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Like all of us, child stars eventually grow up. The lucky ones are able to maintain successful careers in the spotlight and some transition from cuties to heartthrobs as they age. To celebrate former child star Freddie Highmore’s 30th birthday on Feb. 14, 2022, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at some of the child stars who grew up to be total hotties. Let’s start with the birthday boy… Freddie — seen here in the 2006 movie “Arthur and the Minimoys” — got his start as an actor when he was just 7. He’s worked steadily for more than 20 years and grew up to be a hottie right before our eyes…
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Freddie Highmore shed the innocent image he’d crafted appearing in movies like “Finding Neverland” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” with a five-season run as Norman Bates on TV’s “Bates Motel.” The transition paid off, as he nailed another starring role in 2017 on “The Good Doctor.” He’s parlayed this small screen success back to the big screen with 2021’s “The Vault.” Freddie is quite private but revealed in late 2021 that he quietly got married.
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Will Poulter has been acting since he was 14. He rose to prominence in the 2013 movie “We’re the Millers” in which he starred alongside Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston pretending to be their awkward, dorky son.
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Will Poulter has gone from awkward teen to hunky star with recent roles in “Dopesick” and “The Underground Railroad.” He’ll next star in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
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Before Drake was Drake, he was Aubrey Drake Graham, an actor who played Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian teen drama “Degrassi: The Next Generation” between 2001 and 2008.
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Drake transitioned from teen star to successful rapper who’s won four Grammys and a Billboard Artist of the Decade award for the 2010s. Drake’s dated celebrities like Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez and has a son, Adonis, with former model Sophie Brussaux.
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Matthew Lewis, seen here in 2005’s “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” played bumbling Hogwarts student Neville Longbottom in all eight of the Harry Potter films from 2001 to 2011.
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Matthew Lewis shed Neville Longbottom’s awkwardness and became a total babe when he grew up! The British actor, who got his start at 7, has been juggling acting in projects like the film “Me Before You” and the TV show “All Creatures Great and Small” with married life. Matthew tied the knot with Angela Jones in 2018. They met a few years earlier at a Harry Potter celebration he attended at Universal Studios Orlando where she was a VIP manager.
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Taylor Lautner has been acting since he was a kid, but at 15, he scored the role of a lifetime when he was cast as Jacob Black in the “Twilight” movies.
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Taylor Lautner — who got engaged to registered nurse Taylor Dome in 2021 — has focused on television in recent years. He’s notably enjoyed roles on “Scream Queens” and BBC Three’s “Cuckoo,” a comedy co-starring Andy Samberg.
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Nicholas Hoult was only 12 when he won over audiences with his portrayal of Marcus Brewer in 2002’s “About a Boy.”
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Nicholas Hoult transformed from on-screen cutie to sexy leading man. The British actor has won audiences over with his work in projects like the “X-Men” franchise, “Tolkien,” “The Favourite” and Hulu’s “The Great.” Following a long on-off romance with actress Jennifer Lawrence, he welcomed a son with model Bryana Holly in 2018.
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Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse first won over audiences in the 1999 film “Big Daddy.” The two went on to achieve more childhood success with their own Disney show, “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” on which they starred between 2005 and 2008.
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Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse have forged their own paths as adults. Dylan continues to act and owns a meadery in Brooklyn. He’s been dating model Barbara Palvin since 2018. Cole stars as Jughead Jones on the television hit “Riverdale” and, following a serious romance with co-star Lili Reinhart, was romantically linked to model Ari Fournier in 2021.
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Josh Peck, seen here in 2004, began his career as a Nickelodeon kid, appearing on “The Amanda Show” between 2000 and 2002 and as title character Josh Nichols on “Drake & Josh” between 2004 and 2007.
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Josh Peck is all grown up! He’s been focusing on a social media and podcast career and in 2022 enjoyed a guest-starring arc opposite Hilary Duff on “How I Met Your Father.” He’s been married to Paige O’Brien since 2017. They share a son.
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Jonathan Lipnicki, seen here in 1998, was the quintessential cute kid when audiences met him in the 1996 movie “Jerry Maguire.”
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Jonathan Lipnicki’s childhood films — including the “Stuart Little” movies — brought lots of commercial success. As an adult, the actor — who’s now in his 30s — has focused on Brazilian jiujitsu training (he’s a blackbelt) and working in independent films with a few TV appearances as himself on reality shows.
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Jerry O’Connell (far right, with Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman) nabbed his first major acting job at 11 with the 1986 movie “Stand By Me.”
