Uncover the Heartbreaking Stories Behind 25 Child Stars Who Vanished Too Soon

Best known for her memorable role as Mel Gibson’s young daughter in the Revolutionary War film The Patriot, Skye McCole Bartusiak had been acting since she was a child. In July 2014, she died in her sleep at her family’s home in Houston, Texas. The coroner later ruled her death an accidental overdose from the combined effects of several medications she was taking to control her epileptic seizures. Her sudden death at the age of 21 was a tragic end for the actress who had grown up on screen.

As the fiery young drummer Freddy “Spazzy McGee” Jones, Kevin Clark provided the heartbeat for the band in the 2003 hit film School of Rock. Though it was his only acting role, he was a real-life musician who continued to play in various bands in his hometown of Chicago. Clark never pursued acting further, choosing to focus on his music career instead. In May 2021, at the age of 32, he was tragically killed when a driver struck him while he was riding his bicycle.

Lee Thompson Young launched his career as the star of the Disney Channel series The Famous Jett Jackson and later found success in adult roles, most notably as Detective Barry Frost on the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles. On August 19, 2013, when he failed to show up for work, police were called to his home and found that he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His family later revealed that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had been struggling with depression, a silent battle that led to his tragic death at age 29.

As one of the biggest teen idols of the 1980s, Corey Haim starred in blockbuster films like The Lost Boys and Lucas. Along with Corey Feldman, he was part of the iconic duo known as “The Two Coreys.” His fame, however, was accompanied by a severe and lifelong struggle with drug addiction that began on movie sets when he was a teenager. On March 10, 2010, he collapsed in his mother’s apartment and was pronounced dead at a hospital, with the coroner later ruling his death at age 38 was due to pneumonia.

River Phoenix was one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, earning an Oscar nomination for his role in Running on Empty and captivating audiences in films like Stand by Me and My Own Private Idaho. His incredible talent and promising career were cut tragically short on Halloween night in 1993. After consuming a lethal combination of cocaine and heroin, he collapsed and suffered convulsions on the sidewalk outside the Viper Room nightclub in Hollywood. He died at the scene at the age of 23, a shocking and devastating loss for the film world.

As the voice of Disney’s Peter Pan and an Oscar-winning child actor for his work in films like Song of the South, Bobby Driscoll was one of the biggest stars of the 1950s. After Disney terminated his contract in his late teens, his life spiraled into severe drug addiction and poverty. In March 1968, children playing in an abandoned New York City tenement found his body, but with no identification, he was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave. It wasn’t until over a year later that his mother’s search led to a fingerprint match, revealing the tragic and anonymous end of the former Disney star at the age of 31.

Josh Ryan Evans, who stood just 3 feet 2 inches tall due to a form of dwarfism, became a fan favorite for his scene-stealing role as Timmy Lenox on the soap opera Passions. He also played the young Grinch in the live-action film How the Grinch Stole Christmas. On August 5, 2002, he died at the age of 20 from complications related to a congenital heart condition. In a bizarre and tragic coincidence, the episode of Passions that aired on the very same day featured his character, Timmy, also dying.