43 Best Child Performances
by dormerjam-1 | created - 11 Jul 2018 | updated - 06 Jul 2022 | Public
1. Natalie Wood
Actress | Rebel Without a Cause
Natalie Wood was an American actress of Russian and Ukrainian descent. She started her career as a child actress and eventually transitioned into teenage roles, young adult roles, and middle-aged roles. She drowned off Catalina Island on November 29, 1981 at age 43.
Wood was born July 20, 1938 in ...
Miracle on 34th Street
2. Alex Etel
Actor | Millions
Alexander Nathan Etel is a former English actor. His film debut was the starring role of Damian Cunningham in 2004's Millions, a family film directed by Danny Boyle. He played the lead in his second film, Jay Russell's The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. The film, based on a Dick King Smith story ...
Millions
3. Margaret O'Brien
Actress | Meet Me in St. Louis
Born Angela Maxine O'Brien on January 15, 1937 in San Diego, California. Her film debut was one-minute shot in MGM's Babes on Broadway (1941). Her big moment came when she was cast in Journey for Margaret (1942). This film shot her into instant stardom and also resulted in Angela changing her name ...
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
4. Macaulay Culkin
Actor | Home Alone
Macaulay Culkin, one of the most famous American child stars, was born on August 26, 1980 in New York City, New York, USA, as the third of seven children of his father Kit Culkin (a former stage and child actor and also Macaulay's former manager) and mother Patricia Brentrup. He is the brother of ...
Home Alone
5. Chloë Grace Moretz
Actress | Kick-Ass
Moretz is best known for her work in the sci-fi thriller series The Peripheral, created by Scott B. Smith; the Mattson Tomlin-directed sci-fi thriller Mother/Android; Neil Jordan's thriller Greta; Roseanne Liang's Shadow in the Cloud, which claimed the Midnight Madness People's Choice Award at the ...
Kick-Ass
6. Jodie Foster
Actress | The Silence of the Lambs
Jodie Foster started her career at the age of two. For four years she made commercials and finally gave her debut as an actress in the TV series Mayberry R.F.D. (1968). In 1975 Jodie was offered the role of prostitute Iris Steensma in the movie Taxi Driver (1976). This role, for which she received ...
Taxi Driver
7. Jack Wild
Actor | Oliver!
Born September 30, 1952, in Royton, near Oldham, England, Jack Wild was discovered by talent agent June Collins, mother of rock star Phil Collins. His breakthrough came when he landed the role of Oliver in the London stage production of "Oliver!" When it came to casting the film, the role of the ...
Oliver!
8. Anthony Michael Hall
Actor | War Machine
Anthony Michael Hall was born in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. His parents are Mercedes Hall, an actress-blues and jazz singer, and Larry Hall, who owned an auto body shop. His stepfather is a show-business manager. His sister, Mary Christian, is also a performer. He has Irish and Italian ancestry. ...
Sixteen Candles
9. Ron Howard
Producer | Arrested Development
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation's most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Apollo 13 (1995) to the hit comedies Parenthood (1989) and Splash (1983), he has created some of Hollywood's most memorable films.
Howard ...
The Music Man
10. Shirley Temple
Actress | The Little Colonel
Shirley Temple was easily the most popular and famous child star of all time. She got her start in the movies at the age of three and soon progressed to super stardom. Shirley could do it all: act, sing and dance and all at the age of five! Fans loved her as she was bright, bouncy and cheerful in ...
The Little Princess
11. Drew Barrymore
Producer | Charlie's Angels
Since melting audiences' hearts at the tender age of six - in Steven Spielberg's beloved sci-fi blockbuster, E.T. (1982) - Drew Barrymore has emerged as one of the most endearing and talented actresses of her generation. Born in Culver City, California to actors John Drew Barrymore and Jaid ...
E.T.
12. Mason Gamble
Actor | Dennis the Menace
Mason began his film-acting career at age six when director Harold Ramis cast him in Groundhog Day (1993). Three months later, Mason won the title role in the hit comedy, Dennis the Menace (1993). He was chosen from twenty thousand other hopefuls in a nationwide casting call launched by John Hughes...
