Bizparentz Foundation Announces A+ Former Child Actors

Child actors are closely tied to Academy Award® nominations, with at least 51 former child actors claiming nominations as adults. Blame it on Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 rule” or innate talent, but it is an undeniable statistic: the best way to win a trophy is to have had a career as a child. This year’s Oscar® nominees include former child actors Ana de Armas, Michelle Williams, Austin Butler, and Ke Huy Quan. Golden Globes add Darren Criss, Amanda Seyfried and Tyler James Williams.

But not everyone spins their career into Oscar® gold. Most professional child actors grow up, go to college, and move on to careers out of the spotlight. The Bizparentz A+ List celebrates them all, and provides a welcome respite from the “child-actor-gone-bad” narrative.

The 2023 A+ List contains 337 former child actors. It spans 10 countries, and includes performers from a variety of cultural backgrounds. For many, the list is a fun bit of trivia, or a moment of nostalgia. But for the hundreds of thousands (literally) of current and former young performers, this list is validation that their childhood wasn’t a mistake. ”This list is a counter-balance to the repetitive coverage of child-actors-gone bad, or the news about horrid stageparents, Of course there are bad apples and there are struggles! But it is a fact that the majority of young performers grow up just fine, and they thrive as creative, interesting community leaders. They just don’t make the news,” says Anne Henry, Co-founder of BizParentz Foundation.

Sure, there are star names, Oscar winners, and more than a few Marvel superheroes. But there are also Olympians, Prime Ministers (Australia and Poland!), entrepreneurs, soldiers, doctors, and lawyers. Here are some of the more unexpected additions for 2023:

Ruth Tompson, one of Walt Disney’s original animators.
Coral Bonelli – pioneer of transgender rights in Mexico
Maggie Langrick – CEO of a publishing company
Tom Kerridge – Michelin starred chef
Duane Shepard, Sr – Tribal Chief
Jennifer Dundas – NYC’s Blue Marble Ice Cream entrepreneur
Donnie Dugan – the voice of Bambi, who had a lifelong career as a Marine
Juliana Mauriello – pediatric occupational therapist
Jonathan Searle – police chief
Trenton Irwin—pro football player for the Cincinnati Bengals
Kelly Hyman – lawyer, Fox News commentator
Randy Josselyn – theme park administrator
Liesel Matthews Pritzker – heiress and philanthropist
Bonita Granville – Oscar winning producer of Lassie and Gunsmoke, long before women held those kinds of roles. .

Sure to make many readers feel old, most of the original cast of Harry Potter have now reached the age to be eligible for the list. The 100 actors inducted for 2023 are listed below.

Bizparentz Foundation uses the following guidelines for inclusion:
1.The actor must be at least 27 years old now.
2. The actor must have performed their first professional acting job before the age of 18.
3. The actor must be credited with a recognizable role (ie. IMDb.com, Broadway credit, or recognizable commercial).
4. The actor’s public presence must be void of major controversy and illegal activity. In other words, arrests, ugly court battles with parents, etc.  Yes, it is recognized that “the most celebrated are the rehabilitated” but for the purposes of the List, Bizparentz is celebrating those who were successful in avoiding these issues.
5.  Respected members of their community, in whatever field they chose to pursue.

The full  A+ List of 337 former child actors including their child roles, adult career, and the age of their first job, can be found on the Bizparentz Foundation website here:  https://www.bizparentz.org/the-a-list/

The alphabetical list can be downloaded it its entirety, including the details of their first professional appearances:  https://www.bizparentz.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/BizParentz-A-List-MASTER-020123.pdf

Bizparentz Foundation is a California non-profit organization that serves families of professional performers, helping families navigate the entertainment industry in a safe and professional way.  For more about Bizparentz, see their website at www.bizparentz.org.

100 Former Child Actors Inducted to the A+ List for 2023:
Betty White
Dakota Fanning
Dule Hill
Jugal Hansrag
Cherie Johnson
Paul Dano
Ruthie Tompson
David Alvarez
Robbie Rist
Coral Bonelli (Mexico)
Tom Kerridge
Jesse Lee Soffer
Anton Yelchin
Holly Robinson Peete
Julianna Mauriello
Harry Melling (UK)
Gabby Hoffman
Zelda Harris
Deji Laray
Marin May
Stephen Hinkle
Vincent LaRusso
Alexandra Daddario
Jane Withers
Ariana Richards
Jeffrey Augustine Songco
Reed Alexander
Donnie Dugan
Penelope Cruz
Gary Goetzman
Rupert Grint
Jimmy Lyndon
Katie Leung
James Phelps
Oliver Phelps
Alfred Enoch
Ekow Quartey
Michael Perlman
Renna Nightingale
Elizabeth Shue
Jonathan Searle
AJ Shively
Melanie Hinkle
Evanna Lynch
Rene Pierre Veluzat
Darren Criss
Jonathan Bailey
Tami Stronach
Paige Hurd
Duane Shepard Sr.
CeCe Cline
John Bernadino
Hallie Eisenberg
Mitch Vogel
Scott Fletcher
Jennifer Dundas
Randy Josselyn
Kelly Hyman
Peggy Lane O’Rourke
Maggie Langrick
Timothee Chalamet
Austin Butler
Tyler James Williams
Julia Garner
Ana de Armas
Trenton Irwin
Kelsey Edwards
Keerthana
Daniel Tay
Liesel Matthews Pritzker
Hernando “Boy” Alano
Ben Meyerson
Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick
Jessica Alba
Eden Sher
Missy Gold
Ian Quinlan
Alyssa Milano
Bridgit Mendler
Mickey Kuhn
Marny Kennedy
Rivkah Reyes
Aaron Taylor Johnson
Alia Shawkat
Paige Tamada
Cannon Herring
Chris Evans
Keke Palmer
Zac Mabry
Hugh Mitchell
Bonita Granville
Paul Donnellon
Jonah Meyerson
Richard Beymer
Jillian Clare
Freddie Highmore
Emma Watson
DeVaughn Nixon
Alycia Debnam-Carey
Tim Considine

About Bizparentz Foundation

BizParentz Foundation is an IRS 501 c(3) nonprofit organization devoted to protecting professional child performers and helping them become healthy and successful adults. We partner with parents, government and industry organizations to advocate for children in the entertainment industry, while supporting and educating parents. Learn more About Us here: https://www.bizparentz.org/about/