Jennifer Stone.Photo:Jennifer Stone/Instagram
Jennifer Stone/Instagram
While some entertainers who begin their careers at a young age continue to work in Hollywood for life, these former child actors opted out of the business.
Though some haven’t gone far — hosting a podcast or working as an entertainment lawyer, for example — their time in front of the camera took a backseat as they pursued other passions.
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Peter Ostrum as a Veterinarian
Peter Ostrum.Wolper/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock; David Livingston/Getty Images)
Wolper/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock; David Livingston/Getty Images)
He worked at Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Lowville, New York, for 37 years before retiring in December 2022, the website explained.
02of 08Jennifer Stone as a NurseJennifer Stone.Jennifer Stone/InstagramJennifer Stone’s first big role came in 2007 when she landed a gig playingSelena Gomez’s onscreen bestie, Harper Finkle, onWizards of Waverly Place. After the show wrapped in 2012, Stone continued acting, though changed career paths later on and decided to go to nursing school.Stone announced her graduation in December 2019 and in April 2020 revealed she wasofficially a registered nurseworking on the frontlines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.In addition to her work as an ER Nurse, as noted in her Instagram bio, Stone also co-hosts the Wizards of Waverly Pod with her former costar, David DeLuise.
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Jennifer Stone as a Nurse
Jennifer Stone.Jennifer Stone/Instagram
Jennifer Stone’s first big role came in 2007 when she landed a gig playingSelena Gomez’s onscreen bestie, Harper Finkle, onWizards of Waverly Place. After the show wrapped in 2012, Stone continued acting, though changed career paths later on and decided to go to nursing school.
Stone announced her graduation in December 2019 and in April 2020 revealed she wasofficially a registered nurseworking on the frontlines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to her work as an ER Nurse, as noted in her Instagram bio, Stone also co-hosts the Wizards of Waverly Pod with her former costar, David DeLuise.
03of 08Kay Panabaker as a ZookeeperKay Panabaker.Frazer Harrison/Getty; Instagram/kaypanabakerAfter years working as a child actress with roles onSummerlandandPhil of the Future,and later on the seriesNo Ordinary Family,Kay Panabaker has since taken a step back from the spotlight and instead turned her attention to animals.In apost shared to Instagramin May 2022, Panabaker said that it had been seven years since she had become a zookeeper at Walt Disney World.In an interview withNapervilleMagazine in 2016, Panabaker opened up about her role at the Disney park, explaining that she works with various animals including goats, sheep, elephants, porcupines, skunks, donkeys, cows, parrots, birds of prey and opossums.In talking about why she decided to leave show business, Panabaker said she felt herself losing enthusiasm for the job — specifically after an experience on set with a producer asking her to lose weight. She said while she continued to audition in L.A. a bit after that, “the passion wasn’t there.”
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Kay Panabaker as a Zookeeper
Kay Panabaker.Frazer Harrison/Getty; Instagram/kaypanabaker
Frazer Harrison/Getty; Instagram/kaypanabaker
After years working as a child actress with roles onSummerlandandPhil of the Future,and later on the seriesNo Ordinary Family,Kay Panabaker has since taken a step back from the spotlight and instead turned her attention to animals.
In apost shared to Instagramin May 2022, Panabaker said that it had been seven years since she had become a zookeeper at Walt Disney World.
In an interview withNapervilleMagazine in 2016, Panabaker opened up about her role at the Disney park, explaining that she works with various animals including goats, sheep, elephants, porcupines, skunks, donkeys, cows, parrots, birds of prey and opossums.
In talking about why she decided to leave show business, Panabaker said she felt herself losing enthusiasm for the job — specifically after an experience on set with a producer asking her to lose weight. She said while she continued to audition in L.A. a bit after that, “the passion wasn’t there.”
04of 08Charlie Korsmo as a ProfessorCharlie Korsmo.Everett; Courtesy Case Western Reserve University School of LawAfter landing roles as a kid in films likeWhat About Bob?,HookandDick TracywithWarren Beatty,Charlie Korsmodecided to take a step back from acting in high school.“AfterHook, that was my last movie as a kid, we really had a sort of choice to make,”he told PEOPLE. “But I hadn’t been in school for a few years. I suddenly found I didn’t really have friends my own age anymore.”While studying physics at M.I.T., he felt the urge to return to acting and reconnected with his old agent, who got him a role in1998’sCan’t Hardly Wait. Despite his foray back into the business, Korsmo would ultimately graduate from M.I.T. before attending law school at Yale, and later becamea law professorat Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.Per IMDb, the former child star has landed two roles in recent years: 2018’sChained for Lifeand 2024’sA Different Man.“I was not out there looking for parts, but he said there was a part in there for me, so I said, ‘We can do it in a very short shoot because I’ve got a job and I’ve got young kids,’ ” Korsmo told PEOPLE of working onChained for Lifewith an old director friend of his. “But I really loved the script and the timing seemed right.”
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Charlie Korsmo as a Professor
Charlie Korsmo.Everett; Courtesy Case Western Reserve University School of Law
After landing roles as a kid in films likeWhat About Bob?,HookandDick TracywithWarren Beatty,Charlie Korsmodecided to take a step back from acting in high school.
