15 as she became a part of the Broadway musical 13 in 2008. Her popularity increased as became a part of the Nickelodeon television series Victorious. Her performance as the Cat Valentine was gaining her a lot of popularity.
- How she is doing?
Being a prominent child actor and singer, it was really easy for her to gain more attention when she started to make music. Now she is a pop icon winning hearts and accolades for her brilliant performances. She is at the peak of her career and her fans want her to stay as relevant and thriving as she is doing right now.
7. Jared Leto
- Age: 52
- Place of Birth: Bossier City, Louisiana, USA
How did he start?
Jared Leto became the teenage heartthrob after he played the role of Jordan Catalano in My So-Called Life, the series was filled with angst and he did a great job winning the hearts of many.
- How he is doing?
Angst has always been a part of his existence and after moving away from My So-Called Life he started to release songs along with his band Thirty Seconds to Mars. Their numbers were topping charts and hearts once again across the globe. He was the creative mind behind the success of this band, celebrating life, singing with heart, writing songs, and directing music videos for them.
8. Jenny Lewis
- Age: 48
- Place of Birth: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
How did she start?
She was a part of 80s popular movies like Troop Beverly Hills and The Wizard. She was also a part of the popular TV show Brooklyn Bridge. She made a prominent career in acting.
- How she is doing?
In the mid-90s’ she switched her career to music and took off by becoming a prominent singer and guitarist of a band called Rilo Kiley. The band remained active till 2011 afterward the band members separated and since then she has released multiple albums and solo acts which has fascinated every music lover.
9. Fergie
- Age: 49
- Place of Birth: Hacienda Heights, USA, California
How did she start?
She also started as a child actor and a singer on the 80s Show Kids Incorporated. She starred in the six seasons of this show. She was the longest-running cast member of this show.
- How she is doing?
Millennials might remember her as the “Fergalicious” female singer of the Black Eyed Peas, but she has left the group and started to do her solo tour performing her art for her audience.
10. Taylor Momsen
- Age: 30
- Place of Birth: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
How did she start?
Momsen was a part of the 2000 live-action How the Grinch Stole portraying Cindy Lou. She was also a part of the Gossip Girls playing Jenny Humphrey.
- How she is doing?
Even though she started out as a child actor in the early 2000s, she became the lead and the frontwoman of the rock band called ‘The Party Reckless’ in 2009 creating some iconic and profound releases.
- Honorable mentions of singers who are also actors
- Justin Bieber
- Ryan Gosling
- Taylor Swift
- Brandy
- Kylie Minogue
- Danny Tamberelli
- Blake Sennett
- Juliette Lewis
- Justin Timberlake
- Britney Spears
Every name mentioned in this list is popular thriving and growing in their individual way. Few are resonating to the new generation of audience some already have a strong fan base in the older generations yet, their stardom and their profound impressive on their audience have created them to be extremely popular and highly regarded in their musical spectrum. Whether it is the Home Alone star, Macaulay Culkin, or Ariana Grande, they all have their separate impression in the minds of their audience and their career have inspired and influenced many, across several generations from each corner of the globe.
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