These '70s Child Stars Grew Up To Look Totally Unrecognizable

As the Vietnam War raged on, Cold War tensions between the Eastern Bloc and the West remained high, and the uncertainty of the late 1960s lingered; the 1970s emerged as a decade of transition, marked by considerable cultural change. In many ways, the '70s ushered in the birth of the modern celebrity, too, thanks to expanding coverage of the entertainment world's movers and shakers. The media landscape exploded with new technology, syndicated talk shows, and the launch of multiple major and celeb-focused publications. All the while, crossover stars were acting, recording music, and increasingly being marketed as commodities to legions of adoring fans. This was particularly true of a newer, younger generation of performers who grew up alongside a culture they helped shape.

This was the decade of the Brady Bunch, the Partridge Family, Jodie Foster's first films, and "Donny & Marie." However, five or so decades later, the teen idols of the '70s have undergone significant change. The fresh-faced figureheads of the decade's youth movement are now grandparents, and many of them have long since left their showbiz careers behind. Here are 12 child stars from the '70s who grew up to be totally unrecognizable from their younger selves.

Although actress Tatum O'Neal was born into a Hollywood world in the late 1960s as the daughter of actors Ryan O'Neal and Joanna Moore, she achieved a level of fame at the age of 10 that would have thrown just about anybody for a loop. It was then, in 1973, that she starred alongside her father in "Paper Moon," the story of a con man and an orphaned girl who form an unlikely partnership as grifters. For her performance as the girl, Addie Loggins, O'Neal became the youngest-ever Oscar winner by taking home the trophy for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards the following year. The younger O'Neal rounded out the decade by starring in films like "The Bad News Bears" and "International Velvet," but her career slowed considerably after the early 1980s.

Between a volatile relationship with tennis star John McEnroe, battles with addiction, and other tragic occurrences, she shed her youthful image and became the frequent subject of pre-internet tabloid stories as she aged. In 2020, O'Neal suffered a massive stroke after overdosing on prescription drugs. O'Neal ended up in a coma for six weeks and had to relearn how to speak afterward, but by 2025, she was giving a speech at her and McEnroe's son's wedding. "She was brave and gracious, and I was proud of her for doing so," Kevin McEnroe told Vogue (via People).

Singer-actor Leif Garrett first entered the entertainment world as a grade-schooler when he appeared in the Paul Mazursky-directed 1969 dramedy "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice." However, he blew up as a teen idol during the 1970s, making waves on the screen with his recurring role of Zack Russell on ABC's "Family," his appearances in the "Walking Tall" films, and his performance as Endy Karras in the 1975 CBS drama series "Three for the Road" (among others). Meanwhile, he signed his first recording contract at the age of 15 and had a top 10 charting hit with 1978's "I Was Made for Dancin'." In doing so, he became the object of every teenage girl's affection with his curly hair, striking eyes, and impish smile gracing the pages of publications like Tiger Beat.

Fast-forward 50 years and Garrett's face is covered with facial hair, the shaggy mane is gone, and he has opened up on the highs and lows of his meteoric rise (and subsequent fall) in a 2019 memoir titled "Idol Truth." Said Garrett of his heyday (via Smashing Interviews), "The average life span of a teen idol is really no longer than five years unless they grow into an adult performer and artist. They stimulate something in people's hormones or imagination or whatnot that is exciting so that people start thinking about sex. But the moment they have sex, they go on to Led Zeppelin or Aerosmith and not listening to 'I Was Made for Dancin' any longer."

Long before he became Charles (who was apparently in charge), Bob Loblaw of the Bob Loblaw Law Blog, and a conservative icon with an alleged shady side, Scott Baio entered the public consciousness as a 16-year-old, starring alongside Jodie Foster in the 1976 Alan Parker-directed musical comedy "Bugsy Malone." However, he became a bona fide star when he was cast as Chachi Arcola — the cousin of Henry Winkler's Fonzie — on the hit sitcom "Happy Days." As the '70s became the '80s, Baio's career continued to blossom with the "Happy Days" spin-off, "Joanie Loves Chachi," and the earlier referenced "Charles in Charge."

These days, Baio is no longer the mop-topped teen heartthrob that dotted the pages of Tiger Beat, although he has logged innumerable screen credits since his heyday. Still, at least one of his conservative cohorts appears to be ignorant of his ongoing work. Fox News contributor Tyrus joked on a 2025 episode of "Gutfeld!" that he wasn't sure whether Baio was alive or dead, prompting a response from the actor on X, in which he claimed he was canceled in 2016 due to his support of Donald Trump. "After that, I had death threats and my daughter had death threats. So, that's kind of where I've been for the last nine years. Done some work in between that, stuff for friends, but I've had the privilege and been blessed that I don't have to do a damn thing."

