Child Stars From The 2000s Who Are Now Parents
The following article includes mentions of suicide and allegations of domestic abuse.
The child stars of the 2000s are raising a new crop of nepo babies. They come armed with the invaluable knowledge their parents acquired through navigating a cutthroat industry before their prefrontal cortexes were fully developed — and we're guessing they'll also inherit quite the collection of rugby shirts, lace-trimmed camis, and distressed denim.
Some of your faves from the Y2K era have expressed reluctance to bring a child into the world, including "iCarly" actor Jennette McCurdy. While appearing on "Red Table Talk" to promote her book "I'm Glad My Mom Died" in 2022, she revealed that she's okay being a cool aunt. "I'm at a place where — so, I'm 30 — I don't feel like I want kids," she said. However, she added that she might change her mind someday. "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus is another former child star who may never have a child of her own. Speaking to Elle in 2019, she explained that she would only be comfortable becoming a mother if we all worked to ease Mother Earth's suffering. "Until I feel like my kid would live on an earth with fish in the water, I'm not bringing in another person to deal with that," she said.
But plenty of McCurdy and Cyrus' contemporaries have decided to take on new roles as parents, so slip a skirt on over your boot-cut jeans, put a few butterfly clips in your hair, and get ready to feel really old.
Frankie Muniz: Malcolm is now a dad
Before Bryan Cranston was breaking bad, he played the on-screen dad of Frankie Muniz's kid genius character on the sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle," which premiered in 2000. Frankie became a father himself two decades later. In 2020, he married Paige Price, a model who enjoys golf and extremely challenging hikes, per her Instagram page. After they tied the knot, Muniz told People that they planned on becoming parents, and their dream came true when Price gave birth to their son, Mauz Mosely Muniz, in March 2021. "It took me a long time to post because I've been 1000% obsessed with him, already striving to make every moment he lives on earth the best it can possibly be," Frankie wrote on Instagram. The actor decided he wouldn't be a daredevil dad, vowing to stop riding motorcycles and ignoring speed limit signs.
In a YouTube video, Price revealed that Mauz was a little miracle while discussing her difficulty conceiving. "We knew that we wanted this, but we were told that our chances weren't that great," she said. She also shared that she'd hoped to give birth naturally but had to have a C-section.
Price later explained the meaning of her son's name to her curious Instagram followers. "Mauz stems from the Hebrew 'Mauzzim' or 'Moazim' which translates to God of Fortresses ... When written in the Bible, it was intended to be interpreted as 'Gods Protector.' Mauz, means: a place or means of safety, or protection."
Brenda Song has a child with another former child star
Brenda Song's early work included a role in a holiday film that didn't exactly become a beloved classic. However, she did get to act alongside professional wrestler Hulk Hogan and future "That '70s Show" star Mila Kunis in the 1996 film "Santa with Muscles." Three years later, she landed her first major part in the Nickelodeon sitcom "100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd," but she's probably best known for playing spoiled heiress London Tipton in "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."
In April 2021, Song welcomed her first child with another former child star who appeared in a film that did become a staple of the holiday season: "Home Alone" actor Macaulay Culkin. The pair met while filming the 2019 dramedy "Changeland" in Thailand. They named their son, Dakota Song Culkin, after Macaulay's late sister.
In 2022, Song spoke to The Cut about how difficult it was to return to work on her series "Dollface" just three months after giving birth. She revealed that she and Macaulay didn't hire a nanny, but they did have plenty of help. "My mom would bring him to set so I could breastfeed and see him during the day," she said. Her co-star, Kat Dennings, would then hold Song's sweater over her while she breastfed to give her more privacy. "Missing those hours with my newborn son, it pains me," Song said of her time filming. "But at the end of the day, Mama's got to put food on the table."
