Former teen star Aaron Carter passed away over the weekend at the age of 34. He is said to have suffered from mental health problems and drug addiction. Former child stars keep making headlines because of private troubles.
Aaron Carter in 2015 when he was in Berlin for a concert.
Early fame, personal life in the gossip columns and working like a grown-up: the life of a child star is certainly no picnic and involves pressure from outside. Growing up in front of the public also means having to keep reinventing yourself, having to assert yourself again and again.
Aaron Carter, the former teen star and brother of Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter, was found dead on Saturday. He was only 34 years old. Apparently he had struggled with mental illness for years.
On stage at the age of seven
Aaron Carter rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At that time his brother was already one of the most famous pop stars in the world. According to the New York Times, Aaron Carter began his career at the tender age of seven. And he was only 9 years old when he released his first album. He became known for his hits “I want Candy” and “Crush On You”. When he was 12, his album Aaron’s Party (Come Get It) was released. This has sold three million copies. As an opening act, he opened concerts for the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, among others.
A thoroughbred entertainer as early as 1999: Aaron Carter at the “Bravo Super Show” in Cologne.
But the success didn’t last. The later years were marked by personal setbacks. In 2012, his sister, Leslie Carter, died of a drug overdose. Aaron Carter later made allegations of abuse against her. In 2018, Aaron Carter told People Magazine that he was being treated at a clinic for mental health issues.
He had fallen out with his family. In 2019, his twin sister Angel and brother Nick filed for a restraining order against him for allegedly making threats against the family. However, Aaron Carter denied these allegations. At the same time he had canceled a concert for health reasons. According to his own statements, he suffered from schizophrenia, anxiety attacks, depression and a multiple personality disorder.
Aaron Carter also spoke publicly about his drug addiction. According to media reports, he took several medications about three years ago because of his mental problems. His brother wrote on Instagram after his death: “Addiction and mental illness are the real villains here.”
In a recent interview, Aaron Carter vowed that he is trying to regain custody of his son. Due to domestic violence, among other things, his former fiancée had custody of his son.
Child stars who struggled
Carter is not alone. Other former child stars also struggled with setbacks. One of the best-known examples is actor Macaulay Culkin, the star of the Christmas films Home Alone and Home Alone. He became world famous at the age of ten, but never managed to build on this success.
The American actor Macaulay Culkin became world famous at the age of ten.
Fate and family disputes shaped the years after the success. His parents apparently fought a battle divorce. In 2008, his sister died in a traffic accident when he was only 29, and his half-sister died of a drug overdose. According to media reports, he also struggled with an addiction, and in this context he also came into conflict with the law. It’s been a little quiet around him lately. In 2021 he became a father.
Some of the affected stars later spoke publicly about the enormous pressure that weighed on them at a young age. The American actress Tia Mowry, who grew up on the set of the American sitcom “Sister, Sister”, recalled in an interview that one is a child who works. You are aware that people would make money with you. You also have to go to school and do without a lot.
Influence of the behavior of the parents
Britney Spears, who made her first appearances as a girl in the “Mickey Mouse Club”, also found the private challenges and public attention as a pop star too much. In 2007, for example, she made headlines when she shaved her head in front of the paparazzi’s cameras. At that time she had to cope with the separation of her parents, and two of her marriages had already broken up. She had also gone through rehab.
A life in the public eye: Britney Spears has had its ups and downs.
After thirteen years, Spears was able to free herself from her father’s guardianship in 2021. She has since remarried. In the spring, the couple made a pregnancy public. A little later, Spears lost the baby.
Lindsay Lohan, actress and pop star and known from the film “A Twin Rarely Comes Alone”, got into trouble with the law several times in her twenties. In 2007, the actress was sentenced to prison for, among other things, drunk driving. She also faced charges of cocaine possession. Lohan also had to go into rehab. She relapsed several times and violated her probation terms.
Lindsay Lohan made headlines for drunk driving.
The New York Times describes Lohan’s family history as “dysfunctional”. When she was a little girl, her father was in prison for a while. Also in 2006 he had to serve a sentence for attempted assault and drunk driving. Lohan processed her relationship with her father in a few songs.
It’s not the same for everyone
Some have bounced back after major and minor setbacks, including Hollywood star Drew Barrymore. «E. T » was her first film and her big breakthrough, she was only seven years old.
Even her young years were overshadowed by difficulties in the family. Her father was an alcoholic and left Barrymore’s mother when she was nine years old. As a teenager, she became addicted to cocaine and went into rehab.
Drew Barrymore has her own talk show.
Still, Barrymore got the hang of it. Today she is a successful presenter, director, actress, producer and author.
For some, their careers even began in infancy. The twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who played the youngest child in the sitcom “Full House”, later founded the fashion label The Row and are in demand as fashion designers today. They are former young stars who have been spared major setbacks. Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus also rose to fame as children.
