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There are some actors who are able to establish decent, lengthy careers.
But Hollywood can be an unforgiving place and for many aspiring actors, the struggle is real.
For those who started young, it’s easy to understand why they turn to a different industry to pay the bills – and no, we’re not talking about waiting tables.
Adult entertainment can be tempting for actors looking to shed their seemingly wholesome reputations when they grow up.
And these former beloved child actors have shown just how grown up they could be.
Lindsay Lohan
Lohan’s career started as a three-year-old model before appearing in dozens of TV commercials and landing a role on the daytime drama Another World when she was 10.
Shortly after, she hit it big with the 1998 movie The Parent Trap and a slew of other hits, including Freaky Friday and Mean Girls.
Her personal life, however, was plagued by addiction issues, legal issues, arrests, and rehab stints. While in the midst of all those troubles, Lohan posed for Playboy in 2012 and was reportedly paid close to $1 million for the Marilyn Monroe-inspired photos.
She has turned her life around and is now married and a mom of one.
Madisyn Shipman
The former Nickelodeon star, best known for the hit sitcom Game Shakers, is now one of the top personalities on Playboy’s creator-led digital platform.
Now 20, Shipman is taking a non-traditional approach to fund her music career and not only maintain her devoted fan base but increase it with her adult content.
She admitted that she “always felt a sense of repression” when it came to her sexuality and showing her body, due to growing up on the kids’ network.
“Now, I’m reclaiming my power. I’m reclaiming my sexuality,” she told Fox News. “I’m doing what makes me happy. And I have no issues posing in a bikini or a lingerie set.”
Bella Thorne
The redhead was six when she appeared as an uncredited fan in 2003’s Stuck on You and she had a few small roles before she landed the lead role in the network’s Shake It Up alongside Zendaya.
The series lasted three seasons and she moved on to other gigs, but later admitted she felt restricted while working for the Mouse House.
In August 2019, Thorne made her directorial debut on Pornhub with the flick Her & Him.
A year later, she joined OnlyFans where she became the first creator to earn $ 1 million in the first 24 hours of joining the platform.
Maitland Ward
Ward was 17 when she was cast as sweet Jessica Forrester on the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful in 1994.
She went on to play Rachel McGuire on the final two seasons of the hit sitcom Boy Meets World, from 1998 to 2000.
In 2007, she decided to retire from the mainstream acting world and began sharing nude and topless photos of herself on social media before landing her first porn film Drive in 2019.
She has since starred in more than 20 adult movies and penned her memoir, My Escape From Hollywood: Why I Left to Become a Porn Star.
Drew Barrymore
Barrymore comes from acting royalty and is arguably one of the most famous child actors of all time. She landed her first role in a dog food commercial before she turned one, stole every scene she was in as Gertie in E.T., and went on to star and produce dozens of movies.
That said, she didn’t have an easy go of it, and the impact of fame at a young age had her in rehab at 13 and emancipated at 14.
Before she turned 20, she graced the cover of Playboy’s January 1995 issue wearing only a pair of lacy pink undies and a baby tee emblazoned with the magazine’s iconic logo.
She recently spoke about it on her talk show with guest Pamela Anderson, saying she felt like she was “taking my power back.”
“When I was doing Playboy and being a wild child and being free and discovering myself and growing up… I was loving it and having so much fun and don’t regret a thing.”