Dennis the Menace
13. Hayley Mills
Actress | Pollyanna
Born Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills in London in 1946, she is the daughter of the great actor Sir John Mills and the well-known novelist-playwright Mary Hayley Bell. Her sister is the actress Juliet Mills. She grew up in her parents' home, an outgoing, funny child, and, because she spent so ...
The Parent Trap
14. George 'Spanky' McFarland
Actor | Bedtime Worries
George 'Spanky' McFarland was born on October 2, 1928 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for Bedtime Worries (1933), Beginner's Luck (1935) and Second Childhood (1936). He was married to Paula Jeanne Wilkinson and Doris. He died on June 30, 1993 in Grapevine, Texas, USA.
Our Gang
15. Bill Mumy
Actor | Babylon 5
Along with his most impressive list of television/film credits, Bill is also a very talented well-known musician, songwriter, recording artist, as well as writer. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, percussion and sings. He has released three solo CDs, 1997's "Dying To Be ...
Lost in Space
16. Jerry Mathers
Actor | The Trouble with Harry
Jerry Mathers was born on June 2, 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa, USA. He is an actor and director, known for The Trouble with Harry (1955), Leave It to Beaver (1957) and The Love Boat (1977). He has been married to Teresa Modnick since January 30, 2011. He was previously married to Diana Platt and ...
Leave it to Beaver
17. Christina Ricci
Actress | Casper
Precocious, outspoken child-teen starlet of the 1990s, Christina Ricci was born on February 12, 1980 in Santa Monica, California, the youngest of four children of Sarah (Murdoch), a realtor, and Ralph Ricci, a lawyer and therapist. She is of Italian (from her paternal grandfather), Irish, and ...
The Addams Family
18. Natalie Portman
Actress | Black Swan
Natalie Portman is the first person born in the 1980s to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Black Swan (2010)).
Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born doctor, and Shelley Stevens, an ...
Leon: The Professional
19. Patty Duke
Actress | Valley of the Dolls
Patty Duke was born Anna Marie Duke on December 14, 1946 in Elmhurst, New York, to Frances Margaret (McMahon), a cashier, and John Patrick Duke, a cab driver and handyman. She is of Irish, and one eighth German, descent. Her acting career began when she was introduced to her brother Ray Duke's ...
The Miracle Worker
20. Jackie Cooper
Actor | Superman
Jackie Cooper was born John Cooper in Los Angeles, California, to Mabel Leonard, an Italian-American stage pianist, and John Cooper. Through his mother, he was the nephew of actress Julie Leonard, screenwriter Jack Leonard, and (by marriage) director Norman Taurog. Jackie served with the Navy in ...
The Champ
21. Anna Paquin
Actress | The Piano
Anna Paquin is the first millennial to have received an Academy Award nomination for acting, and the first to win.
She was born on July 24, 1982 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Mary (Brophy), an English teacher from Wellington, New Zealand, and Brian Paquin, a Canadian phys-ed teacher. Anna moved ...
The Piano
22. Henry Thomas
Actor | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, and Saturn Award nominations. Thomas also had roles in films ...
E.T.
23. Haley Joel Osment
Actor | The Sixth Sense
Haley Joel Osment is an American actor who has proven himself as one of the best young actors of his generation. He is the first millennial male to have received an Academy Award nomination for acting.
Osment was born in Los Angeles, California, to Theresa (Seifert), a teacher, and actor Eugene ...
The Sixth Sense
24. Max Pomeranc
Actor | Searching for Bobby Fischer
Max was born in Manhattan, New York. He attended P.S.9 for elementary school and Wagner Jr. High for grades 6-8. He rarely talked about his film work and was part of the rowdier crowd. Max spent a lot of time playing handball or messing around with his friends in the neighborhood. He last film was ...
Searching For Bobby Fischer
25. Roman Griffin Davis
Actor | Jojo Rabbit
At eleven years old, Roman Griffin Davis was cast in his first professional acting role as the lead in Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit (2019). For which, among other awards, Roman received a Golden Globe Nomination and The Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Performer.
Since, Roman starred with Keira ...
28. Neel Sethi
Actor | The Jungle Book
Indian-American Neel Sethi was born on December 22, 2003, in New York City. He is a child actor who landed a break-out role as Mowgli in John Favreau's 2016 live-action version of the classic tale 'The Jungle Book'. He also starred in the short film 'Diwali' (2013).
