The young faces audiences once welcomed into their homes grew up, changed course, and built lives that few viewers could have predicted.
One played a governor’s daughter, another became Archie Bunker’s young housemate, and a third helped create the dream woman in “Weird Science.” The group also includes two former teen idols and the eldest daughter from “Mrs. Doubtfire,” but their identities will only become clear as their surprising second acts unfold.
Some of these child stars were on our TVs for many years. In this photo, a beloved former child actress posed for a portrait for “Benson” on July 17, 1979. | Source: Getty Images
The Governor’s Daughter Who Chose a Very Different Office
Missy Gold was born on July 14, 1970, in Great Falls, Montana, and became best known as Katie Gatling, the governor’s daughter on “Benson.” The sitcom ran from 1979 to 1986, while her other credits included “Captains and the Kings” and “Trapper John, M.D.”
Although acting ran in the family, Missy never shared the same attachment to it as her older sister, “Growing Pains” star Tracey Gold. Missy described herself as the student and introvert of the family, and she always knew television would not be permanent.
Unlike her sister Tracey Gold, she never formed an attachment to acting, but she was incredibly recognizable with her long blonde hair and crooked smile. In this photo, Missy Gold posed for a portrait for “Benson” circa 1970s. | Source: Getty Images
When “Benson” ended, 16-year-old Missy was invited to test for a soap opera. She declined because the opportunity clashed with the future she already wanted.
“I thought, ‘No, this will interfere with what I want,'” she told Page Six. “I knew I wanted to go to college, and I knew I wanted to do something beyond that … so I said no to even testing, finished up school and applied to colleges.”
Missy attended Georgetown University and later earned a doctorate from the California School of Professional Psychology. The sitcom daughter grew up to become a practicing psychologist.
Her experience as a child performer did not simply disappear once she entered college. Missy began therapy there to understand what she had lived through, including the strange tension between taking on an adult job and still being treated like a child on set.
This woman who suddenly changed from the star on “Benson,” shortening her hair and developing her own dreams, went on to become a psychologist. In this photo, she posed for a portrait wearing a James Dean badge circa 1985. | Source: Getty Images
“Psychologically to have that experience of celebrity is complicated, and to do it as a child, you know, when your mind is forming,” she said.
Missy remained grateful to the “Benson” cast, whom she remembered as nurturing and supportive. She even recognized a curious connection between her two careers: As a young actor, she spent time in a dressing room where people visited and shared their thoughts; as a psychologist, she once again sits in a private room and listens.
She remembered her old “Benson” connections, but she was done with that world, especially after her sister’s experience with anorexia. In this photo, she posed for a portrait circa the 1990s. | Source: Getty Images
She also considered herself fortunate to have avoided some of the more damaging experiences associated with early fame. Tracey struggled with anorexia during “Growing Pains,” at one point reportedly reaching an estimated 80 pounds before eventually recovering and co-writing “Room to Grow: An Appetite for Life with Julie McCarron.”
Now married to Brian Herskowitz, with whom she has two children, Missy said she would not put her own kids into the entertainment business. Her childhood worked out for her, but she viewed the industry as too risky to make the same choice as a parent.
Although decades have passed, it’s like Missy Gold didn’t lose her innocent face at all, and many who loved “Benson” would easily recognize her on the street. | Source: YouTube/Hollywood Honey Bear
The Teen Heartthrob Who Had to Rebuild from Ten Dollars
Willie Aames entered show business almost by accident. A teacher’s aspiring-agent boyfriend saw him performing school skits and asked his mother to introduce him to an agent who represented Jodie Foster.
His father initially refused, but Willie pleaded for a chance and received a three-month trial. Within three weeks, he had secured a commercial, followed by “The Young Rebels,” according to a 2020 interview.
Willie appeared on “Gunsmoke,” “Adam-12,” and “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” before he turned 12. “Eight Is Enough” later made him a teen idol, while “Charles in Charge” cemented his place in sitcom history as Buddy Lembeck.
