Mara Wilson, a former child prodigy who starred in such hits as Matilda, Nine Months and Mrs. Doubtfire, gives an insider’s view into why child stars, which include Miley Cyrus, rebel later in life, “go crazy,” and often end up surrounded by scandal.
“Not many child stars make it out of Hollywood alive or sane, and at any given time there are at least three former ones having very public breakdowns,” Wilson, 25, explains to radaronline.com in an extensive essay she wrote called Cracked: 7 Reasons Child Stars Go Crazy, which includes their parents not being willing or being unable to help them, getting used to love and attention and then losing it, sexual exploitation, not being able to rebel, having no alternatives in life other than performing and not being able to escape their child star identity.
“Adults know that infatuation is fleeting, but kids don’t understand this,” said Wilson, 25, who recently quit acting.
“A year in a kid’s life seems like an eternity, and they think anything happening now will happen forever. Years of adulation and money and things quickly become normal, and then, just as they get used to it all, they hit puberty — which is a serious job hazard when your job is being cute.”