There was a point during the 1970s when Donny Osmond — the breakout star of the famous Osmond family — was perhaps the teen idol in the United States. In 1971 and '72 (when he was just 13 and 14 years old), Osmond released four albums that hit the top 15 of the Billboard charts. In doing so, he clocked several top 10 singles, hitting No. 1 for three weeks in the summer of '71 with his cover of the Gerry Goffin and Carole King-penned song, "Go Away Little Girl." Meanwhile, he was regularly gracing the cover of fan rags like Tiger Beat and 16. Later on, he and his younger sister, Marie Osmond, began hosting a variety show for ABC, "Donny & Marie," which ran for four seasons from 1976 to 1979. As the '70s became the early '80s, though, Osmond's clean-cut image became something of an artifact from a bygone age.

Nowadays, an older, wiser, not-so-boyish Osmond is making hay in a place where his career continued to flourish long after his teen idol days — Las Vegas. In September 2025, Harrah's announced that Osmond's ongoing residency would be extended at least through the spring of 2026. His solo show, which was preceded by an 11-year residency with his sister, has been running strong since 2021. During an October 2025 show, he reunited with his brother, Merrill Osmond, who retired from music in 2023. The pair performed The Osmonds' 1971 hit, "Double Lovin'."

The eighth of the nine Osmond siblings, Marie Osmond broke on the country music scene shortly after her slightly older brother, Donny Osmond, hit pop pay dirt. Her 1973 cover of Anita Bryant's "Paper Roses" reached No. 1 on Billboard's country chart when the singer-television personality was just 14. She continued to have success as a country artist and eventually teamed up with Donny for their "Donny & Marie" variety show on ABC. Although she never quite reached the level of pop success that her brother did, her career has arguably been more varied, and the success within her musical niche has been better sustained. The two continued to team up, too, on a short-lived talk show and, later, their Las Vegas residency.

Back in her heyday, Osmond was the girl next door. Now, she very much looks the part of a Hollywood matriarch, and she's apparently giving some tough love to her adult children. Despite Osmond's health troubles over the years, in 2023 she confirmed to Us Weekly that her kids would not be receiving an inheritance because she doesn't want them to be lazy. "Honestly, why would you enable your child to not try to be something? I don't know anybody who becomes anything if they're just handed money," she told the outlet. "To me, the greatest gift you can give your child is a passion to search out who they are inside and to work." Osmond has also dealt with health troubles over the years.

When one thinks of the height of Linda Blair's child stardom, one of two images may come to mind. There's the fresh-faced 14-year-old with a girl-next-door look who appears as Regan MacNeil during the first act of William Friedkin's 1973 horror classic, "The Exorcist," or her earlier role in the short-lived 1968 soap, "Hidden Faces," and then there's the demonically-possessed, pea-soup-vomiting version of Regan who grossed out and even terrified audiences during the film's final act. By the end of the decade, though, she resurged as a teen sex symbol in the Mark L. Lester-directed disco-roller skating musical "Roller Boogie." Now, though, a 60-something Blair is fondly remembered as one of the original scream queens and a veritable screen icon.

However, she has never been one to rest on the laurels of her teen success. In addition to her continued acting work, Blair found meaning and purpose in rescuing and taking care of animals. "In my 20s, I said, 'I really am struggling.' It was like, for some, a midlife crisis," Blair told People. "But, for me, it was my life's calling, saying, 'What about me? The animals need help.' ... So, that's where I really started buckling down ... and I was giving my time and money." To that end, she founded the Linda Blair Worldheart Foundation in 2003, an organization that rescues and cares for dogs in the Los Angeles area.

With well over a half-century of work in the entertainment business and countless notable and award-winning performances under her belt, Jodie Foster has ascended to a tier of Hollywood stardom reserved for the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn, Robert De Niro, and the like. But it was her work in the early 1970s — and 1976's Martin Scorsese-helmed classic "Taxi Driver," in particular — that cemented her as a force to be reckoned with in Tinseltown. Playing a child prostitute as a 12-year-old and sharing some intense scenes with De Niro, Foster showed talent and wherewithal beyond her years and launched herself headfirst into a career marked by cinematic excellence and an eye-popping net worth.

Now, Foster is finding new inspiration and new ways to express herself through her craft in the autumn of her life. "I think turning 60 changed everything," Foster told Laverne Cox on the red carpet before the 2024 Emmy Awards (via People). "The happy pill came to me, and I was just so happy to not have to compete with myself, my former self, and to be able to just have a new career that's really, I don't know, just about a different part of myself." Foster has also found success in life and love, passing the 10-year mark in her marriage to Alexandra Hedison. "I think we're both in awe of each other," she told People in 2025.

