Hollywood Mom Blog | Archive | Former Child Stars

GIVING BACK: Former Child Star Kristy McNichol Outs Herself to Help Others

Posted on 08. Jan, 2012 by Editor Tracy Bobbitt.

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Child Stars Kristy McNichol and Tatum O'Neal in "Little Darlings"

Actress and former child star Kristy McNichol, 49, has come out as a lesbian in an effort to help kids who are troubled by their sexuality and who are being bullied for being different.

The former child star of 1980′s “Little Darlings,” and TV hits “Family” and “Empty Nest” dropped out of Hollywood and retired from acting in the 90′s after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now she’s reaching out via her publicist to announce her own sexuality in hopes that it will help bullied teens.

McNichol’s has been living with her partner Martie Allen for two decades and according to her publicist Jeff Ballard,”[She] is sad about kids being bullied. She hopes that [her] coming out can help kids who need support. She would like to help others who feel different.”

Source: People.com

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FORMER CHILD STAR: Corey Feldman Prepares to Out Hollywood Pedophiles in New Book

Posted on 08. Jan, 2012 by Hollywood Mom.

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Former Child Star Corey Feldman, 40, who last August made startling allegations of sexual abuse against “unnamed” Hollywood Movie Industry big wigs on ABC News’ Nightline, is now ready to name names. The current Dancing On Ice star says he’ll reveal the names of at least two Hollywood pedophiles in a tell-all-book, currently underway, which will chronicle all the abuse that he and his fellow actors endured as children.

According to The Sun, Feldman decided to publicly discuss the abuse he suffered at age 14 after his best friend, former child star Corey Haim, died of heart failure and pneumonia. Feldman allegedly waited until after Haim’s death to reveal the abuse they both endured as he didn’t want to subject Haim to the nastiness all over again. Coincidentally, one of their former talent agents was charged with child abuse at approximately that same time.

“When I was 14 and 15, things were happening to me,” he said. “These older men were leching around like vultures. It was basically me laying there pretending I was asleep and them going about their business. Corey [Haim] and I were pegged as the scapegoats,” said Feldman.

“People need to know the reason Corey and I were swept under the carpet like the beaten dogs that were sent to the pound so no one had to deal with us anymore,” says Feldman, ”I stood up and said there is a bigger problem, that I’d lost Corey and that I didn’t want to see any more kids lost to these sick perverts.”

Former “Little House on the Prairie” Child Star Alison Arngrim (also a victim of child sexual abuse) confirmed Feldman’s statements to Fox News on Decemeber 5, 2011 stating:

“This has been going on for a very long time. It was the gossip back in the ‘80s. People said, ‘Oh yeah, the Coreys [Feldman, Haim], everyone’s had them.’ People talked about it like it was not a big deal…”

“I literally heard that they were ‘passed around,’” Arngrim said. “The word was that they were given drugs and being used for sex. It was awful–these were kids, they weren’t 18 yet. There were all sorts of stories about everyone from their, quote, ‘set guardians’ on down that these two had been sexually abused and were totally being corrupted in every possible way.”

Fortunately, thanks to these brave stars the public’s eyes are beginning to open to this secret epidemic as three high profile pedophile cases have rocked Hollywood in the few short months following Feldman’s revelations:

Martin Weiss, a 47-year-old Hollywood manager who represented child actors, was charged in Los Angeles on Dec. 1, 2011 with sexually abusing a former client. His accuser, who was under 12 years old during the time of the alleged abuse, reported to authorities that Weiss told him “what they were doing was common practice in the entertainment industry.” Weiss has pleaded not guilty.
On Nov. 21, 2011 Fernando Rivas, 59, an award-winning composer for “Sesame Street,” was arraigned on charges of coercing a child “to engage in sexually explicit conduct” in South Carolina. The Juilliard-trained composer was also charged with production and distribution of child pornography.
Registered sex offender Jason James Murphy, 35, worked as a casting agent in Hollywood for years before his past kidnapping and sexual abuse of a boy was revealed by the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 17. Murphy’s credits include placing young actors in kid-friendly fare like “Bad News Bears,” “The School of Rock,” “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” and the forthcoming “Three Stooges.”

Sources: ABC News Nightline, The Sun via Radar online, Fox News

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CHILD STARS: Dakota Fanning, 17, Named COSMO’s Fun Fearless Woman of the Year

Posted on 05. Jan, 2012 by Editor Tracy Bobbitt.

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Dakota Fanning, 17, is the latest celebrity to grace the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine. Yes, that Cosmopolitan Magazine. She has also been given the honorary title of “Fun, Fearless Woman of the Year,” like slightly older recipients, Beyonce’ and Mila Kunis, have before her.

