Child Stars of 1995-2005: Who Failed, Who Succeeded?
Every generation has a group of kids they feel like they grew up with because they watched them on TV. For me, it’s the Disney and Nickelodeon “class” of 1995 to 2005. They were examples of how to always feel embarrassed by my parents (That’s So Raven), crimp certain parts of my hair and not others (Lizzie McGuire) and talk in loud, obnoxious voices (All That). So with Raven-Symone’s impending return to TV on ABC Family’s State of Georgia, I’m taking a look at where my former Disney and Nick role models are nowadays, and assigning superlatives to their adult lives and careers.
Most Potential: Amanda Bynes
I wanted to cry for like a week when Amanda Bynes said she was quitting acting. First of all, she was brilliant on All That and The Amanda Show — by far the strongest comedic actress on Nickelodeon during the ’95-’05 era. And she made the transition to adult comedic actress seamlessly — never taking herself too seriously and always playing light, funny roles in movies like What A Girl Wants, She’s the Man and Hairspray. And then of course, there was her latest turn as the holier-than-thou high school student Marianne in Easy A. Aside from her TMI-style tweets, here’s hoping she doesn’t quit on us ever again.
