Growing up in the spotlight comes with unique challenges that most people never face. For some young entertainers, the pressures of fame, combined with difficult family dynamics, lead them to take the extraordinary step of legally separating from their parents before reaching adulthood. These decisions, whether driven by abuse, financial mismanagement, or simply the need for independence, reveal the darker side of child stardom.
Breaking Free from Troubled Childhoods
Drew Barrymore’s path to emancipation began with her mother taking her to Studio 54 as a young child instead of school. By age seven, she was already a Hollywood star following her role in E.T., but her social life quickly spiraled out of control. In her memoir Wildflower, she revealed that she spent time in a psychiatric facility starting at age 13, and staff there recommended she seek independence from her mother.
At 14, Barrymore stood before a judge to request emancipation. Her mother attended the hearing and supported the decision, recognizing that too much damage had been done to their relationship. The newly independent teenager faced immediate challenges—she was blacklisted in Hollywood and had to work at coffee shops while learning to manage an apartment on her own.
Macaulay Culkin’s situation stemmed from his parents’ custody battle when he was around 16 years old. The Home Alone star had become one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, but his father Kit was demanding and controlling, ignoring Macaulay’s requests for time off and continuing to book him for projects. When his parents divorced, Macaulay discovered he was worth approximately $50 million and decided to take control of his own finances. Though he technically removed his parents from his trust fund rather than pursuing full legal emancipation, the move allowed him to step away from the demands of his father and eventually leave the industry.
Corey Feldman, known for The Goonies and Stand By Me, filed for emancipation at 15 with only $40,000 remaining after years of work, accusing his parents of abuse and financial mismanagement.
Escaping Abuse and Control
Ariel Winter spent three years in a custody battle after being removed from her mother’s home due to allegations of emotional abuse. At 17, she finally achieved emancipation, calling it “really lucky” and had been living with her older sister during the legal proceedings.
Melissa Francis, who appeared on Little House on the Prairie, sought emancipation at 15 to escape what she described in her memoir as a controlling and abusive mother who dominated her childhood acting career.
Working Around Labor Laws
Not every emancipation story involves family trauma. Several young actors pursued legal independence simply to advance their careers without the constraints of child labor regulations.
Alicia Silverstone’s emancipation at 15 was purely practical. Producers of The Crush advised her to become emancipated so she could work extended hours legally. She had to tell a judge she was living independently and supporting herself, though she remained close with her supportive parents throughout the process.
Michelle Williams followed a similar path at 15, seeking emancipation with her parents’ blessing to work adult hours in her budding acting career. The decision paid off when she landed her role on Dawson’s Creek shortly afterward.
Juliette Lewis also obtained emancipation at 14 with parental support specifically to bypass child labor restrictions during her early film work in Cape Fear.
Laura Dern, daughter of actors Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern, moved out of home and sought emancipation at 16 to work longer hours on Blue Velvet and other projects.
Eliza Dushku was emancipated at 17 specifically to work night shoots for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She later revealed that the judge who approved her emancipation was a fan of the show.
Seeking Control and Independence
Some young stars simply craved autonomy over their own lives and careers. Jena Malone was living alone at 14 and officially emancipated at 15 after accusing her mother of mismanaging her earnings from films like Stepmom and Donnie Darko.
Jaime Pressly described herself as a “difficult” teenager desperate for independence. When she scored a modeling contract in Japan at age 15, she got herself emancipated to pursue it.
Aaron Carter, who passed away in 2022, fired his mother for mishandling his finances and sought legal emancipation as a teenager, though he later dropped the petition before it was finalized.
When Parents Become the Problem
Several established stars eventually had to fire their parents from management roles, even without formal emancipation.
Janet Jackson dismissed her allegedly controlling and abusive father Joe Jackson as her manager before releasing her 1986 album Control, making a statement about her independence through both her business decisions and her music.
Beyoncé worked with her father Mathew Knowles as her manager for 14 years before letting him go in 2011 following allegations that he had stolen money from her.
Usher’s relationship with his mother as manager proved complicated—he fired her in 2007 to separate business from personal life, rehired her the following year, then replaced her with his then-girlfriend in 2009.
Brooke Shields ended her mother’s tenure as her manager in 1999 after years of what she described in her book There Was A Little Girl as a controlling stage mother relationship. She detailed the fraught dynamic in her memoir, explaining how her mother’s decisions often prioritized career over her wellbeing.
Selena Gomez made a similar move at 21, firing her mother and stepfather because she wanted to pursue a different direction for her career after they had managed her throughout her Disney Channel years.
Scarlett Johansson was managed by her mother for 17 years until she was in her mid-twenties. She eventually decided to remove the professional aspect from their relationship because she needed to “cut the cord” and establish independence.
The Lasting Impact
These stories highlight the unique vulnerabilities young performers face when family relationships become entangled with business interests and public scrutiny. While some emancipations were purely logistical moves to facilitate longer working hours, others represented desperate escapes from abuse, exploitation, or suffocating control.
For stars like Drew Barrymore and Macaulay Culkin, achieving independence proved to be a turning point. Barrymore has been open about how her difficult childhood shaped her approach to parenting her own daughters, determined to provide them with the boundaries and protection she never had. Culkin has similarly reflected on his complicated relationship with fame and family, working to build something healthier with his own children.
The pattern of child star emancipations serves as a sobering reminder that behind the glamour and success often lie families struggling with the immense pressures that come with having a breadwinning child in Hollywood. Whether through legal emancipation or simply firing their parents from management roles, these young performers ultimately had to prioritize their own wellbeing and autonomy—sometimes at great personal cost.
