1.
First, Judy Garland, who, after landing her breakout role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at 16 years old, struggled with money later in her career. In 1966, she parted ways with her agents and found out they were mismanaging her money and allegedly embezzled a lot of her earnings. She reportedly ended up owing about $500,000 to the IRS near the end of her life.
2.
Cole Sprouse recently revealed that he and his brother Dylan Sprouse had lost “everything from the youngest parts of [their] careers,” aka what they earned from sharing a role in Big Daddy and from Cole starring on Friends. Cole said his mother was “financially the most irresponsible woman ever.”
3.
Dustin Diamond, who starred as Screech in Saved By the Bell, filed for bankruptcy in 2001. He revealed that his parents reportedly had spent the money he earned from Saved By the Bell and that he made massive tax miscalculations. In 2006, in order to delay foreclosure on his house in Wisconsin, he was reportedly selling $15 T-shirts.
4.
Jena Malone, who starred in movies like Contact, Hope, and Stepmom when she was younger, sued her mom in 1999 for reportedly mismanaging her money and “squandering more than $1 million.” The lawsuit also alleged that Jena owed $20,000 in taxes and her “college fund had been drained.” When she was 15 years old, Jena became legally emancipated.
5.
Jackie Coogan, who starred in Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid, thus making him the first child actor in Hollywood, found out after his father’s death that all of the money he earned while acting as a child was gone. He sued his mom and former manager for his earnings, which led to the creation of the Coogan Law.
6.
Aaron Carter filed for bankruptcy in 2013, after reportedly making “$200 million in [his] career before [he] even turned 18 years old.” However, Aaron’s parents, who managed his money, made a lot of financial mistakes, which led to him owing $4 million in taxes when he turned 18.
7.
Shirley Temple landed a contract with Fox Film that reportedly earned her $1,000 per week in 1934 at just six years old. However, by the time she turned 17, most of her savings were gone. Of her earnings, which were roughly $3 million back then, she only had $44,000 left because of her dad’s poor financial management.
8.
Devon Werkheiser, who played Ned on Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, said by the time he turned 25 years old, his savings, which he said he’d been living “pretty modestly on,” had run out. Devon explained that it was a “real wake-up call” for him when he had to get a 9-to-5 job for the first time because he couldn’t find a steady acting job.
9.
LeAnn Rimes, who became a country music star at just 13 years old, sued her father, Wilbur Rimes, and her former manager for allegedly taking more than $7 million dollars of her earnings and keeping “tens of thousands in cash” in a safe that was hidden on her tour bus. The suit also alleged that they made unreasonable fees among other things to take more money.
10.
Corey Feldman, who starred in Gremlins, The Goonies, Stand by Me, and The Lost Boys all before he was 18, revealed in his autobiography that when he filed for emancipation from his parents at 15 years old, he allegedly found out that the $1 million he earned through his career was stolen by his parents.
11.
Christy Carlson Romano, who starred on Even Stevens and Kim Possible, revealed that she lost all of the savings she’d earned as a child actor because she was spending it on expensive purchases. When she was 21, she “parted ways” with her family for about a year because she “didn’t like the way [her] money was being managed.” It was the first time she controlled her own money, which led to her wild spending habits.
12.
Gary Coleman, who was known for playing Arnold on Diff’rent Strokes, filed for bankruptcy in 1999. During the peak of his Diff’rent Strokes fame, he was reportedly making roughly $64,000 per week. He said, “I can spread the blame [of filing for bankruptcy] all the way around. From me to accountants to my adoptive parents, to agents to lawyers and bake to me again.”
13.
And finally, Joey Lawrence, who starred in Blossom alongside a music career and work with Disney when he was younger, filed for bankruptcy in 2017. Reportedly, Joey and his wife only had $8,000 in the bank at the time they filed. With dwindling residuals from Blossom and Melissa and Joey ending, Joey reportedly was also selling his clothes to try and make ends meet.
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/noradominick/child-stars-lost-money-savings