Who among us didn’t dream of skipping middle school for a chance at fame and fortune? Or perhaps you just now looked at your dwindling savings account and said to yourself, “If only I had become a child star!” Well, you wouldn’t be far off.
Many famous faces have been able to turn an auspicious Hollywood beginning into a legitimate and long-lasting cash flow. Granted, many child actors have also gone the route of tragedy, but for those who’ve made it work, they’ve really, really, really made it work. From hit sitcoms to major movie franchises, and hit music to breakout fashion lines, some of these child stars have amassed billions! We repeat: billions! And what’s even more impressive is they managed to stay super rich into adulthood.
Who’s going to make you rethink your life choices, or possibly look into signing your own kids up for acting classes? See for yourself.
Emma Watson
According to Forbes, from June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017, Emma Watson made a staggering $14 million thanks to paychecks from the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast (2017) and fees from The Circle (2017). That’s a lot of scratch, although it pales in comparison to what she raked in playing a child wizard in the Harry Potter series.
Even if the British beauty never wanted to step foot in front of a camera again, she wouldn’t have to, thanks to the reported $60 million (per The Hollywood Reporter) she collected from her time at Hogwarts. However, it wasn’t the easiest road to riches.
Speaking with Porter magazine (via Cosmopolitan) in 2016, Watson said that the strain of growing up in the spotlight caused her to endlessly question herself, and that she become envious of her “friends who had a clear sense of self.” She added, “While my contemporaries were dying their hair and figuring out who they were, I was figuring out who Hermione was and how best to portray her.”
We’re no math scholars, but $60 million buys more than a few bottles of Sun-In, right?
Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Cuoco has been with the CBS juggernaut The Big Bang Theory since 2007 — and now we know why. According to Forbes, Cuoco was the fourth-highest paid actress in Hollywood from June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017, earning a staggering $26 million. In fact, she and her principal castmates have been raking in jaw-dropping dough since the show’s eighth season — $1 million per episode, in fact. (That figure has reportedly since changed, but more on that one in a second.)
Outside of The Big Bang Theory, the former 8 Simple Rules (2002-05) star’s resume has been pretty, you know, basic, but with that kind of cash coming in every year, who needs a side project? To wit, Cuoco even mentioned on Jimmy Kimmel Live that her return to the show after the tenth season was dependent on “a very expensive question,” which her eventual two-year renewal apparently answered.
Justin Bieber
Even though he’s been a bit of a pain in the you-know-what for much of the last decade, the world apparently can’t get enough of singer Justin Bieber. By age 22, reports circulated that his net worth was upwards of $200 million. Not too shabby, right?
From June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017 alone, Forbes estimated that Bieber raked in a staggering $83.5 million, making him the 13th highest-paid celebrity in the world. In other words, by age 23, he was making more than “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen, who’s pushing 70. Perhaps that’s the real reason the Biebs ended up cancelling the last 14 dates of his tour that summer, you know, to really bask in what it feels like to get paid that well for infecting a huge chunk of the world with an earworm like “Despacito.”
“Me taking this time right now is me saying I want to be SUSTAINABLE… so that I can be the man I want to be, the husband I eventually want to be, and the father I want to be,” Bieber actually wrote on Instagram of his cancelled tour dates. Right, isn’t that what we said?
Drake
Canadian child actor-turned-rapper Drake has come quite a long way from his days playing Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-05). Indeed, with hits ranging from “Hotline Bling” to “One Dance,” it’s no surprise he’s racked up millions of fans — and millions of dollars.
In June 2017, Forbes ranked him fourth on its list of the world’s highest-paid celebrities, noting that he earned a stunning $94 million in a single year. It was a huge achievement for a kid from Toronto who lived with his mom and “rented the first floor and basement of a house” before his big TV break, according to GQ.
As for the rarified air in which Drake exists now? The only celebs to top his earnings in 2017 were Diddy, Beyoncé, and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who earned $130 million, $105 million and $95 million, respectively.
Remember when we mentioned that Cuoco’s $1 million salary might have changed? Well, if Variety is to be believed, that was due to salary negotiations between Warner Bros. Television and co-stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch. According to Variety, both Bialik and Rauch negotiated a two-season deal in May 2017 to earn an impressive $500,000 per episode over 48 episodes. That marks an increase from their previous salaries of $175,000 – $200,000 per-episode, according to the report.
Epilogue
Where does Cuoco come in? Well, per Variety, Bialik and Rauch were able to get a raise after Cuoco, Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kunal Nayyar, and Simon Helberg agreed to drop their salaries from $1 million per episode to $900,000 per episode. Whoa! It’s nice to have super rich former child star friends in high places, huh?
Although, come on. Anyone who grew up on Blossom (1990-95) would do the same.
