Unit 11 - exploration of specialist study and context

  I confirm that the attached portfolio is all my own work* and that any work created by anyone other than myself, including AI-generated content, has been appropriately referenced.

 Task 1 - In my Blogs 

Task 2 - 

How does growing up in the industry effect child actors?  

 

If we take a look at how some famous child actors, we can really see the toll that growing up in the industry has on them. It has either caused them to stop acting all together or once they reached a certain age, they took a break because of how they were affected. Some of them may still do bits and pieces of acting and some have just not been seen in the film industry in years. 

 

Whilst there are negative effects of growing up in the industry Such as, the pressure and expectations, Mental health challenges, and difficulty transitioning to adulthood. There are also positive effects, financial stability, confidence, and early skills development.   

Dakota Fanning started acting at the age of 5, and by the age of 7, she had appeared in major films like “I am Sam”. For her, she had quite a few positive impacts growing up in the industry, She managed to pursue a college education, which shows that it is possible to balance your career and academics, although she did manage to navigate some of the challenges of growing up in the spotlight, she still faced a lot of struggles, like the loss of her childhood, the pressure to succeed and mental health strain, very much caused by her having to grow up in a high-stress environment and working long hours whilst also still trying to maintain a “normal” life, the same as a lot of child actors, there is a challenge to balance career whilst also going to school, experience regular childhoods, and maintaining friendships. 

Another actress who grew up on the industry is Emma Watson, She started her career at 9 years old when she got the role of Hermione Granger, she is an example of someone who managed to balance a huge acting career alongside academic achievement, She attended Brown University, whilst filming the Harry Potter series and she then became a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson has used her fame to push for social change, mostly around Women’s rights. Although she was really successful in balancing her acting career and academics, she faced a lot of struggles such as: her loss of privacy; because she came into fame at such a young age, she grew up living her life under a microscope, as well as this, she had a pressure on her to maintain constant perfection because of her role as Hermione Granger, she became a role model for many young fans, and there was always a pressure for her to keep living up to that and maintain being that role model. Although she managed to balance her career and education, it was a struggle for her, She has also struggled a lot with her mental health because she has felt a lot of guilt around her career. She told Paris Lees in an interview for British Vogue’s December issue ​(Barr, 2019)​ “ “ I’ve sat in therapy and felt really guilty about it, to be honest, “ the  actor said “Why me? Somebody else would have enjoyed and wanted this aspect of it more than I did. And I struggled with it, I’ve wrestled a lot with the guilt around that.””  
 
 
 

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen  

The twins were born on 13th June 1986, they started their acting career at just 9 months old, when they got their first role on Full house.  

Growing up as twins in the industry was very difficult for the two girls, as a child actor, being identical twins is something that a lot of people look for, as young children can only be used for an hour at a time, a lot of people like twins because it means that they can work for longer on scenes. So this means that they can continue working for longer on the scenes they want to do because they don’t need to take breaks.  

Clearly, growing up in the limelight, was very difficult for the two girls, Since the two girls turned 18, they have stopped acting and try to live life the best they can avoiding the spotlight. As the girls started acting when they were just 9 months old, they never had the chance to grow up properly, from the day they started acting, they were always in the public eye. This can’t be easy for children.  

As stated by Caysie Ray, on November 21st 2022 , “In a 2010 interview, Mary-Kate Olsen explained she ‘doesn’t feel connected’ to photographs of herself from that era, and ‘would never wish my upbringing on anyone’.” So from this, we can clearly tell that the girls had a really hard childhood and this is why they have stopped acting.  

Due to her childhood in fame, ​(Ray, 2022)​ stated, “In truth, the star was suffering from anorexia, and had to be committed to a treatment facility after intervention from her therapist and father.”  So we can say that growing up in the limelight for these girls, really took it’s toll on them and this is the reason they don’t act anymore.  