Many readers are crying foul that a young actress, known best for films like Charlotte’s Web and Dr. Suess’ The Cat in the Hat, is on this cover next to headlines reading “His Best Sex Ever,” “Too Naughty To Stay Here: But You Have to Try This Sex Trick,” and “Um, Vagina Are You Okay Down There?” But in all fairness, she looks beautiful if not entirely age appropriate in a mostly-cleavage-covering pink sequin gown. Reminder – Fanning will become a legal adult soon as she celebrates her 18th birthday at the end of February 2012.

Fanning is still legally a minor though which is why some outlets are raising issue with the placement of a 17 year old on the cover of a magazine well-known for pushing the limits of adult female sexuality. For those of you who recall Miley Cyrus’ Vanity Fair photo shoot a few years back – this seems tame in comparison to me. Living in Los Angeles, I’ve seen more provocative dresses at high school proms. I think it’s the not so much the photo people are struggling with as the Fanning-Cosmo affiliation.

Cosmo stands by their cover girl choice stating: “We’re thrilled to feature Dakota Fanning on the February cover of Cosmopolitan magazine and she looks stunning. Dakota, who turns 18 this month, is a mature, fearless young woman and we are proud to honor her as our Fun Fearless Female of the year. We applaud her unprecedented accomplishments which will continue in 2012 with her four upcoming movie roles.”

HMB Readers may recall that Fanning raised eyebrows in a perfume ad for Marc Jacobs’ perfume Oh, Lola! just a few months ago which was eventually banned in the UK for sexualizing a minor.

Click on the photo below to see Cosmo’s recap of Dakota’s red carpet looks throughout the years.

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Twitter Updates: “CURLY SUE” Child Star Pregnant and Celebrity’s Child Desires Acting Career

Posted on 04. Jan, 2012 by Editor Tracy Bobbitt.

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Two child actors are making headlines via Twitter, one being 1990′s child star Alisan Porter (Parenthood, Curly Sue) and the other is aspiring child actor Damian Charles Hurley, none other than the prodigy of actress/model turned swimwear designer mom Elizabeth Hurley (Gossip Girl, Austin Powers).

Alisan Porter, a familiar face in the early to mid 1990′s, is in the news again after announcing via Twitter (@AlisanPorter) and via pictures on Instagram that she will become a mother for the first time in 2012; July 17, to be precise.

Nine Year old Damian on the other hand has just recently informed Elizabeth that he aspires to be a child star.

After her son spent the afternoon with Gossip Girl co-star Blake Lively at Serendipity, Elizabeth posted to her Twitter feed (@ElizabethHurley): “Oh lord, my son is begging me to find him an agent so he can become a child actor.”

According to the U.K.’s Daily Mirror, Hurley reported ”I was going to wrap late, Blake had wrapped early, and Damian was on the set. She asked, ‘Can I take him out?’ And they went to the Serendipity ice cream parlor and had a big sundae and a hot chocolate.” Don’t worry Elizabeth – it may just be the sugar talking.

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Former Child Star DEMI LOVATO Bashes Disney’s “SHAKE IT UP!” for Insensitive Treatment of Eating Disorders

Posted on 24. Dec, 2011 by Hollywood Mom.

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Child no more but still a star, Demi Lovato in 2011

UPDATE: The official PR Twitter account for Disney Channel tweeted to Lovato in response: “We hear you & are pulling both episodes as quickly as possible & reevaluating them.” Disney PR added, “It’s NEVER our intention to make light of eating disorders!”

Disney “Sonny with a Chance” star Demi Lovato has accused Disney of poking fun and making light of eating disorders on its hit TV series “Shake It Up.”

Demi, who earlier in the year revealed her history of bulimia and anorexia, took to Twitter after watching a recent episode of Shake It Up, a music and dance-focused sitcom that stars two girls in their early teenage years.

Apparently in the offensive episode one of the chacters says to another: “I could just eat you up… well, if I ate.”

“What are we promoting here? #notfunnyATALL,” Lovato tweeted. Lovato’s twitter

“I find it really funny how a company can lose one of their actress’ from the pressures of an EATING DISORDER and yet still make joke about… that very disease.

“And is it just me or are the actress’ getting THINNER AND THINNER…. I miss the days of RAVEN, and LIZZIE MCGUIRE.

“Dear Disney Channel, EATING DISORDERS ARE NOT SOMETHING TO JOKE ABOUT.”

Raven Symone of Disney's old hit show RAVEN

Disney's SHAKE IT UP teen star, Bella Thorne

Lovato goes on to say: “… and society wonders why there are 7 yr old with eating disorders…yet disney is making jokes about it.”

