20 teen idols you likely don't think much about these days

Molly Ringwald was the it girl in the ‘80s. She had an enviable role in multiple hit movies, most notably The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Pretty in Pink. The star never stopped acting and has had roles in projects like The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Riverdale, but the height of her fame is behind her. 

Judd Nelson also lived as a teen idol in the ‘80s thanks to his work in The Breakfast Club, as well as St. Elmo’s Fire and The Transformers: The Movie. Nelson has never stopped acting, but like his Breakfast Club co-star Molly Ringwald, his star status was never as high as it was when he was a teen. 

Emilio Estevez was part of that St. Elmo’s Fire and The Breakfast Club group affectionately known as "The Brat Pack" in the ‘80s. He also starred in The Mighty Ducks series, but after that, Estevez’s acting career continued in a much less famous fashion. 

Starring in a successful sitcom like Growing Pains will turn you into a teen idol. That’s what happened to Kirk Cameron in the ‘80s. He was everywhere. Most of Cameron’s acting work since Growing Pains has been in the Christian movie space. 

Christian Slater was also in nearly every film and television project in the ‘80s. If you’ve been paying close attention, you’ve likely noticed that he hasn’t stopped working — far from it. But he isn’t quite as famous as he once was. 

Jonathan Taylor Thomas was everywhere in the ‘90s. The young star was best known for his work on Home Improvement and for voicing young Simba in The Lion King. Thomas hasn’t acted in film or television since 2015, when he was in a few episodes of Last Man Standing. 

Devon Sawa found his way into the hearts of many as the heartthrob from Casper. Sawa starred in a variety of other spooky movies of the era, including Idle Hands and Final Destination. Although he hasn’t kept the same level of fame he had in the mid-'90s, Sawa has been steadily acting. 

Tia and Tamera Mowry became teen idols when they starred in the ‘90s sitcom Sister, Sister as twins who were separated at birth. The two starred in some Disney films in the ‘00s, including Twitches, in which they played twins who were separated at birth, but most of their work lately has been for Hallmark. 

Melissa Joan Hart was another female teen idol in the ‘90s and early ‘00s from her sitcom work. Hart played the eponymous characters in Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Like the Mowry sisters, Hart still acts, but most of her work is done for made-for-TV movies. 

Jaleel White started his teen idol-dom by playing the quintessential nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel, on Family Matters. By the end of the series, he was a bona fide babe in the eyes of many. 

From movies like Freaky Friday and A Cinderella Story to his starring role in One Tree Hill, it was hard to escape Chad Michael Murray in the ‘00s. But after leaving One Tree Hill, Murray didn’t get the same iconic roles. But he is set to reprise his role in the Freaky Friday sequel, so perhaps his star will shine bright once again. 

In the late '90s and early '00s, Freddie Prinze Jr. was known for multiple reasons: his work in the rom-com She’s All That, franchises like I Know What You Did Last Summer and the live-action Scooby-Doo, and his relationship with Sarah Michelle Gellar. But since that era, his most successful work has been in voice acting. 

Speaking of Sarah Michelle Gellar, she was a teen idol during that time, too. After Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended, Gellar kept acting, but like her husband, she became a little less famous. 

Mischa Barton catapulted to fame when she starred as Marissa Cooper in The O.C. After (spoiler alert) she was killed off, Barton’s acting career became mostly defined by made-for-TV movies and obscure horror films. 

Erik von Detten was the heartthrob who appeared in multiple movies and TV series in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. But what fans were probably less aware of at the time was that he was also a very successful voice actor, giving life to animated characters like Sid from Toy Story and Flynt from Tarzan. After leaving the industry in 2010, von Detten returned in 2024. 

If you’ve seen Frankie Muniz acting on TV lately, it was likely either a rerun of Malcolm in the Middle or a showing of Big Fat Liar or Agent Cody Banks. Muniz still acts, but his projects haven’t been as successful. The former teen idol has made a career as a race car driver, though. 

Before there was JoJo Siwa, the only teen singer with that name was the mononymous JoJo, the soulful R&B singer responsible for hits like “Leave (Get Out)” and “Too Little Too Late.” JoJo has never stopped making music, but she hasn’t had any major hits since the mid-'00s. She has taken her talents to Broadway, where she starred as Satine in a run of Moulin Rouge!  

Corbin Bleu became famous in the ‘00s when he starred in one of the most popular Disney Channel original movies of all time, High School Musical. Bleu reprised his role for the second and third films, but he’s been most prolific in stage acting since. 

Thanks to High School Musical, Ashley Tisdale also had major star status in the ‘00s. Her success was compounded by her work on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Phineas and Ferb. Tisdale is still in the industry, but much of her work is in voice acting. 

Another sister duo who found success at Disney, Aly and AJ Michalka acted and sang. They starred in projects together and separately and had kids everywhere obsessed with their work. Since the ‘00s, the two have still been making music and acting.