Lindsay Lohan  

Date of birth 2 July 1986  

When started acting  1996 ( 3 years old)   

At the age of 3, Lindsay Lohan started her career, she started off doing modelling and at the age of ten she got her breakout role in “parent trap” (1998). Because she was exposed to the fame so early on, she had a lot of pressure on her to maintain success. Because of the industry Lindsay had to grow up fast, she didn’t get the chance to have a childhood like other children. For Lindsay, growing up in the in the industry had a big role in the mental health challenges she faced as she got older. Because of the fame and the press, she faced a lot of public scrutiny, from a young age, she was thrust into the spotlight, and the constant attention that she had from the media took its toll on her mental health. There was a lot of focus on her personal life, which also meant that it was hard for her to separate he personal life and her acting career which is going to take it’s toll on someone because you can’t just live your life you are always under the eye of other people and being judged for almost every single thing that you do. And as Lohan entered her teenage year, she experienced a lot of negative publicity which then took a big toll on her mental health because she was being judged for every little thing that she did and she didn’t really have an escape from that life, during her teenage years, she struggled wit substance abuse, and it was a long going issue for her, when she started struggling with this, it was also very widely reported in the media, which made it even more of a struggle for her. Rather than being able to get that help she needed in her own time, she had to face those struggled in the public eye, in January 2007, she checked herself into The Wonderland Centre in Los Angeles whilst shooting “I Know Who Killed Me” As stated by Alan Duke on CNN Entertainment she said  “ I was having really bad nightmares, and the movie was pretty traumatizing, so I stayed in a facility so I could get some sleep and talk about it with someone the next day, because it was overwhelming. But I would leave every day and just sleep there at night. I liked that. It was kind of like having my own live-in therapist, because I was having crazy nightmares and I was having AA meetings on set and stuff. It really helped.” ​(Allison, 2010)​ 

Sabrina Carpenter like many other child actors has faced many of the same issues growing up, such as the pressures of growing up in the industry, she experienced a lot of public scrutiny also, as she became well known for her role on Girl Meets World and also her successful music career, As many child actors, she would face a struggle of being type cast in a 2019 interview she stated “It was a refreshing thing for me to be able to put everything down for a second, literally take off my makeup and do something that I normally wouldn’t do, and that people wouldn’t expect from me, When Ani first saw me for the role, there was probably a little sense of, ‘Oh, I don’t think she’s physically right for this.” ​(Real, 2019)​  

But even though she faced the same struggles, also like many of the others, she is still extremely successful. For Sabrina, she chose to move more away from her acting and start to really pursue her singing, She started putting a lot of time and effort into her singing and has now become one of the most successful singers, so even though she faced many struggles growing up, she managed to overcome them and keep her life on track, although she managed to do this, she does still struggle because of the things she experienced in her childhood.    

So from all the research I have done, for me it is evident that although growing up in the industry can positively effect child actors, the biggest longer lasting effects are negative, a lot of the effects impact their mental health, and even if they don’t stop acting, they still continue to deal with all the negative impacts that it has had in their life. 

 

 

 

​​​Allison, S., 2010. Lindsay Lohan: A Life in the Spotlight Gone Wrong. [Online]  
Available at: https://blog.richmond.edu/psyc449/2010/10/06/lindsay-lohan-a-life-in-the-spotlight-gone-wrong/ 

​Barr, S., 2019. ‘I’ve sat in therapy and felt guilty about it’: Emma Watson struggled with guilt of not enjoying fame. [Online]  
Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/emma-watson-interview-british-vogue-therapy-harry-potter-self-partnered-a9187856.html 
[Accessed 24 March 2025]. 

​Duke, A., 2013. Lindsay Lohan talks drugs, booze, rehab, sex. [Online]  
Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/05/showbiz/lindsay-lohan-rehab/index.html 
[Accessed 24 march 2025]. 

​Ray, C., 2022. OPINION : The Tragic History of the Olsen Twins. [Online]  
Available at: https://www.hollr.site/post/opinion-the-tragic-history-of-the-olsen-twins 
[Accessed 24 March 2025]. 

​Real, E., 2019. Sabrina Carpenter Sheds Glam Image for New Film, Hopes to Empower Young Girls. [Online]  
Available at: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/sabrina-carpenter-short-history-long-road-interview-1209220/ 
[Accessed 24 march 2025]. 

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