He was selected for the role of ...
29. Mary Badham
Actress | To Kill a Mockingbird
Mary Badham was born on October 7, 1952 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. She is an actress, known for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Let's Kill Uncle (1966) and The Twilight Zone (1959). She has been married to Richard Wilt since 1975. They have two children.
30. Jordan Nagai
Actor | Up
Jordan Nagai was born on February 5, 2000 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Up (2009), Up (2009) and The Simpsons (1989).
31. Adam Hann-Byrd
Actor | Jumanji
Adam Hann-Byrd was born on February 23, 1982 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and writer, best known for his work on Jumanji (1995), The Ice Storm (1997), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), and as the title character in Jodie Foster's directorial debut, Little Man Tate (1991).
32. Rebecca Harrell Tickell
Actress | Prancer
Rebecca Harrell Tickell is an award winning filmmaker, author and environmental activist. Growing up in Hinesburg, Vermont. Her adopted father, a psychiatrist, and biological mother, an artist, recognized her talent at an early age. Having performed only in school plays that her mother directed, ...
33. Jared Rushton
Actor | Big
Jared Michael Rushton is an American musician and former actor. He is best known for his roles in several films from the late 1980s, including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Big, and Overboard. He has been nominated for two Saturn Awards and two Young Artist Awards. He is also known for his roles in Pet...
34. Iain Armitage
Actor | Scoob!
Iain Armitage is an American child actor. He is best known for Young Sheldon (a prequel to the sitcom The Big Bang Theory) and the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies.
He also appeared in the films The Glass Castle (2017) and Our Souls at Night (2017).
His acting debut was in an episode of Law & Order: ...
35. Justin Henry
Actor | Kramer vs. Kramer
Justin Henry had a dream start in the business, when he was chosen for a pivotal role in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) at the age of seven, without any acting experience. He was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), becoming one of the youngest...
36. Raegan Revord
Actress | Young Sheldon
As a rising talent, Raegan Revord is steadily building an impressive body of work and quickly making a name for herself in Hollywood.
Raegan stars in CBS's hit comedy series Young Sheldon as fan-favorite 'Missy Cooper', the title character's sassy and brash twin sister. Set as a prequel to the ...
37. Erzsebet Foldi
Actress | All That Jazz
Erzsebet Foldi was born in 1966 in Queens, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for All That Jazz (1979) and All That Jazz: Reinking and Foldi (2014).
38. Edward Furlong
Actor | Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Edward Walter Furlong was born in Glendale, California. His mother, Eleanor (Tafoya), is from a Mexican family, and worked at a youth center. Furlong had no acting ambitions until he was approached by casting agent Mali Finn, who was looking for a young actor to play the role of John Connor in what...
39. Patrick Fugit
Actor | Almost Famous
Patrick Fugit was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Jan Clark-Fugit, a dance teacher, and Bruce Fugit, an electrical engineer. He has two siblings. He began acting in a summer Theater program through the University of Utah at eleven. He continued on through high school and regional productions. He ...
40. Max Records
Actor | Where the Wild Things Are
Max Records was born on June 18, 1997 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He is an actor, known for Where the Wild Things Are (2009), I Am Not a Serial Killer (2016) and The Brothers Bloom (2008).
41. Gaby Hoffmann
Actress | Field of Dreams
Gabrielle Mary Hoffmann was born in New York City, New York, to actors Anthony Herrera and Viva (née Janet Susan Mary Hoffmann), who was a Warhol superstar. She began acting in commercials at 4 to help pay the family bills. Gaby's first film role was as young "Karin Kinsella" in 1989's Field of ...
42. Anna Chlumsky
Actress | My Girl
Anna Maria Chlumsky is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress, best known playing the lead role of Vada Sultenfuss in My Girl (1991) and its 1994 sequel. Between 1999 and 2005, Chlumsky's career entered a hiatus while she attended college. She returned to acting with roles in ...
43. River Phoenix
Actor | My Own Private Idaho
River Phoenix was born River Jude Bottom in Madras, Oregon. His mother, Arlyn (Dunetz), a Bronx-born secretary, and his father, John Bottom, a carpenter, met in California in 1968. They worked as itinerant fruit pickers, and later joined the Children of God religious group (John was originally ...
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