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Jerry O’Connell’s transformation from kid actor to Hollywood heartthrob was sealed when he appeared in movies like “Jerry Maguire” and “Scream 2” and TV shows like “Crossing Jordan” — and when he married model Rebecca Romijn, with whom he has twin daughters. The hunk has stayed busy with hosting gigs and voice work since and in 2021 became the first ever male co-host on “The Talk.”
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Justin Timberlake got his start on “The All-New Mickey Mouse Club,” on which he starred from 1993 to 1994. He’s seen here in a promotional photo for the Disney show.
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Justin Timberlake had some awkward years but has flourished in the limelight as he went from singing and dancing in the boy band *NSYNC to singing and dancing as a wildly successful solo artist with 10 Grammys to his name. He’s been married to actress Jessica Biel, with whom he shares sones Silas and Phineas, since 2012.
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Nick Jonas, seen here in 2008, got his start on Broadway at 7. He followed his work on the stage with a career recording with his older siblings as a member of the Jonas Brothers. Things really took off after he becoming a Disney darling in the made-for-TV movie “Camp Rock.”
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Nick Jonas went from being the baby brother in the Jonas Brothers to the hunkiest JoBro. Nick has continued to make music as a solo artist and since reuniting with his brothers to perform and release new tunes in recent years. NIck, who’s also continued to act here and there, married former Miss World-turned-actress Priyanka Chopra — who’s a decade his senior — in 2018. The two welcomed their first child, a daughter, via surrogate in January 2022.
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At 13, Justin Bieber — seen here in 2009 — began his singing career, quickly going from sharing videos on YouTube to working with Usher.
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Justin Bieber has been a powerhouse pop star since the release of his “My World” EP in 2009. In the years since, he’s won two Grammys and recorded six albums. He married model Hailey Baldwin in 2018.
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Before Leonardo DiCaprio became the award-winning actor he is today, he was an early ’90s sitcom star who appeared on “Parenthood” (pictured) and “Growing Pains.”
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Leonardo DiCaprio transitioned from child actor to leading man when he starred in “Romeo + Juliet” and “Titanic” after first delivering some incredible performances in less mainstream projects like “This Boy’s Life,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” and “The Basketball Diaries.”Since then he has appeared in numerous award-winning films, finally taking home an Oscar in 2016 for his performance in “The Revenant.” Leo’s long had a reputation for dating models and the occasional actress and counts Gisele Bundchen, Bar Refaeli and Blake Lively among his many exes. He’s been dating actress-model Camila Morrone since 2017.
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt got his start in the ’90s with projects like “3rd Rock from the Sun” (pictured), “Angels in the Outfield” and “10 Things I Hate About You.”
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt has stayed busy, acting in films like “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Snowden” in recent years. In 2022, he’ll star on the buzzy series “Super Pumped,” which chronicles the rise and fall of Uber’s CEO. He’s been married to Tasha McCauley, the CEO and founder of technology company Fellow Robots, since 2014. The couple shares two sons.
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Neil Patrick Harris, seen here in 1988, rocketed to fame in the late ’80s in projects like “Doogie Howser, M.D.” in which he played the titular medical prodigy.
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Neil Patrick Harris moved on from his legacy as Doogie Howser with other great TV roles like Barney Stinson on “How I Met Your Mother” and Count Olaf on “A Series of Unfortunate Events” as well as buzzy parts in movies like “Gone Girl.” He won a Tony Awards for his performance in the title role in Broadway’s “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and became a go-to event host: Neil’s hosted the Primetime Emmys and the Tonys multiple times as well as the Oscars and won awards for his work. He’s been married to David Burtka, with whom he shares twins, since 2014.
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Daniel Radcliffe — seen here in 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” — saw his fame explode after he was cast as the titular wizard, a role he played from 2001 to 2011 in eight films.
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Daniel Radcliffe worked to shed his Harry Potter persona after the eighth movie in the franchise, focusing primarily on performing on Broadway and London’s West End. Since then, he’s focused on making interesting and fun choices with indie projects like “Swiss Army Man” and TV shows like “Miracle Workers.” “I’ve actually found it’s an incredibly liberating thing, to do the biggest thing you’re ever gonna do really f****** early. The financial success thing, that’s done. So just do things that make you happy,” he told Empire. He’ll next play a villain opposite Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and Brad Pitt in the action-adventure film “The Lost City” in 2022 and after that will portray Weird Al Yankovic in “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” Daniel’s been in a relationship with actress Erin Darke since 2012.
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