From 1970 to 1974, ABC's "The Partridge Family" was a fixture on television sets across America, particularly for families with children of a certain age who wanted to see their idols: Shirley Jones, David Cassidy, Susan Dey, and Danny Bonaduce. Bonaduce was a mere tween when he was cast to play Danny Partridge, who sang and played guitar for the titular family band. And like several of his contemporary castmates, dealing with the frenzy that followed them around was difficult for the actor. "Because of the nature of being a singing group, [we] had different kinds of fans than normal sitcom stars," Bonaduce said during a 2025 episode of "The Real Brady Bros." podcast, revealing that fans showed up in his front yard with signs after one show.

These days, Bonaduce, who went on to enjoy a lengthy career in radio and television, is doing his best to raise awareness for hydrocephalus, having been diagnosed in recent years with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, or NPH, a form of hydrocephalus affecting roughly 800,000 older Americans. The only treatment for the disease is the installation of a shunt via brain surgery, which Bonaduce had in 2023. "You think, 'You know, what good by everybody did I do by being Danny Partridge?'" Bonaduce told the Hydrocephalus Association in 2024. "I wondered what the value is to what I'm doing, and maybe it just all builds up to this."

The younger half-brother of "Partridge Family" star David Cassidy, Shaun Cassidy shared some of his sibling's musical talent, becoming a teen idol in his own right with his platinum-selling, self-titled debut album, which featured the 1970s hits "Morning Girl" and "That's Rock 'n' Roll," as well as his cover of The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron," which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. the following year. Cassidy also won hearts as Joe Hardy on ABC's "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries," from 1977 to 1979, and later focused on stage acting. After the performing success of his youth, though, Cassidy found new life as a writer and producer on television shows like "American Gothic," "Roar," "Invasion," and "New Amsterdam."

He made his grand return to live performance in 2023, sans the floppy hair of his youth, with a self-penned show, "The Magic of a Midnight Sky," reconnecting with his longtime fans in the process. "I missed that connection because I'd been hiding out behind a desk or in my house, trying not to be a celebrity, not to look like the kid I had been," Cassidy told People at the time. "I realized I was denying myself not only an important part of who I am but a connection with this audience."

Kristy McNichol's first real crack at child stardom came in 1974 when, as a 12-year-old, she became a series regular on the ill-fated CBS drama "Apple's Way." However, she achieved fame two years later after being cast as Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence on the ABC drama, "Family," which ran until 1980. She was nominated for Emmys every year she was on the show, twice bringing home the trophy for outstanding supporting actress in a dramatic series (in 1977 and 1979). She also recorded music alongside her brother, actor-singer Jimmy McNichol, and once performed alongside The Carpenters on their Christmas special.

She continued to work, starring in NBC's "Empty Nest" in the 1980s, but she dipped out of Hollywood almost completely in the late 1990s, opting for a path that stood in stark contrast to the frenzy of her teen idol days. Now, she's living her best life on her own terms. "I was on the big stage between ages 8 and 30," she told People in 2014. "I left show business for a variety of reasons, but a big one was my interest in learning what else there is in life."

While some of the entertainers on this list became embroiled in controversy as they got older, Brooke Shields got a lot of her drama out of the way during her youth in the 1970s when she was becoming a famous model and starring in films like the 1976 cult classic "Alice, Sweet Alice" and 1978's "Pretty Baby," alongside Susan Sarandon. In a time before most people even knew the terms to discuss it, Shields was being objectified, overly sexualized by the industry and those around her. A 1977 issue of New York magazine (via Golden Globes) featuring her and her mother famously read, "Brooke is 12. She poses nude. Teri is her mother. She thinks it's swell." Shields also had nude scenes in "Pretty Baby" that resulted in the film getting banned in some countries and being branded as pornographic.

Nearly half a century later, with a lengthy career in film and television behind her, Shields appeared alongside Brandon Routh in the 2025 comedy "Out of Order," and she was slated to return to the Hallmark series "When Calls the Heart," nearly a decade after appearing as Charlotte Thornton in the series. Shields is also making waves off-screen, where she's taking the fight to "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone over alleged low wages and mistreatment at their Denver-area Casa Bonita restaurant.

"Little House on the Prairie" premiered on September 11, 1974, when actress Melissa Gilbert was just 10 years old. And while she had acted before landing the role of Laura Ingalls (later Wilder) in the Michael Landon-led adaptation of Wilder's semi-autobiographical children's novels, her breakout and best-remembered acting credit was on the NBC series, which ran until 1983. Her performance on the show and place in the pop culture zeitgeist ultimately led to her receiving her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in early 1985, when she was just 20 years old. She continued to act after her run on "Little House" ended, mostly in television series and TV movies, and, later, she served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild.

Eventually, she became disenchanted with the Hollywood scene, leaving her lavish lifestyle behind to live in a farmhouse with her husband, actor Timothy Busfield. In 2024, Gilbert revealed that she was diagnosed with misophonia, a disorder in which sensitivity to certain trigger sounds can cause intense automatic reactions. More recently, she returned to television acting after a seven-year break, appearing on the Hallmark series "When Calls the Heart." She also starred in the off-Broadway play, "Still."