His credits also included the 1982 film “Zapped!” and, decades later, writing the 2022 TV movie “Love in the Limelight.” Away from the cameras, he played music for arenas filled with up to 15,000 screaming fans, even though the attention made him uncomfortable.
Becoming a teen idol with his blonde hair and expressive face was a given. In this photo, Willie Aames appeared in an episode of the ABC TV series “Swiss Family Robinson” in 1975. | Source: Getty Images
Faith became central to Willie’s life while he was attending Alcoholics Anonymous. He became a born-again Christian and an ordained minister, then portrayed the superhero Bibleman in videos and touring productions from 1995 until 2004.
In 2008, Willie and his then-wife Maylo McCaslin discussed their respective experiences with addiction, sexual abuse, illness, and recovery in the book “Grace Is Enough.” Willie told CBS News that people often saw the book less as a faith story than a love story about two damaged people who survived.
Despite his talent and handsome good looks that included freckles and a strong jaw even as a teen, he went the way of many child actors who struggled. In this photo, Willie Aames posed for a promotional photo for the ABC TV series “Swiss Family Robinson” in 1975. | Source: Getty Images
But his life soon entered a frightening period. After bankruptcy, the repossession of his car, and the end of his 22-year marriage, Willie moved into a rented room in Los Angeles.
On Thanksgiving in 2008, he relapsed after 20 years of sobriety and attempted suicide. In 2009, he told Fox News, “I stole a bottle of Jack Daniel’s from the guy I was renting the room from. I’d been sober for 20 years when I took that first drink… It got so bad.”
Maturing into his looks and earning other roles made his life complicated, and he eventually tried to end it. In this photo, Willie Aames appeared in “Eight Is Enough” for an episode that aired on April 12, 1977. | Source: Getty Images
Willie later held a garage sale at his home in Olathe, Kansas, selling artwork, antiques, a piano, mounted deer heads, and entertainment memorabilia. He eventually described the full scale of the collapse in brutally simple terms: “I went from eating at the White House to sleeping in the bushes.”
At one point, he slept outside near the Hollywood Bowl. Willie accepted responsibility for his decisions and rejected the idea that Hollywood, his parents, or anyone else had forced him onto that path, as he explained in a 2017 television interview.
With only $10 and no familiar identity to fall back on, he decided to begin again. Willie borrowed money to return to Kansas and sought a job installing satellite equipment, although the company initially hesitated to hire him because he was too recognizable.
He then joined a cruise ship crew, starting with duties that included overseeing ping-pong and shuffleboard, monitoring bathrooms, and cleaning the library. Within roughly six months, the former teen idol had worked his way up to cruise director.
His hair darkened over the years, and his path in life was unpredictable, as he even became a cruise director. In this photo, Willie Aames attended the premiere of “Paradise” at the Mann Chinese Theater on April 2, 1982, in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images
The job eventually took him around the globe, reportedly covering more than 127 countries. Willie joked to passengers, “Hi, I’m your favorite ex-teen idol,” while admitting to Oprah that he had never understood why magazines placed him alongside heartthrobs such as Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, and Scott Baio.
Life at sea also helped bring him together with Winnie Hung, a longtime pen pal he had never met in person. She had followed his career for 30 years, and the two periodically lost contact before she reached out through LinkedIn to ask whether he was all right.
Decades have gone by and time changes everyone, leaving him with gray hair and transformed looks that only a few would still recognize from their bedroom walls. In this photo, Willie Aames was seen on December 1, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
When one of Willie’s routes finally brought him to Vancouver, Canada, he arranged to meet her for dinner and a ship tour. He said his knees weakened when he saw her, and after their evening together, he asked Winnie to meet him at the airport, where he told her, “I’m going to marry you.”
They sailed together for a year and married about 10 months after their first meeting. In a 2025 Facebook post, Willie wrote, “12 years ago tomorrow… 2 long time pen pals met for the very first time. 10 months later they married. 10 years later to the day and exact hour of their first meeting… 1 became a Canadian… 🇨🇦 Proving that fairy tales do come true… 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰”