Former Child Stars Who Have Opened Up About Financially Supporting Their Families

Mar. 15, 2025

Zendaya, Melissa Joan Hart and Cole Sprouse.Photo:Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Marleen Moise/WireImage; Stefanie Keenan/Getty

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Marleen Moise/WireImage; Stefanie Keenan/Getty

For these actors, becoming a child star came along with more than just fame.Stars likeZendayaandCole Sprousehave been acting for as long as they can remember and ultimately became their family’s “breadwinners” because of their early successes. As the stars have now graduated from child stardom into adulthood, many of them have looked back on how the “role reversal” impacted their families over the years.Read on to learn more about the young stars who’ve opened up about supporting their loved ones.

For these actors, becoming a child star came along with more than just fame.

Stars likeZendayaandCole Sprousehave been acting for as long as they can remember and ultimately became their family’s “breadwinners” because of their early successes. As the stars have now graduated from child stardom into adulthood, many of them have looked back on how the “role reversal” impacted their families over the years.

Read on to learn more about the young stars who’ve opened up about supporting their loved ones.

01of 07ZendayaZendaya.Gareth Cattermole/GettyWhile speaking toVogueearlier this year,Zendayashared that she has"complicated" feelings about child stardom.“I don’t know how much of a choice I had,” she told the outlet. “I have complicated feelings about kids and fame and being in the public eye, or being a child actor.““We’ve seen a lot of cases of it being detrimental,” she continued. “I think only now, as an adult, am I starting to go, ‘Oh, okay, wait a minute: I’ve only ever done what I’ve known, and this isallI’ve known.'“The actress, who got her start on Disney Channel’sShake It Upsays that because of the success she found as a young actor, there was a shift in her family’s dynamic.“I felt like I was thrust into a very adult position: I was becoming thebreadwinner of my familyvery early, and there was a lot of role-reversal happening, and just kind of becominggrown,really,” she explained.

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Zendaya

Zendaya.Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Gareth Cattermole/Getty

While speaking toVogueearlier this year,Zendayashared that she has"complicated” feelings about child stardom.

“I don’t know how much of a choice I had,” she told the outlet. “I have complicated feelings about kids and fame and being in the public eye, or being a child actor.”

“We’ve seen a lot of cases of it being detrimental,” she continued. “I think only now, as an adult, am I starting to go, ‘Oh, okay, wait a minute: I’ve only ever done what I’ve known, and this isallI’ve known.'”

The actress, who got her start on Disney Channel’sShake It Upsays that because of the success she found as a young actor, there was a shift in her family’s dynamic.

“I felt like I was thrust into a very adult position: I was becoming thebreadwinner of my familyvery early, and there was a lot of role-reversal happening, and just kind of becominggrown,really,” she explained.

02of 07Melissa Joan HartMelissa Joan Hart.During a recent appearance on ABC Audio andGood Morning America’sPop Culture Moms,Melissa Joan Hartlooked back on her experience growing up as the oldest of eight siblings andthe ways in which she supported her family.“I felt like I had to behave to be a role model for them,” she said. “You know, the money that I made on commercials andClarissa[Explains It All] or any of my acting jobs, it always went to the family.”“I got to go pick out a Barbie and like, as I got older, some people were like, ‘Oh, that’s not right. You should have kept your money,’” she added. “And I was like … I would rather put food on the table and make sure my siblings had good clothes and bicycles for Christmas, you know, things like that. So, I definitely felt like I wanted to be responsible for them.”

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Melissa Joan Hart

Melissa Joan Hart.

During a recent appearance on ABC Audio andGood Morning America’sPop Culture Moms,Melissa Joan Hartlooked back on her experience growing up as the oldest of eight siblings andthe ways in which she supported her family.

“I felt like I had to behave to be a role model for them,” she said. “You know, the money that I made on commercials andClarissa[Explains It All] or any of my acting jobs, it always went to the family.”

“I got to go pick out a Barbie and like, as I got older, some people were like, ‘Oh, that’s not right. You should have kept your money,’” she added. “And I was like … I would rather put food on the table and make sure my siblings had good clothes and bicycles for Christmas, you know, things like that. So, I definitely felt like I wanted to be responsible for them.”

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JoJo Siwa

JoJo Siwa.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Now 21, Siwa recently opened up on Alex Cooper’sCall Her Daddypodcastabout the impact her financial success has had on her family even to this day.

She said her mom recently thanked her for not leaving their family “high and dry” when she turned 18 and could access all the money she had made as a child.

“My mom actually said something today to me that was really sweet,” Siwa said. “When you are a kid, 15 percent of every penny you make goes into a Coogan account [to protect her earnings]. My parents thought when I turned 18, I was gonna get my Coogan account money, take all of my money and have it all be mine.”

“That’s always been a fear of theirs, always has been. Just because the opportunity of me leaving them high and dry was right there,” she continued. “People have done it before. Child stars have done it before, but I would never do that to my family.”

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Sydney Sweeney

Sydney Sweeney.Matt Winkelmeyer/MG23/Getty

After starting her acting career at “11, 12 years old,“Sydney Sweeneysaw what her parentssacrificed in order to help her reach her dreams.

“I watched my parents lose a lot. We filed for bankruptcy, and they lost their house back home on the lake,” Sweeney toldWomen’s Health. “We couldn’t afford life in L.A. We couldn’t afford life anywhere.”

Women’s Healthnoted that she has since bought back her great-grandparents’ home on the same lake where her parents lived and earlier this year, she told WhoWhatWear that she hadpaid off her mom’s mortgage.

05of 07Demi LovatoDemi Lovato.Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GettyAfter years in the spotlight, fromBarney & FriendstoCamp Rockto a successful music career,Demi Lovatoopened up about how being her family’s “breadwinner” impacted them for years to come.“I noticed that when I came into the spotlight at a young age, and then was the breadwinner … there wasn’t a manual for my parents to read and it say, ‘Here’s what to do to raise a child star,'” Lovato (who uses she/they pronouns)said on an episode of her podcast,4D with Demi Lovatoin 2021. “They didn’t get that.““So when they would try to ground me at 17, I would say, ‘I pay the bills.’ And I cringe now when I think about that attitude,” she continued. “But when the world is putting you on a pedestal, you kind of think that you could do no wrong. As I’ve gotten older, I see my parents just as big kids themselves.”

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Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato.Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/Getty

Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/Getty

After years in the spotlight, fromBarney & FriendstoCamp Rockto a successful music career,Demi Lovatoopened up about how being her family’s “breadwinner” impacted them for years to come.

“I noticed that when I came into the spotlight at a young age, and then was the breadwinner … there wasn’t a manual for my parents to read and it say, ‘Here’s what to do to raise a child star,'” Lovato (who uses she/they pronouns)said on an episode of her podcast,4D with Demi Lovatoin 2021. “They didn’t get that.”

“So when they would try to ground me at 17, I would say, ‘I pay the bills.’ And I cringe now when I think about that attitude,” she continued. “But when the world is putting you on a pedestal, you kind of think that you could do no wrong. As I’ve gotten older, I see my parents just as big kids themselves.”

06of 07Keke PalmerKeke Palmer.Erika Goldring/GettyAs a child,Keke Palmer’s dream was to move to L.A. from the Chicago suburb where she lived with her parents. That dream would eventually come true, but not without some bumps in the road. While the plan was initially forher dad, Larry, to find a job once they moved, he ultimately stayed home to care for Keke’s siblings as her mom, Sharon, was working closely with her as her manager, theLos Angeles Timesreported.“It just hit a point where my dad could no longer do a job because if he did a job, then there would be nobody to take care of my older sister and my younger siblings because my mom was always with me,” she told theTimes. “So it was like, all of our roles were switched. I became the financial breadwinner because my career was bringing in the most money, and my parents wanted to support me but they couldn’t have their own jobs because their own jobs would not even allow them to really be able to sustain a stable household.““So everybody’s positions were flipped upside down,” she added.Because of this flip, she says, she later began to feel the “pressure” that came along with supporting the family.“I started to realize that I was the financial breadwinner, and that if I didn’t have a job, who would have a job? Or how could my parents have a job? Or how could we sustain the same lifestyle even if they did have a job? Because I was making the kind of money that many people never make,” she said. “It put us in a crazy position.”

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Keke Palmer

Keke Palmer.Erika Goldring/Getty

Erika Goldring/Getty

As a child,Keke Palmer’s dream was to move to L.A. from the Chicago suburb where she lived with her parents. That dream would eventually come true, but not without some bumps in the road. While the plan was initially forher dad, Larry, to find a job once they moved, he ultimately stayed home to care for Keke’s siblings as her mom, Sharon, was working closely with her as her manager, theLos Angeles Timesreported.

“It just hit a point where my dad could no longer do a job because if he did a job, then there would be nobody to take care of my older sister and my younger siblings because my mom was always with me,” she told theTimes. “So it was like, all of our roles were switched. I became the financial breadwinner because my career was bringing in the most money, and my parents wanted to support me but they couldn’t have their own jobs because their own jobs would not even allow them to really be able to sustain a stable household.”

“So everybody’s positions were flipped upside down,” she added.

Because of this flip, she says, she later began to feel the “pressure” that came along with supporting the family.

“I started to realize that I was the financial breadwinner, and that if I didn’t have a job, who would have a job? Or how could my parents have a job? Or how could we sustain the same lifestyle even if they did have a job? Because I was making the kind of money that many people never make,” she said. “It put us in a crazy position.”

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Cole Sprouse

Cole Sprouse.Eric Charbonneau/Getty

Eric Charbonneau/Getty

During a sit down with Alex Cooper for herCall Her Daddypodcast,Cole Sprouseopened up about the ups and downs of growing up in the spotlight.

Sprouse, who started acting as an infant alongside his twin brother Dylan, explained what he sees as the “two types of kids” who get into acting at a young age.

“I think there’s two types of kids within the child acting business. There’s, like, the thespian children who choose to do it and then there’s the working-class kids that, in our case, at least…I mean, it started, really, as a means to put bread on the table,” he said. “My parents did not come from too much.”

source: people.com