Lil' Bow Wow has his own lil' ones
Shad Moss was 6 years old when he got the opportunity to show off his rapping skills during a Snoop Dogg concert in Columbus, Ohio. Tha Doggfather was so impressed by Shad's original rap that he decided to take the gifted grade-schooler on as a protégé and give him his own canine-inspired stage name: Lil' Bow Wow. Shad was 13 when he dropped his debut album, "Beware of Dog." He quickly parlayed his music success into an acting career, appearing in the 2002 movies "Like Mike" and "All About the Benjamins." He later shortened his moniker to Bow Wow before deciding to revert to his birth name.
In 2011, Shad welcomed his first child, a daughter named Shai Moss, with model Joie Chavis. In an interview with GlobalGrind, he revealed that he was having suicidal thoughts before he learned that he was going to be a father. "I don't even have those thoughts no more," he said. "Because now it's like I got something to live for, I got more movies to go get, more records to go make because I gotta go hard for her now."
Shad announced the arrival of his second child, Stone Kamin, in a post on his Instagram Story in 2020. Kamin's mother was model Olivia Sky, who later took Shad to court to establish paternity and request child support, according to legal documents obtained by The Neighborhood Talk.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Jamie Bell and Evan Rachel Wood share a son
In 2000, Jamie Bell charmed moviegoers and critics alike with his portrayal of a ballet dancer in "Billy Elliot," while his future wife, Evan Rachel Wood, garnered plenty of critical acclaim of her own for her role as a troubled teen in the 2003 drama "Thirteen." The former child stars met when they appeared in the music video for the 2005 Green Day song "Wake Me Up When September Ends," and they wed in 2012.
When Wood gave birth to their son Jack in 2013, the experience was befitting of an actor who played the daughter of a witch in "Practical Magic." She told Net-a-Porter that she shunned the harsh fluorescent lights of a hospital in favor of candles. "It was a psychedelic experience," Wood recalled. "I felt like I was hitting every corner of the room. Everything was vibrating."
The parents called it quits in 2014, and Bell married "House of Cards" star Kate Mara in 2017. On "Watch What Happens Live," Mara revealed that their romance began while they were promoting their superhero film "Fantastic Four." Jack became an older brother when Mara and Bell welcomed a baby girl in 2019, and he was ready for his new role. "[He's] amazing. "Protective, incredibly protective," Bell told Us Weekly. Jack got another sibling to look out for in 2022, as Mara creatively announced on Instagram. "Had a baby a week ago," she captioned a photo of some seriously tiny tootsies. "Here are his feet."
Christy Carlson Romano doesn't want her kids in showbiz
Christy Carlson Romano was a Disney Channel princess in the early aughts, but none of her characters rocked a tiara. She portrayed the smart and straight-laced half of a pair of siblings with antithetical personalities in "Even Stevens," and she played a cadet captain who bullies Hilary Duff in "Cadet Kelly." She also voiced the titular teen crimefighter in the animated series "Kim Possible."
After Romano traded the House of Mouse for higher education, she met her future husband, Brendan Rooney, at Columbia University in 2011. "I was the assistant director on an on-campus documentary about veterans," she recalled to People. "Brendan was the president of the Military Veterans at Columbia and we met while we were interviewing him." They married in 2013 and got an early Christmas gift three years later when their daughter, Isabella Victoria Rooney, arrived on Christmas Eve.
Ahead of the 2019 arrival of the couple's second child, Sophia Elizabeth Rooney, Romano told Us Weekly that her experience filming "Even Stevens" had her bracing for her new role as peacemaker. "I know a thing or two about sibling rivalry so I think because of that experience ... I've been a little scarred," she said. And if she gets her way, her kids will never fake familial fights for television like she did. She told Access she doesn't want them to pursue careers in showbiz, explaining, "It doesn't feel safe enough to be putting them in it, to be honest with you."
Shia LaBeouf credits his daughter with keeping him accountable
Before Shia LaBeouf's shady behavior had him in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, he delighted young viewers with his portrayal of a scheming slacker with a penchant for pranks on "Even Stevens." A decade after the Disney series' 2003 finale, he met Mia Goth while filming "Nymphomaniac Vol. II.," and the co-stars got married in Las Vegas in 2016.