Later she posted: “Just clearing things up, I have nothing against any specific actress/actor or tv show.. Nor do I think there’s anything wrong with girls who aren’t curvy, I just was stating a fact that there needs to be more variety on television so young girls growing up don’t feel pressured to look one specific way. Tall, thin, curvy, short, whatever you are, you are beautiful. ”

As an adult who has battled eating disorders and my relationship with food since early childhood, I commend Demi from speaking out on this issue. There should absolutely be children and teens of all sizes and shapes on television and when it comes to children’s programming, eating disorders should never be treated as a joke.

Demi Lovato left Sonny With a Chance in April 2011 to concentrate on her singing career.

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THEN & NOW: Former Child Star Hilary Duff Talks Growing Up Hollywood on PIERS TONIGHT

Posted on 25. Oct, 2011 by Hollywood Mom.

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Former Disney Child Star, Hilary Duff, is pregnant with her first child, a boy. In a recent interview with Piers Morgan on his show PIERS TONIGHT, Duff revealed she one reason she does not want her son to have a career in show business is because she felt isolated as a child star and lost many friends due to her demanding schedule. Duff quickly rose to fame at 14 on the hit Disney TV show Lizzie McGuire.

The now 24-year-old told CNN talk show host Piers Morgan: “My sister (Hailey Duff) and I really showed an interest in performing and dedication, and [my mother] was like, ‘How can I tell my kids no?’ It’s the same as kids that are going into sports. Parents support them and push them.”

But despite admitting she wouldn’t trade her younger years for a different upbringing, she isn’t keen on her child following in her footsteps.

“I missed out on stupid things like passing notes in school and having a locker and riding the bus, I mean, really stupid things. At the time I felt, once I started touring… my life… was very isolated, you know? I lost a lot of my friends. I was on a totally different playing field than anybody else. And I grew up a lot faster, and I think that it definitely put me in a different place. But I wouldn’t trade it.”

Even with her view that it was a positive experience for her, Hilary doesn’t want the same career path for her child, stating “I don’t think there’s a way to stop it – I think kids know what they want but I just pray to God that’s not what he wants.” When Piers inquires as to why that is, Hilary bluntly states that today media intrusiveness has peaked with child stars and that the potential lack privacy is a strong concern. Duff said, “There’s such an obsession with people’s private lives, that I really don’t think was there before.” She continues, “It’s so invasive. It’s just a different business than it used to be.”

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THEN & NOW: Christina Ricci Thankful She Is Not A Child Star in Today’s World

Posted on 23. Oct, 2011 by Hollywood Mom.

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Christina Ricci (PAN AM) became a household name in the 1990′s at age nine working on film projects like The Addams Family, Now and Then, Sleepy Hollow, Mermaids, The Ice Storm, Casper, and quickly graduated to respected indie fare like Pumpkin, The Opposite of Sex and Monster.

Unlike today’s teen and child stars who are under constant media scrutiny, Christina reveals that she was not pursued by paparazzi in the 90′s and led a normal teen life.

“You know, I made all the mistakes a lot of young stars are making today. I partied, I drank. But during my time there weren’t that many photographers around. I had more freedom,” she said.

Christina further states that when pressures of fame overwhelm her she reacts by chilling out at her home.

“If I feel stressed, I take a personal day, which basically entails me being on my couch with a book and my puppy! I don’t leave the house. And I like to visit my friends, and just hang out with my family,” she said.

You can watch Christina on Sunday nights 10/9 pm on ABC. If you’d like to dress like Christina and the other Pan Am Stewardesses for Halloween this year, ABC has made posted the step by step instructional manual complete with print outs!

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Zimbio Lists 25 Non-Tragic Former Child Stars; Hollywood Mom Blog Lists 35 More!

Posted on 19. Oct, 2011 by Hollywood Mom.

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Zimbio put together an impressive list of 25 former teen and child actors (some were stars, some not) who have all grown up to have accomplished entertainment careers and relatively unblemished personal lives.

We noticed a few film and telvision talents who got their start as kids or teens missing from the group: Evan Rachel Wood, Brooke Shields, Fred Savage, Christina Applegate, Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Shia LeBouf, Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jordan Ladd, Scarlett Johanssson, Justin Timberlake, Sean Penn, Matt Dillon, Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Mila Kunis, Hayden Panattiere, Alyssa Milano, Juliette Lewis, Molly Ringwald, Robb Lowe, Demi Moore, Claire Danes, Sara and Melissa Gilbert, Katherine Heigl, Joaquin Phoenix, Cynthia Nixon, Diane Lane, Kristen Stewart, Jane Krakowski, Thora Birch, Helen Hunt and George Clooney to name a few.

