Child actors then and now

Jonathan Lipnicki

 As a child he starred in Jerry Maguire ("Did you know dogs and bees can smell fear?") and the Stuart Little films. However, he's all grown up now...

 As well as taking a break from acting to concentrate on education and doing work for various charities, Lipnicki is now set to star in For the Love of Money with Edward Furlong.

Dakota Fanning

 Her career began at the age of five in a Tide advert. From that she starred in all manner of A-list films like War of the Worlds, Man on Fire and Charlotte's Web. Co-stars like Kurt Russell and Denzel Washington claimed that she was the best actress they've worked with. High praise for a ten-year-old girl...

 Now, at 17, she's still very active indeed. She can be seen in Breaking Dawn and will be playing Princess Margaret in the upcoming film Girls' Night Out.

 Kristen Stewart

 Originally, Stewart didn't want to be an actress - she wanted to be behind the camera. However, aged 8, she broke into acting. One of her biggest roles was playing Jodie Foster's diabetic daughter in Panic Room. 

 Now she's famous the world over for playing Bella in the Twilight series, going out with co-star Robert Pattinson and generally being cool. 

Jodie Foster

 Foster's career began at the age of three, when she starred in various commercials, then it took off after playing Iris (a pre-teen prostitute) in Taxi Driver. The role earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

 Since childhood stardom her star has risen and risen. She played Clarice in the Silence of the Lambs and took the lead in Contact, Panic Room and The Brave One. She also voiced Maggie Simpson in an episode of The Simpsons.

Natalie Portman

 After becoming a model at 10 years old, Portman starred as an orphan who befriends a middle-aged hitman in Leon and took star turns in Mars Attacks, Heat and Beautiful Girls.

 Her real rise to fame was as Queen Amidala and Padmé in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and since then she's starred in Closer, Black Swan and most recently Thor. She's currently expecting her first child. 

Christina Ricci

 As a child actress she was best known for portraying the frankly terrifying Wednesday Addams in the Addams Family films, and Kat in Casper the Friendly Ghost - all of which did rather well.

 Since moving from child acting into an adult career, Ricci has done pretty well for herself. She featured in 1999's Sleepy Hollow and 2008's mildly disappointing Speed Racer. 

Drew Barrymore

 While she starred in many films, the role that defines her childhood career is the role of Gertie in ET. However, while she was growing up her life was plagued with drug and alcohol issues, landing her in rehab on more than one occasion.

 Having set up Flower Films she has starred in plenty of films. She found her niche in romantic comedies like The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates. She starred in the Charlie's Angels films and has made cameos in many films (and Family Guy).

Macaulay Culkin

 There's one series of films Culkin will forever be remembered for - Home Alone. His portrayal of Kevin McCallister, the booby trap-setting kid with a sense of humour, won over audiences of adults and children alike.

 He took a break from acting for a while, returning to the stage in 2000. He has made further films, but none of them repeated the critical acclaim of his earlier career. However, he has been known to appear as a voice actor in Seth Green's Robot Chicken.

Lindsay Lohan

 As a child, Lohan took on the role of twins in Disney's 1998 (remake of) The Parent Trap. She was applauded for her work and went on to star in Mean Girls, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and Herbie: Fully Loaded. However, things started to go wrong shortly afterwards...

 Her adult life has been splashed all over the papers. Drink, drugs and driving offences. She continues to act, but not in the A-List films of her past. Most recently she featured in the Grindhouse flick Machete.

Saoirse Ronan

Starting out in 2003 on RTÉ's medical drama The Clinic, Ronan went on to star in 2007's Atonement, which earned her a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination.

Since then she's starred in the macabre and touching The Lovely Bones and more recently she's taken the starring role in Hanna - a story about a young girl who happens to be really rather handy with an array of weapons...

Daniel Radcliffe

 Before becoming stratospherically famous as Harry Potter, young Daniel played David Copperfield in the 1999 BBC adaptation. However, he'll always be remembered for playing the Boy Who Lived.

 As he's grown up (literally in front of our eyes) he's taken to the stage in Equus and will be playing Arthur Kipps in 2011's the Woman in Black.

 Source: MSN