One year prior, ET had shared footage of LaBeouf having an explosive fight with Goth. At one point, he said of his girlfriend, "If I'd have stayed there, I would have killed her." The pair split in 2018, and LaBeouf started dating FKA Twigs. She later made some troubling allegations about the actor, with TMZ reporting that she was suing LaBeouf for physically and mentally abusing her in 2020. Despite FKA Twigs' disturbing accusations, Goth resumed her relationship with LaBeouf. In April 2022, Page Six reported that they had become parents, but the couple didn't announce the news — it was confirmed when they were photographed with a stroller.
On the "Real Ones with Jon Bernthal" podcast, [1:33:30] LaBeouf painted Goth as a saint for giving him another chance, and he made a bid for redemption by talking about how his daughter, Isabel, has supposedly changed him. "It's almost like having the ultimate parole officer," he said. "I need someone to keep me accountable." He also confessed to dreading the day that Isabel will be able to read about him on the internet.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Rupert Grint named his daughter after a popular character -- but not Hermione
Daniel Radcliffe had the appropriate response when he reacted to the news that his "Harry Potter" co-star Rupert Grint had become a dad in 2020. "It is also super weird for me to think that we are all of the age where we're having children," he said on "Watch What Happens Live." Grint's first Instagram post ever was a photo of him holding his baby girl, whose mom is another actor: Georgia Groome, the star of the movie "Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging." Per Page Six, the couple started dating in 2011.
Grint revealed that his daughter's name is Wednesday G. Grint, and on "The Tonight Show," he confirmed that she is named after "The Addams Family" character Wednesday Addams. (When you grow up in a world of witchcraft and wizardry, of course you're going to be drawn to baby names that are mysterious and spooky.)
Rupert revealed that Wednesday has her own "Harry Potter" wand, but the curse she had learned by age 2 isn't one that you'll hear in the movies. Rupert said that Wednesday overheard him repeatedly dropping the F-bomb while he was practicing his lines for "The Servant," and she soon followed suit. "We find it hilarious, so it's kind of encouraging it," he confessed. But maybe it's time to have Wednesday watch her dad in "Harry Potter" — he says "bloody hell" so much that she might replace the curse word with Ron Weasley's favorite expression.
Alexa PenaVega and Carlos PenaVega have a family of five
Carlos PenaVega and Alexa PenaVega both grew up in the spotlight. Carlos landed small parts in TV series such as "ER," "Judging Amy," and "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" before catching his big break by getting cast in the Nickelodeon series "Big Time Rush," a gig that also transformed him into a boy band star. The show ran from 2009 to 2013. Alexa also appeared on "ER," and one of her other notable early roles was playing the younger version of Helen Hunt's character in "Twister." However, she's best known for her role as Carmen in the "Spy Kids" movie franchise, which started in 2001.
Carlos and Alexa actually weren't brought together by their careers — they told Fox News that their paths first crossed when they joined the same Bible study. When they wed in 2014, Alexa tweeted that they had fused their surnames. Two years later, the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, a son named Ocean, and they announced the arrival of another baby boy, Kingston, in 2019. Their daughter, Rio, joined the clan in 2021 after spending some time in the NICU, Carlos revealed on Instagram.
Speaking to E! About her kids' tastes in movies, Alexa revealed that she is not their favorite former child star. "Everybody thinks I was Lavagirl. I was not Lavagirl, but my kids only watch 'Sharkboy and Lavagirl,'" she said. "They don't like 'Spy Kids.'" (FYI, Taylor Dooley plays Lavagirl.)
Daryl Sabara is 'super-dad'
Daryl Sabara's earliest acting role was playing the baby of the titular journalist in "Murphy Brown." However, he got his big break when he was cast in the first "Spy Kids" movie. Years later, a fellow child star, Chloë Grace Moretz, played matchmaker for him by setting him up with someone whose name you might recognize: "All About That Bass" singer Meghan Trainor. "As soon as she walked in the room and I saw her, I just knew: This is the one," Sabara told People.
