These '90s Child Stars You Forgot All About

If you were born in the 80s and 90s, you’re lucky as you have a great childhood the current generation is far cry from that. Although the internet and technology were not developed at this time, we somehow can enjoy Movies and music better just from DVDs or CDs. Even now, many people tend to prefer Entertainment products at this time and search for them to fill their free time with joy.
There was a popular sentiment making the rounds this time: people have the soft spot for child stars. Although they are at a very young age, their talent is second to none. In particular, they have charisma and natural cuteness that make audiences go gaga over them.
The 1990s were a long time ago. Some of those child actors are now Hollywood superstars with many massively impressive roles, so their once famous cuteness as children is tarnished. Besides, some quit the spotlight to live and work with other passions or just enjoy a normal life. No matter what they are doing now, we want to jog your memory of your good ol’ time by listing these famous 90s child actors and actresses in this post. Dive into them now!

#1 Dante Basco

Source: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Hawai’i International Film Festival

Rufio! Rufio! Rufio! Dante Basco is well-recognized for his role as the arrogant leader of the Lost Boys (1987), he was 12 at this time. After Hook (1991), he worked predominantly as a voice actor. He has appeared in Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nickelodeon, American Dragon: Jake Long, The Proud Family, and Star Wars: Rebels on Disney Channel.
He started the Da Poetry Lounge in Los Angeles in 1998, which is the largest weekly open mic poetry performance location in the United States. Currently, he landed the voice for Prince Zuko on Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway.

#2 Alisan Porter

Source: Justin Higuchi via Wikimedia Commons

Alisan Porter had many acting appearances before landing the lead in the 1991 John Hughes family comedy Curly Sue. These performances included Parenthood and TV's Family Ties. There were huge expectations that Curly Sue would become as popular as an early Hughes film, Home Alone, but this did not happen, and Porter quickly vanished from the screens.
However, this did not spell the end of her career. Porter began her long and successful career in musical theatre when she was in her late teens. She also began to pursue a career in recording. When Porter participated in the TV singing competition The Voice, which she ultimately won, she re-entered the public consciousness.

#3 Josh Saviano

Source: Lars Niki/Getty Images for Saks Fifth Avenue

Josh Saviano was a recognizable face to The Wonder Years viewers in the 1990s. A weird urban legend surfaced a few years after the show ended, claiming that the Paul Pfeiffer character had grown up to become shock rocker Marilyn Manson. While this was obviously false, Saviano has pursued a quite different career path.
Saviano became a lawyer after studying political science at Yale, and he co-founded Spotlight Advisory Group in 2018. Nonetheless, Saviano hasn't fully retired from acting, having appeared in a few episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit between 2014 and 2016.

#4 Michael Oliver

Source: Barnorama

Michael Oliver, a California native, was just eight years old when he made his screen debut as Junior Healy, the adoptive son from hell in Problem Child. Despite being reviled by critics, the rowdy 1990 comedy was a huge enough smash for Oliver to repeat the part in the 1991 sequel Problem Child 2 - but this did not catapult him to a long-running career.
Oliver's career was interrupted when his mother (also his manager) was sued on extortion charges by Universal after she threatened to withdraw her son from Problem Child 2 unless they paid him $500,000. Oliver ceased performing soon after and stated in 2015 that he had no regrets: “After having been thrust into the spotlight as a child, I appreciate some peace. I am grateful and always will be for the experiences.”

#5 Jimmy Workman

Source: Greg2600/Wikimedia Commons

“The Addam Family” was one of the iconic Halloween movies, and the film star was Pugsley, starred by then 11 years old actor - Jimmy Workman. However, Jimmy realized acting wasn't really for him after his stint in the Addams Family films, and other than a brief bit in As Good As It Gets, he pretty well stopped acting completely.
But he is still in Hollywood and working behind the scenes. He’s now 32 years old and worked as a transportation coordinator on film and television.