“AfterHook, that was my last movie as a kid, we really had a sort of choice to make,”he told PEOPLE. “But I hadn’t been in school for a few years. I suddenly found I didn’t really have friends my own age anymore.”
While studying physics at M.I.T., he felt the urge to return to acting and reconnected with his old agent, who got him a role in1998’sCan’t Hardly Wait. Despite his foray back into the business, Korsmo would ultimately graduate from M.I.T. before attending law school at Yale, and later becamea law professorat Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Per IMDb, the former child star has landed two roles in recent years: 2018’sChained for Lifeand 2024’sA Different Man.
“I was not out there looking for parts, but he said there was a part in there for me, so I said, ‘We can do it in a very short shoot because I’ve got a job and I’ve got young kids,’ ” Korsmo told PEOPLE of working onChained for Lifewith an old director friend of his. “But I really loved the script and the timing seemed right.”
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Bridgit Mendler as a CEO
Bridgit Mendler.Adam Taylor/Disney Channel via Getty; Derek Martin/Young Hollywood/Getty
Adam Taylor/Disney Channel via Getty; Derek Martin/Young Hollywood/Getty
After attending the University of Southern California for a few years, Mendler was announced as one of the 2017 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab’s Director’s Fellows. The following year she shared that she had started a graduate program at MIT.
Since earning her master’s degree from the prestigious institution, she is also working toward receiving a Doctor of Philosophy - PhD from MIT,though clarified in a post on Xthat that had beenput on pause. In the same post from March 2024 she explained that she was two months away from completing her Doctor of Law - JD.
In February, the former Disney star made two more big announcements, one being that she is nowthe CEO of Northwood Space, a startup with the mission to create a “data highway between earth and space.” She also shared that she isa mom after fostering and then adopting a now-4-year-old boy.
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Clayton Snyder as a Real Estate Agent
Clayton Snyder.Walt Disney/courtesy Everett Collection; Instagram/heyclayton
Walt Disney/courtesy Everett Collection; Instagram/heyclayton
Before the highly anticipated reboot ofLizzie McGuirewas ultimately scrapped, Ethan’s character wassaid to be making an appearance.
These days, Snyder works as a real estate agent in California,per his Instagram.
07of 08Andrea Barber in EducationAndrea Barber.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Netflix/AP ImagesBefore stepping back into the role of Kimmy Gibbler on theFull Housereboot,Fuller House,Andrea Barberthought she was done with acting.“It was a pretty seamless transition for me. And I was ready,” she told PEOPLE. “I never looked back, and I know that sounds crazy, but I had a lot of success as a child actor, and it really doesn’t get better thanFull Housefor me.”After starring on the original show from 1987 to 1995, Barber graduated from Whittier College, interned at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and earned a master’s degree in the U.K. She then went on to pursue a career in education.In addition to her return to theFull Houseuniverse, more recently, Barber appeared on Nickelodeon’sThat Girl Lay Lay.
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Andrea Barber in Education
Andrea Barber.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Netflix/AP Images
ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Netflix/AP Images
Before stepping back into the role of Kimmy Gibbler on theFull Housereboot,Fuller House,Andrea Barberthought she was done with acting.
“It was a pretty seamless transition for me. And I was ready,” she told PEOPLE. “I never looked back, and I know that sounds crazy, but I had a lot of success as a child actor, and it really doesn’t get better thanFull Housefor me.”
After starring on the original show from 1987 to 1995, Barber graduated from Whittier College, interned at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and earned a master’s degree in the U.K. She then went on to pursue a career in education.
In addition to her return to theFull Houseuniverse, more recently, Barber appeared on Nickelodeon’sThat Girl Lay Lay.
08of 08Jeff Cohen as a LawyerJeff Cohen.Warner Bros/Everett; Joshua Blanchard/GettyJeff Cohen’s first film role came in 1985’sThe Gooniesas Chunk, alongsideKe Huy Quan’s Data. Nearly 40 years later — though Cohen stepped away from the spotlight, with his last credit being 1991’sPerfect Harmony —thetwo worked together againwhen Quan was ironing out his contract forEverything Everywhere All at Once, and employed Cohen, now an entertainment lawyer, to represent him.“When the producer of ourmovie was trying to make my deal, he said he never imagined that he’d have to talk to Chunk and Data for his movie,” Quan joked of the unlikely reunion in an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter.
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Jeff Cohen as a Lawyer
Jeff Cohen.Warner Bros/Everett; Joshua Blanchard/Getty
Jeff Cohen’s first film role came in 1985’sThe Gooniesas Chunk, alongsideKe Huy Quan’s Data. Nearly 40 years later — though Cohen stepped away from the spotlight, with his last credit being 1991’sPerfect Harmony —thetwo worked together againwhen Quan was ironing out his contract forEverything Everywhere All at Once, and employed Cohen, now an entertainment lawyer, to represent him.
“When the producer of ourmovie was trying to make my deal, he said he never imagined that he’d have to talk to Chunk and Data for his movie,” Quan joked of the unlikely reunion in an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter.
source: people.com