The couple tied the knot in 2018, and Sabara was one happy hubby. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world," he told People. He had another reason to celebrate in February 2021 when he and Trainor became first-time parents. In an Instagram post, Trainor shared a photo of their early Valentine's Day gift: a baby boy they named Riley. A few months later, Trainor praised her husband's parenting skills. "He stepped up and is super-dad all day long," she told E!.
However, one daddy superpower that Sabara lacked was the ability to get out of the way when Trainor was dealing with a postpartum bladder. Trainor famously revealed that she and Sabara have side-by-side toilets, and on "The Tonight Show," she explained that motherhood is what inspired this bizarre bathroom setup. "You get up all throughout the night with a baby, and you got to pee," she said. "And there's so many moments where I was like, 'Move!'"
Hilary Duff: Lizzie McGuire's a mom of 3
Hilary Duff's oldest child, Luca, was 3 years old when his parents finalized their divorce in 2016. However, Duff makes certain that her son doesn't feel like she bears his father, former NHL player Mike Comrie, any ill will. "I like to tell him about how I met his father, about the good times we spent together, about the greatest joy when I found out I was pregnant," she told Grazia.
The former "Lizzie McGuire" star met her second husband, Matthew Koma, through her music. He's a producer who did some work for Duff's record label, and they hit it off during a professional lunch meeting. Duff took to Instagram to announce the birth of their daughter, Banks Violet Bair, in 2018, and the parents tied the knot the following year. When Mae James Bair joined the joyful bunch in 2021, Duff shared a photo that was taken after her water birth.
In a 2011 appearance on "Piers Morgan Tonight," Duff revealed that she didn't want Luca to pursue a career as an entertainer. However, she might not be able to keep Banks out of the spotlight. "Banks will be a singer, for sure," Duff told Grazia a decade later. "She is a born performer." On "The Late Late Show," Duff talked about Banks' excellent musical taste. "Someone played my daughter my old teeny bopper music and now I have to bump it in my car at full volume," she said.
Emma Roberts is successfully co-parenting
The fame gene is strong in Emma Roberts' family. Her father is prolific actor Eric Roberts, whose many film credits include "The Pope of Greenwich Village" and "Runaway Train," and her aunt is "Pretty Woman" star Julia Roberts. While Emma kept her famous last name, she chose a slightly different career path from her successful relatives. She became a child star when she scored the starring role in the Nickelodeon series "Unfabulous," and she grew her young fanbase by appearing in the films "Nancy Drew" and "Aquamarine."
In 2019, a source told Us Weekly that Emma was casually dating "Tron: Legacy" star Garrett Hedlund, and by the end of the following year, the couple had become parents, per TMZ. Emma later shared a photo of their baby boy on Instagram and revealed his name. "Thank you 2020 for getting one thing right," she wrote. "Our bright light Rhodes Robert Hedlund." Before she got pregnant, Emma was diagnosed with endometriosis and was warned that it was causing her to have fertility issues. She told Cosmopolitan that she went through the process of freezing her eggs because of this, but she was still worried that she wouldn't be able to have a baby. "It sounds cheesy, but the moment that I stopped thinking about it, we got pregnant," she said.
Emma and Garrett split in early 2022, but a source told Us Weekly, "They've been handling coparenting very well. ... They have a very amicable relationship with each other."
Jamie Lynn Spears was a teen mom
Jamie Lynn Spears, the younger sister of pop icon Britney Spears, became a star in her own right when she landed the title role in the Nickelodeon series "Zoey 101." The show ran from 2005 to 2008, but Jamie Lynn's career got temporarily derailed when she got pregnant at age 16. The father of her child was her boyfriend, Casey Aldridge, who was 18 at the time. "It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected. I was in complete and total shock and so was he," Jamie Lynn told OK! (via ABC News). In 2008, it was reported that the couple had welcomed a baby girl, Maddie Briann Aldridge. In a 2020 interview with Nylon, Jamie Lynn said that her pregnancy was not the reason "Zoey 101" ended. "The show had already wrapped and there was never a negotiation to go into any more seasons. We were too old. It was done," she explained.