#6 Ross Bagley

Source: Ross Bagley Instagram

Ross Bagley developed a tight relationship with Will Smith in the mid-1990s after making his breakthrough as Buckwheat in the 1994 film The Little Rascals. The actor first appeared in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Will's little cousin Nicky, and then in the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day as Steven Hiller, Smith's stepson.
After that, Bagley's acting career cooled off, and since the 2015 horror flick Gnome Alone, he hasn't appeared in any more movies. He holds a degree from California State University, worked as an intern for a business run by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, and, judging by his Instagram, is also a DJ and realtor.

#7 Mara Wilson

Source: Insider

Mara Wilson became well-known for playing Natalie Hillard in the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire. She then starred in the timeless 1990s films Miracle the 34th Street and Matilda. Wilson hasn't acted in a major motion picture since the year 2000, however, she has appeared in television series during that time. Wilson currently focuses primarily on producing online series.
She appeared in niche projects like the horror podcast Welcome to Nightvale, in which she landed her voice for the Faceless Old Woman Who Lives in Your Home. In addition, she published her autobiography Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame in 2016.

#8 Charlie Korsmo

Source: The FW

At the start of the 1990s, Charlie Korsmo was one of the most recognizable young actors thanks to his roles in "Dick Tracy, What About Bob?" and "Hook." But he wasn't an actor for very long. Korsmo left the film industry behind after his role in the 1998 teen comedy “Can't Hardly Wait” to pursue totally different interests.
Korsmo chose a legal career after receiving a physics degree from the esteemed Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He attended Yale Law School and worked for the Republican Party and the Environmental Protection Agency. He returned to acting in more recent years and may be seen in the 2018 movie Chained for Life.

#9 Bradley Pierce

Source: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Bradley Pierce is well-known to many audiences because of his role as Peter Shepherd in the 1995 family film Jumanji. Pierce played the lovely little teacup Chip in Disney's 1991 animated blockbuster Beauty and the Beast, so you should also be familiar with his voice as well. These are only two of Pierce's many credits Pierce earned while still a young actor.
Even if Pierce's adult appearance might not be as recognizable, he has never ceased acting. He has, however, mostly shunned live-action work in favor of doing voiceovers for animated television shows and video games. In the wake of the passing of his former co-star Robin Williams, Pierce, a divorced father of three, has talked frankly about his struggles with depression since he was a teenager.

#10 Melissa Joan Hart

Source: The Mirror

Melissa Joan Hart first gained notoriety in the 1990s with the venerable Nickelodeon series Clarissa Explains It All (shown), before breaking through to even greater success with the ABC sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and the 1999 adolescent drama Drive Me Crazy. She has been in numerous holiday films so far, including Christmas Reservations. She co-starred with Joey Lawrence in the 2010–2015 sitcom Melissa & Joey as well as the 2019 Netflix comedy series No Good Nick.

#11 Ariana Richards

Source: Hollywood Life

Ariana Richards played John Hammond's (Richard Attenborough) velociraptor-stalked granddaughter in the Steven Spielberg hit Jurassic Park in 1993. (pictured). She also appears in the blockbuster The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which came on screen in 1997. Richards switched from the film arts to the fine arts as an adult, and she is now a successful portrait and landscape painter.

#12 Jonathan Lipnicki

Source: Rich Fury via Getty

The lovely young actor made his Hollywood debut as the scene-stealing son of Renée Zellweger's Jerry Maguire character. This resulted in appearances on Dawson's Creek, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, and The Single Guy. In 1999, he appeared in the family movie Stuart Little and highly grabbed attention.
As a young actor in the 2000s, Lipnicki starred in films such as The Little Vampire, Like Mike, Stuart Little 2, and When Zachary Beaver Came to Town. Last year, he made his appearance in several reality television shows such as Drop the Mic, celebs Go Dating, and Worst Cooks in America. He continues to act in multiple films.