Tell us who you think is missing from this extensive Hollywood roll call:

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THEN & NOW: Former Child Actor LAURA DERN on Her Strict Upbringing

Posted on 18. Oct, 2011 by Editor Tracy Bobbitt.

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18 year old Laura Dern in SmoothTalk (1985)

Laura Dern’s parents’ are Academy Award nominated actor Bruce Dern and Academy Award nominated actress Diane Ladd, whom divorced when she was only 2. You could say she was born into the business and you’d be right. However, she made her own mark early in a series of heavy projects like “The Stains,” and “Foxes” at age 13, “Smooth Talk,” at age 18 and David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” at 19. Dern then graduated to lead roles in “Citizen Ruth,” “Wild at Heart,” “Rambling Rose” and “Jurassic Park.” Laura earned her own Oscar nod for “Rambling Rose.”

But although Laura began performing professionally as a young girl, Mom Diane Ladd was strict with her teen.

“Luckily for me I had both – with my grandmother and my mother particularly – both my parents, but I was living with my mom most of the time. (They had) a real longing to make sure I was very involved in school,” she said. ”So I was lucky in that for me it worked that I was never home-schooled. I was always in school, had to be involved in two activities or I couldn’t do a job. It was like swim team and president of whatever club or something like that, and classes and play dates and over-nights,” she says.

Dern continues: “I was also lucky, frankly, to start young but my mom really balanced it. Where there were a few things that meant a lot to me that she let me audition for, but didn’t push me to go out there. And she asked my agent not to send me on everything. So I just didn’t work that much. I wasn’t doing a series for five years as a teenager. I didn’t have to deal with severe high-visibility celebrity, which is a whole other level that I feel fortunate to not have had to walk through.”

Dern’s latest project, HBO’s “Enlightened,” premiered Oct. 10, 2011. She stars in the series with Mom Diane. Last week Dern was served with divorce papers from husband Ben Harper. They share two children Ellery, 9, and Jaya, 5.

THE STAINS: Diane Lane (15) center with Laura Dern (13) far right

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THEN & NOW: Child TV Star JASON BATEMAN Says Acting for Kids Not a Good Idea

Posted on 18. Oct, 2011 by Editor Tracy Bobbitt.

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Former Child Super Star Jason Bateman, 42, says it’s not a particularly “good idea” for children to work as actors. Bateman starred in his first major acting role at age 12, as James Cooper Ingalls in “The Little House on the Prairie.” Following that, he did the sitcom “Silver Spoons.” From there he went on to star in numerous television series including, “Valerie’s Family” easily becoming one of the busiest child actors of his generation.

Bateman with his daughter Francesca.

Although Jason is grateful for the opportunities he was given in his youth, he shares that there are negative efects resulting from being employed at such a young age.

He recently told Swiss newspaper Sonntags Zeitung:: “It’s not a good idea. For one an acting career is quite unstable and also because things in this business are very unfair. Most of all I think it’s highly questionable to put a child in front of a camera and ask that child to pretend to be someone else. Children need to find out who they really are first. When you’re growing up child acting isn’t very clever. I personally didn’t survive it completely undamaged.”

HMB previously reported on Jason, who is currently filming the movie version of the cult favorite television show “Arrested Development,” last year.

After overcoming an addiction to drugs in the 1990′s, In the 90s, Jason married to Amanda Anka, with whom he has a four-year-old daughter Francesca and is currently expecting another.

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Former “Naked Brothers Band” Child Stars, Nat & Alex Wolff, Release Indie-Feel Album “Black Sheep”

Posted on 11. Oct, 2011 by Editor Tracy Bobbitt.

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Brothers, recording artists and actors Nat and Alex Wolff were destined to be stars from the start and they have the resumes to prove it. “Black Sheep,” their very first album as Nat & Alex Wolff, was produced by Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Faith No More, O.A.R., The Replacements) and shows these two coming into their own with serious musical chops and the songwriting skills to back them.

The first single off “Black Sheep” and video for the track “Thump Thump Thump,” features Academy Award Nominee Abigail Breslin and Alex Wolff alongside a ton of puppy love, both literally and figuratively. The video for the second single, “Maybe” features Nat Wolff and a mannequin in a modern love triangle straight out of a movie (ala Lars and the Real Girl). Although the band would not be complete without the talents of the two brothers, it is each of their unique, yet complementing, personalities that sets this indie-rock duo head and shoulders above the rest.

