20 celebrities who surprisingly began their careers as teens

Jennifer Lawrence got to work at a very young age. With dreams of becoming an actress, The Hunger Games star took what jobs she could, many of which were modeling gigs, until she was able to break into the entertainment industry. 

Emma Stone began acting as a teenager, too. The Arizona native wanted to be an actress so badly that she asked her parents if she could move to L.A. to pursue her career. They agreed, and the rest is history. 

Natalie Portman was a driven young woman, too. She started her film career as an adolescent, finding a role in Léon: The Professional at age 12. The stellar actress clearly knew what she was doing, and just over a decade later, she brought home her first Oscar. 

Everyone knows Leonardo DiCaprio was young when he began his film career, but he was even younger than many people realize. DiCaprio was in his early 20s when he filmed Titanic, but his career started in earnest about five years prior (save the one role he had as a toddler). 

Kurt Russell was born in 1951 and had his first professional credit by the time 1962 rolled around. The man has spent the vast majority of his life on film and television sets, and the world thanks him for his service. 

Kristen Stewart might have an advantage as her parents worked in the industry, but nevertheless, she got her start as a kid. Technically, Stewart had worked as a child with uncredited roles in some films (including Disney’s The Thirteenth Year), but her first credited work came when she was 11. 

Heath Ledger was in his early 20s when 10 Things I Hate About You came out, but he had been working steadily for about seven years prior. The actor was clearly very talented, and he continued working in Hollywood for the rest of his life. 

Zendaya is so well-known for her work in Euphoria, Dune, and Spider-Man that many don’t realize she had a fruitful career on the Disney Channel for several years. The actress starred in Shake It Up and K.C. Undercover. 

Johnny Depp’s work has taken him to many creative places, and he’s had multiple career-defining roles. His parts in Pirates of the Caribbean, Sweeney Todd, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and more make it easy to forget that his career started when he was a teenager on 21 Jump Street. 

Robert Pattinson found fame in his early 20s when he played Edward Cullen in the Twilight series, and now he’s known for playing Batman, too. But real fans of R-Pat know that his career started when he was a teenager, his most notable role from that time being Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

Long before she was racking up Oscar nominations every chance she could get, Michelle Williams was a teenage actress. Her first credited role — a couple of episodes of Baywatch —  came when she was just entering her teen years. She later became an icon when she found a home on Dawson’s Creek. 

Before Jacob Elordi found fame as one of the many adults playing a teenager on Euphoria, the actor was a working teenager. His most notable role from that time was in The Kissing Booth, but he had multiple credited roles as a teen. 

Neil Patrick Harris is a bona fide television icon thanks to his work on How I Met Your Mother, but he had been working for decades before that role came along. He was the eponymous doctor in Doogie Howser, M.D.

Olivia Wilde was technically an adult when she began her acting career, but she was still a teenager. Nearly in her 20s, Wilde found roles on series like Skin and The O.C. before landing her breakout role as Thirteen in House. 

These days, Katherine Heigl’s career is defined by rom-coms like 27 Dresses and the sour ending to her time on Grey’s Anatomy, but before that, she was a teen with a thriving career. The actress had multiple gigs in the ‘90s, including the series Roswell. 

Jessica Alba might be best known now for her work as an entrepreneur, but long before she co-founded The Honest Company, she was a teenager starting her acting career. The star’s first credit is in the cult classic film Camp Nowhere. 

America Ferrera delivered the most famous monologue in all of cinema in 2023, and before that, she starred in comedies like Superstore and Ugly Betty. But before those gigs, Ferrera was a teenager starting her acting career, finding work in films like Disney’s Gotta Kick It Up. 

Jennifer Connelly got her start with roles in gigs like Tales of the Unexpected and Once Upon a Time in America before booking Labyrinth alongside David Bowie. 

Matthew Broderick was in his 20s when he played one of the most famous teenagers in all of cinema history, but a few years before that, when he was an actual teenager, Broderick was just starting his career. Some of his first gigs include an episode of Lou Grant and the film Max Dugan Returns. 

Jennifer Aniston was nearly in her 20s when her career started, but not quite. Before Friends, the actress had parts in Mac and Me and Molloy.