#13 Thora Birch

Source: Donmike10 via Wikipedia Commons

Thora Birch had a streak of success during the 1990s after making her debut in Purple People Eater in 1988, including All I Want for Christmas, Hocus Pocus, Monkey Trouble, and Alaska. Birch's breakthrough role was as Jane Burnham in the critically praised 1999 film American Beauty. She later appeared in the cult film Ghost World and the horror hit The Hole, but her promising career seemed to stall after that.
In 2010, Birch was fired from a Dracula stage production because another actor allegedly felt threatened by her manager's father, who was said to be an unnervingly persistent presence at his daughter's rehearsals. In 2012, Birch took a vacation from performing, which he kept up until 2016. After appearing in The Walking Dead, a return appeared to be in the works, but Birch ran into difficulty once more when she abruptly quit the set of Netflix's Wednesday in 2021.

#14 Tatyana Ali

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When she was in elementary school in the 1980s, Tatyana Ali appeared frequently on Sesame Street, participated in Star Search as a vocalist, and even had an appearance on an episode of The Cosby Show. Naturally, Ali is best known for the television program she signed in 1990, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (pictured). Ali portrayed Ashley Banks, the youngest child of Philip and Vivian Banks, for six seasons on the NBC sitcom.
Tatyana Ali continued to enroll in Harvard, a decision that would have made her Fresh Prince persona quite happy. She earned a degree in African-American studies and governance from the university in 2002. She is still active as an actress, and her current roles at CBS’s The Young and the Restless and BET’s Second Generation Wayans are highly appreciated.

#15 Omri Katz

Source: Shutterstock/Courtesy of Vinessa Shaw/Instagram

Omri Katz earned the limelight with the short but adored TV series Eerie, Indiana after beginning his career as a kid actor in Dallas. Following Matinee in 1993, which Leonardo DiCaprio turned down to focus on What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Katz earned the role of Max Dennison in Hocus Pocus, for which he is best known.
Hocus Pocus was a failure upon release, but ever since, it's become a yearly Halloween tradition for families. However, it ended up being Katz's final picture. He stopped acting in the early 2000s after accepting some more TV parts, and currently supports himself in Los Angeles by managing a cannabis business.

#16 Danica McKellar

Source: Rachel Luna via Getty

Along with Josh Saviano, Danica McKellar played Winnie Coope on The Wonder Year and gained big fans. But after that, she left Hollywood for UCLA, where she obtained a degree in mathematics. The STEM star is the author of Math Doesn't Suck and additional books with a mathematical theme. McKellar went on to do voice-over work and lead in other Hallmark films, including 2019's Christmas at Dollywood.

#17 Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Source: Eightieskids

Jonathan Taylor Thomas is well-known for his role as Randy Taylor on the 1990s comedy Home Improvement. He also provided the voice of young Simba in the Disney film The Lion King 1994. After starring in Man of the House, Tom and Huck and I’ll Be Home for Christmas in late the mid-to-late 90s, he chose to stay away from the spotlight, and he has done barely any projects. Last year, the child actor was photographed publically for the first time in almost eight years.

#18 Orlando Brown

Source: Hollywood Life

A pint-sized Orlando Brown made a guest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno in 1995. He appeared in the major motion picture comedy Major Payne that same year. In addition, Brown was well-known for his parts in the sitcoms Family Matters and Two of a Kind.
Orlando Brown rose to fame on the Disney Channel in the 2000s because of the television series That's So Raven, which ran from 2003 to 2007. The animated sitcom The Proud Family, which ran from 2001 to 2005, also included his voice. Brown was arrested in the 2010s on some occasions, including suspicion of DUI and failing to show up for a domestic violence case.

#19, #20 Tia and Tamera Mowry

Source: Amy Sussman/Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Tia and Tamera Mowry, who are identical twins, originally found success in show business as members of the girl group Voices before departing on their own to star in the sitcom Sister, Sister. Sister, Sister lasted from 1994 to 1999 and was a hit with young audiences. The twins then pursued their careers separately after that.
Since Sister, Sister, the Mowry sisters have reunited on television, first with the Twitches movies for the Disney Channel, and then with the reality TV series Tia and Tamera. Tamera appeared on The Masked Singer in recent years, and Tia has written a series of cookbooks.