“Black Sheep” was written entirely by Nat and Alex Wolff and is a step in a different, more sophisticated direction for the duo as evidenced by the release of the first two singles, “Thump Thump Thump” and “Maybe.” The two have cited their major influences for the album as Bob Dylan, Green Day, The Velvet Underground, and The Rolling Stones. It’s evident that these brothers have done much maturing in the years since their last album, allowing them to remain relevant without being forced to reinvent themselves.

Eldest brother Nat Wolff, 16, was only in pre-school when he formed his first band, The Silver Boulders, and younger brother Alex, now 13, learned to play the saxophone before the age of three. After begging their mother and father (actor and screenwriter Polly Draper and jazz pianist and composer Michael Wolff) repeatedly for the chance to be child stars, they finally agreed to let the boys record in the studio with their father. While in the studio, Polly came up with the idea for a mock documentary, treating the boys’ band as if they were huge like The Beatles, and The Naked Brothers Band was born. Originally the stars of Nickelodeon’s The Naked Brothers Band, the TV series went on to have an incredible run, garnering Nat and Alex many accolades including a 2007 BMI Cable Award for their work on the show (making them the youngest award recipients ever), a nomination for best band at the 2009 Australian Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards, and a performance at the Song Writers Hall of Fame at the request of John Sebastian.

After the successful multi-year run on Nickelodeon, two full-length albums, a DVD, cross-country touring and appearances on ABC’s Good Morning America and The View, the brothers were ready to shed their old moniker and graduate to the next level: Nat & Alex Wolff the recording duo was born. The talented brothers have since traversed the country, playing everywhere from Pop-Con 2010 alongside Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez to New York’s 2010 Earth Day concert. For the past two years, the brothers have been hard at work on their first album as Nat & Alex Wolff. Recorded in LA and New York over several weeks in 2009 and 2010, their album Black Sheep released today, October 11, 2011.

In addition to writing and recording “Black Sheep,” the brothers have kept busy with acting roles; most recently Nat filmed roles in the upcoming movies New Years Eve and Peace, Love and Misunderstanding, while Alex appeared on episodes of hit TV shows Monk and In Treatment, as well as in the Fall Out Boy video for “The Take Over, The Break’s Over.” Additionally, Alex wrote and both boys starred in the 2010 play What Would Woody Do? at New York’s Flea Theater.

Today’s release of Black Sheep represents an exciting step into new territory for Nat & Alex Wolff, and one the duo is ready to take by storm.

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THEN AND NOW: Sarah Jessica Parker Thankful She Was A Child Actor

Posted on 20. Sep, 2011 by Editor Tracy Bobbitt.

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Former Square Pegs Child Star Sarah Jessica Parker (I Don’t Know How She Does It) recently told the Associated Press that she is glad she was a child actor.

SJP: ”I’m glad I did. I had great experiences. I worked in a different time when the emphasis was entirely different. Being a great actor and merit was everything. It wasn’t about being rich or famous, it was simply about hard work. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.”

Sarah began her career with a TV movie at age 8 and now her son James Wilkie, 8, has indicated that he too wants a career in show biz.

Parker’s reaction to that news? “I hope he pursues it with seriousness, if it’s what he wants to do. The only rule is he has to go and finish a four-year college course – then he can do whatever he wants.”

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Former Child Actor Jessica Alba Says Children Can Try Acting After Completing College

Posted on 09. Aug, 2011 by Editor Tracy Bobbitt.

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Actress Jessica Alba (Spy Kids: 4D) became a child actor at thirteen years old when she was cast in the low budget Disney film, Camp Nowhere (1994), an after school special and the TV series The Secret World of Alex Mack. Although the choice to be a child actor led Alba to the successful career she has today and has afforded her many opportunities, she shared with Fox411 PopTarts that she will not let her daughter Honor Marie, 3, or child #2 she is currently pregnant with, make that same choice.

Jessica stated: “I was a child actor and it worked for me, given the circumstances I was in, but I’m lucky enough to give my daughter and my second baby a completely different life and an education that I never had the opportunity to have. When they’re done with college, if they want to get into the arts, that’s fine. I think you will be a better artist the more life experience you have, but I wouldn’t encourage them to work in this type of environment as children.”

Alba also revealed personal details about her childhood: ”I lived in my head a lot as a kid, which is probably why I wanted to be an actor. I was sick a lot, in the hospital by myself,” she added. “I spent a lot of time wanting to be Superman. That was one of my obsessions.”

Unfortunately the Fox article on Alba did not elaborate as to what her “circumstances” were as a child that led her to become a child actor, nor did it divulge what illness Jessica had that kept her hospitalized long term in her youth.

*Source Fox411 PopTarts

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