Child Celebs Who Got (WAY) Better With Age

June 18, 2009     Posted in Buzz

Child-Celebs


By CC Staff

Although I am in sad lack of it, patience is a virtue that is greatly rewarded.  If you have patience with wine, it improves.  If you wait a bit with cheese, it tastes amazing (just not too long – that could get dangerous).  Even if you are patient with people, they usually get better. Well, some people. Not my ex-boyfriend.

The last is especially true with some child celebrities.   Sure, most child stars end up passed out in a gutter surrounded by VHS tapes of their glory days, but some – especially some pretty choice boy toys – turn out just right. Let’s take a look at some of our favorite young hotties who grew up, aged like a fine bottle of Boones Farm, and suddenly got super hot.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Joseph-gordon-levitt-then joseph_gordon_levitt now

Yeah, I watched Third Rock From the Sun and was therefore super excited to see JGL starring in that am-AZING classic, 10 Things I Hate About You.  What a cutie, right?  Well, Joey totes grew up and I love him way more than my Skechers (…’cause I don’t have a Prada backpack).

Bow Wow (formerly Lil’ Bow Wow)

lil bow wow bow wow

To a pre-teen white girl from the Midwest, Lil’ Bow Wow was as hood as it got.  My friends and I used to throw on his CD and pretend we were cooler than we actually were.  Fast forward a decade or so and we’re still doing that…but with iTunes.  And Lil’ Bow Wow has ditched the Lil and replaced it with some serious hotnessss.

Leonardo DiCaprio

leo dicaprio then leo dicaprio now

Leo was the adorable kid next door (or homeless boy without a family) when he entered our lives via Growing Pains. We didn’t think he could get any hotter than his Titanic days, but it looks like someone just keeps getting better. And better. And better. Leo’s age has done wonders for him – he’s more brooding and handsome than ever. We can only imagine how smokin’ he’ll be when he hits the big 4-0.

Dante Basco

dante basco then dante basco now

Almost the entire reason for watching Hook a thousand times over was for Rufio in his tights and cropped tank (it was Never Never Land, okay?!?).  Thank goodness Dante left the Land of Lost Boys and joined the World of the SMOKIN’ Hot Men. Seriously, who saw that coming?

Shia LeBeouf

shia_labeouf_then shia now

Shia put the “geek” in “totally geeky” back in his Even Stevens days, but he was a master of the physical comedy, so I watched anyway.  Luckily, he grew into that face of his and now he’s playing the lead role in my Transformers-themed sexual fantasies. He is total hotness and has proved that it’s 100% possible to come out of an (long ass) awkward phase.

25 Comments on "Child Celebs Who Got (WAY) Better With Age"

  1. Kay says:
    Thu, 18th Jun 20097:19 am 

    You're so right on all of these… but especially Shia La Beouf =)

  2. shari says:
    Fri, 19th Jun 20094:27 pm 

    josh peck too! what a hottie now!

  3. CM says:
    Sat, 20th Jun 20099:26 am 

    definitely got Dante Basco right on! he's so f-ing hot! so are the rest of the guys :D

  4. molly says:
    Sun, 21st Jun 20091:54 pm 

    Patrick dempsey should be on this list! He was more "teen" than child star, but WHAT A DIFFERENCE lol

  5. Dani says:
    Mon, 22nd Jun 20095:36 am 

    Looks like Rufio 'had a little help' … check out his nose. Looks like a new one to me! A little reconstruction there on it, Rufio? :)

  6. Dani says:
    Mon, 22nd Jun 20095:37 am 

    Rufio – Dante … all the same – the NOSE is most def diff!

  7. K. says:
    Mon, 22nd Jun 20098:37 am 

    Anybody else thing JGL could play Heath Ledger in a biopic??

  8. Mememememe. says:
    Mon, 22nd Jun 20099:19 am 

    I never thought Leo was cute in his Titanic days but boy am I wrong now…eye candy 4 real & Bow Wow that jus goes without havin 2 say lol.

  9. Bridgettte says:
    Fri, 26th Jun 200911:57 am 

    Just Note, I saw Dante Basco as hot back then. That man is beautiful and he needs to be mine!

  10. sam says:
    Fri, 26th Jun 20094:36 pm 

    ur right jgl could def play heath ledger.

  11. shashae says:
    Fri, 26th Jun 20095:15 pm 

    shia is defnatly hota now but his acting has alwayz ben briliant as 4 joseph i liked him on 3rd rock frm the sun hes just gon frm yummy 2 absolutly delicious he looks similiar 2 heath ledger in alot of photos dnt ya fink?

  12. Rhiannon says:
    Sat, 27th Jun 20098:16 am 

    just saw jgl in killshot (rubbish) i did notice the resemblance to heath ledger (esp. the smirk), however he is much too short and scrawny now to play heath…

  13. chloe says:
    Wed, 8th Jul 200910:32 am 

    I never expected Shia to get where he was today. I thought he was just another doomed Disney kid. They've all done well :)

  14. jokester says:
    Wed, 8th Jul 200912:06 pm 

    Rufio, Rufio, Rufi-ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

  15. Lucas says:
    Thu, 9th Jul 200912:40 pm 

    i'd take Lil BowWow off the list. he's still not hot. Heath and Patrick fail cause they were actually not dorky kids, which is the point of the list. I would add Josh Brolin. He wasn't really a stud back in the Goonies days but oh my he's very fine now. and

  16. Emma says:
    Thu, 9th Jul 20093:15 pm 

    I would add Adam Brody to the list

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    Thu, 21st Jul 20112:59 am 

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