In 2010, Jamie Lynn and Aldridge split up, and she moved on with Jamie Watson, the owner of a multimedia business. The couple tied the knot in 2014, and Maddie got a younger sister, Ivey Joan Watson, four years later. "Her middle name, Joan, is to honor my Aunt Sandra, who passed away 10 years ago from ovarian cancer," Jamie Lynn told People. Now, get ready to feel old: in 2022, Jamie Lynn took to Instagram to celebrate Maddie starting high school.
The Jonas Brothers are girl dads
The Jonas Brothers burst onto the tween scene in 2006 with their freshman effort, "It's About Time." It was far from a hit, but the House of Mouse helped them achieve heartthrob status by showcasing their musical talents in the "Camp Rock" movies and their own TV series.
It might be had to believe, but all three of the Disney stars are dads now. In 2014, Kevin Jonas and his wife, "Married to Jonas" co-star Danielle Jonas, welcomed their oldest daughter, Alena Rose. When her little sister, Valentina Angelina, joined the fam two years later, her parents told People that Alena was excited about her new role as an older sibling.
Disney prince Joe Jonas married Queen of the North Sophie Turner in 2019, and they welcomed their first princess, Willa, the following year. The couple kept the Jo Bro girl trend going strong in 2022 when People reported that they were celebrating the arrival of another daughter. "I feel like a kid raising kids," Joe told Mr Porter of his girl dad experience. In between the births of Joe's daughters, Nick Jonas and his wife, Priyanka Chopra, welcomed yet another girl to the fold via surrogate. After announcing the happy news on Instagram, Chopra shared another post revealing that their daughter, Malti, spent over 100 days at the hospital before going home. Malti's patience was rewarded. "You know, I love to sing to her," Nick later told ET.
Ashley Tisdale's daughter has an out-of-this-world name
After playing candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick on the Disney Channel series "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," Ashley Tisdale soon graduated to the "High School Musical" film franchise. Her role as snooty wannabe star Sharpay Evans allowed her to showcase her singing chops, and in real life, Tisdale married a man who shares her appreciation for music.
In 2014, Tisdale took to Instagram to reveal that she had tied the knot with Christopher French, a musician who composed the theme song for Tisdale's series "Young & Hungry." The actor announced that she and French were expecting their first child in a 2020 post on her Frenshe blog. She also explained why she waited a few years before trying to get pregnant. "Once I was married, everyone was asking when I was having kids," she wrote. "To be honest, it just felt invasive. I wasn't ready for that step yet and I wanted to be selfish and have Chris all to myself for a while."
In a March 2021 Instagram post, Tisdale announced the arrival of the couple's daughter, and she shared her unique name: Jupiter Iris French. Tisdale later explained the origin of the otherworldly moniker, which she picked out long before she knew she was pregnant. "I remembered my mom used to sing me a song when I was little. When she put my tights on," Tisdale told ABC Audio. "It's like 'Hands up! Reach for the stars, there goes Jupiter, there goes Mars.'"
Kylie Jenner's parenting is on brand
Kylie Jenner was just 9 years old when the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" camera crew began following her family's every move. She was one of reality TV's first child stars, and she was still appearing on "KUWTK" when she gave birth to her first child. In 2018, Jenner announced that she and rapper Travis Scott had welcomed a baby girl. In an Instagram post, she explained why she decided not to document her pregnancy journey on social media, writing, "I knew for myself I needed to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress free, and healthy way I knew how." According to Variety, her announcement soon became Instagram's most-liked post. Kylie later used Instagram to share her little girl's name: Stormi Webster.
Of course, Kylie couldn't get out of the birth of her daughter being a "KUWTK" storyline. "Your pregnancy has been the best-kept secret of our generation," Kim Kardashian told her little sis in a confessional. By the time Jenner and Scott welcomed their second child in 2022, the Kardashian-Jenners had hitched their wagon to Hulu. In an episode of "The Kardashians," Jenner used her son's name — which she was planning on changing — as a ploy to keep fans tuning in. "My baby's name is still Wolf. I will let you guys know when I change it," she said, per Us Weekly. "Maybe I will tell you guys in Season 3." Now that's a momager in the making.