Riches to rags! Former child actors who once battled drug addiction, homelessness, and more

Several former child actors have publicly shared their experiences of dealing with many challenges in life, be it drug addiction, homelessness, and more. The pressure of early fame, public scrutiny, and lack of proper guidance often contribute to these struggles. With the recent case of Tylor Chase, who has played the role of Martin Qwerly on Nickelodeon's show, here is the list of former child actors who have battled all of these.

A video had recently gone viral in which Tylor Chase was spotted living on the streets of California. His condition has sparked concern among netizens, and they are puzzled about how he ended up on the streets. According to IMDb, he first bagged the acting job for the role of Martin on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. It aired for three seasons: 2004-2007. He reportedly had entered the entertainment industry through a talent discovery platform, Proscout.

Macaulay Culkin gained global fame after playing the iconic role of Kevin McCallister in the Christmas comedy Home Alone and reprised the role in two more installments. He established his acting career with other films, including The Good Son, Getting Even With Dad, Richie Rich, and more. On September 17, 2004, Culkin was arrested in Oklahoma City for the possession of marijuana, alprazolam, and clonazepam, for which he was briefly jailed and then released on $4,000 bail. After being arraigned in court for misdemeanor drug offenses, he pleaded not guilty at the trial (October 15, 2004, to June 9, 2005), but later reversed the plea to guilty. He received three one-year suspended prison sentences and was ordered to pay $540 in fees.

Amanda Bynes began her career as a child actor and received recognition for her roles on the comedy series All That and The Amanda Show, both for Nickelodeon. In her mid-teens, she starred in the sitcoms and films including What I Like About You, Big Fat Liar, What a Girl Wants, Hairspray, She's the Man, and Living Proof, among others. In 2012, Bynes was charged with driving under the influence in West Hollywood. She accepted a plea bargain of three years probation in exchange for the dismissal of the DUI charge. In May 2013, she was charged with recklass endangerment and marijuana possession after she was found smoking in the lobby of her reckless endangerment and marjiuana posession. In July 2013, Ventura County, California, sheriff's deputies detained her after she allegedly started a small fire in the driveway of a stranger in Thousand Oaks. She was hospitalized under a 72-hour mental-health evaluation hold.

At the age of three, Lindsay Lohan was signed to Ford Models. However, the dual role of identical twins in the Walt Disney comedy The Parent Trap catapulted her to fame. Following this, she later played several roles, including in Freaky Friday, Get a Clue, Mean Girls and more. She faced several legal problems and arrests which went on till 2013. In 2015, she had been probation-free for over eight years.

Barrymore rose to prominence as a child star in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and established herself as a leading Hollywood actress with roles in Firestarter, Poison Ivy, Boys on the Side, Scream, Ever After, Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, and more. Reportedly, the actress too fell into trouble when smoking marijuana at the age of twelve, cocaine at thirteen, and in drug rehab shortly after.

Actress Melanie Griffith entered into acting at the age of 17 opposite Gene Hackman in Arthur Penn's film Night Moves. She later rose to prominence as an actor in films such as Body Double, Working Girl, Buffalo Girls, Crazy in Alabama, Lolita, and Another Day in Paradise, among others. Reportedly, she had a long, public battle with alcohol and drug addiction, including cocaine, hash, opium and prescription painkillers. Her struggles began early in life, and she entered rehabilitation facilities multiple times.

Todd Bridges is the son of Betty Alice Pryor, an actress, director, and manager, and James Bridges Sr, a talent agent. He portrayed Willis Jackson on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and had a recurring role as Monk on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. Bridges worked as a commentator on the television series World's Dumbest from 2008 to 2013. Reportedly, in his twenties, Bridges battled a crack cocaine and methamphetamine addiction. He bought and sold drugs to support his addiction. Bridges was arrested for felony assault and cocaine possession. In 1989, Bridges was arrested and tried for the attempted murder of Kenneth "Tex" Clay, a Los Angeles-area drug dealer who prosecutors argued had been shot by Bridges. Bridges pleaded not guilty. As per reports, Bridges was arrested on December 29, 1992, on suspicion of transporting narcotics for sale and possession of a loaded firearm after Burbank, California, police officers discovered methamphetamines and a loaded gun in his car. He was released on $10,000 bail.

Britney Spears began her professional career in 1992 as a cast member for the Ruthless! musical and the final two seasons of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club television series before signing with Jive Records in 1997. The first album's lead-off single, "...Baby One More Time", reached number one in the US and became one of the best-selling singles in history. Facing lifelong public scrutiny and struggles with mental illness, Spears was placed under a controversial conservatorship in 2008, during which she recorded Circus that year, followed by Femme Fatale (2011) for Jive, and then Britney Jean (2013) and Glory (2016) for RCA Records.