Times actors under the age of 18 were nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award
by renebird | created - 9 months ago | updated - 5 months ago | PublicThe Worst Actress nomination of child actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong for her role in the "Firestarter" remake was the subject of backlash, alongside further criticism that child actors in the past had their careers harmed upon being nominated at the Razzies; such as Gary Coleman for "On the Right Track" (1981), Macaulay Culkin for "Richie Rich" (1994), and Jake Lloyd for "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (1999). Fellow child actor Julian Hilliard said the Razzies "crossed a line" and that the nomination put Armstrong at the risk of "bullying or worse". Drew Barrymore, a former child actress and star of the original film, also criticized the decision, stating: "I don't like it... Because she is younger and it is bullying, and we do want to be cautious about how we speak to or about people because it encourages other people to join on that bandwagon, and I'm glad to see people didn't jump on the 'let's make fun of her' wave and instead said 'This isn't right.'"
In the wake of the controversy, Razzies co-founder John J. B. Wilson explained that among the group's voters, Armstrong had come in fifth place out of five available spots and that, despite some concern due to her age (twelve when the nomination was announced), members approved the nomination on the grounds that Armstrong was a professional actress with prior experience. Wilson suggested that the level of criticism the nomination received was "overblown", but also conceded, stating: "The intent was to be funny. In this particular instance, we seem to have misstepped very badly. I would admit that." Three days after the nomination was announced, Armstrong was removed from the ballot. Wilson issued a public apology and announced that the organization would no longer allow individuals under eighteen to be nominated in any category.
In another surprise, for the first time in Razzies history, the organization gave itself an award: Worst Actress. After enduring the controversy of initially nominating Armstrong, the organization put themselves in Armstrong's place on the ballot; it won by a landslide.
1. John Adames
Actor | Gloria
John Adames in an American actor born in 1972 and best remembered for cinema lovers as the young kid rescued by Gena Rowlands in John Cassavetes' film Gloria (1980). As Phil Dawn, Adames is protected by the title character who tries to save him from the mobsters who killed his parents and the duo ...
Age: 8 Film: Gloria (1980) Category: Worst Supporting Actor Year turning 18: 1990
2. Gary Coleman
Actor | Diff'rent Strokes
Without a doubt Gary Coleman was THE child TV star of the late 1970s and early 1980s. A refreshingly confident little tyke with sparkling dark, saucer-like eyes and an ingratiating, take-on-anyone burst of personality, the boy charmed the pants right off of TV viewers the minute he was glimpsed in ...
Age: 13 Film: On the Right Track (1981) Categories: Worst Actor, Worst New Star Year turning 18: 1986
3. Mara Hobel
Actress | Mommie Dearest
Mara Hobel was born on June 18, 1971 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Mommie Dearest (1981), The Hand (1981) and The Happening (2008). She has been married to Mark Richard Furrer since March 21, 1991. They have three children.
Age: 10 Film: Mommie Dearest (1981) Categories: Worst New Star, Worst Supporting Actress Year turning 18: 1989
4. Aileen Quinn
Actress | Annie
Aileen was introduced to show business by her mother, Helenann, who was doing theatre when Aileen was growing up. Aileen begged to audition too, and she began to get parts near her home of Yardley, Pennsylvania. Her first show being, ironically "Annie Get Your Gun."
Aileen's first movie part was one...
Age: 10 Film: Annie (1982) Categories: Worst New Star, Worst Supporting Actress Year turning 18: 1989
5. Olivia d'Abo
Actress | Conan the Destroyer
Olivia d'Abo is an English actress and singer from London. She debuted as a teenager in 1984, and has remained active over the following decades. Her most famous role was playing the free-spirited Karen Arnold in the historical television series "The Wonder Years" (1988 -1993). The series lasted ...
Age: 15 Films: Bolero and Conan the Destroyer (both 1984) Categories: Worst New Star, Worst Supporting Actress Year turning 18: 1987
6. David Mendenhall
Actor | God Bless America
David Mendenhall's career began at the age of four, when he appeared in a commercial for Mattel Toys. By the time he reached his teens his appearances included more than 150 commercials for both television and radio, plus roles on such television shows as "Our House" (two seasons), "Taxi" (two ...
Age: 15 Film: Over the Top (1987) Categories: Worst New Star, Worst Supporting Actor Year turning 18: 1989
7. Tami Erin
Actress | The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
Tami Erin is loved in 18 languages as "Pippi Longstocking", of the Columbia Pictures film. Ms. Erin was selected for the role of "Pippi" out of over 8,000 other young actresses worldwide for her dynamic talents including acting, singing, dancing, advanced gymnastics & tumbling & horseback riding (...
Age: 13 Film: The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988) Category: Worst New Star Year turning 18: 1992
8. Milla Jovovich
Actress | Le Cinquième Élément
Milla Jovovich is a Ukrainian-American actress, supermodel, fashion designer, singer and public figure, who was on the cover of more than a hundred magazines, and starred in such films as The Fifth Element (1997), Ultraviolet (2006), and the Resident Evil (2002) franchise.
Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich...
Age: 15
Film: Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)
Category: Worst New Star
Year turning 18: 1993
Note #1: This marked the only time Milla Jovovich received a Razzie nomination as an adolescent before turning 18 a year later.
Note #2: Jovovich was still 21 when The Fifth Element came out, resulting in her second Razzie nomination after she turned 22 in 1997.
9. Mason Gamble
Actor | Dennis the Menace
Mason began his film-acting career at age six when director Harold Ramis cast him in Groundhog Day (1993). Three months later, Mason won the title role in the hit comedy, Dennis the Menace (1993). He was chosen from twenty thousand other hopefuls in a nationwide casting call launched by John Hughes...
Age: 7 Film: Dennis the Menace (1993) Category: Worst New Star Year turning 18: 2004
10. Norman D. Golden II
Actor | Cop & ½
Norman D. Golden II AKA Enormus was born in Racine, Wisconsin, moved to California with his family at age 3, and grew up in its South Bay Area. Norman is best-known for his co-starring role as Devon Butler in "Cop and a Half" with Burt Reynolds. Norman has starred and co-starred in several movies; ...
Age: 8 Film: Cop and a Half (1993) Category: Worst New Star Year turning 18: 2002
11. Austin O'Brien
Actor | Last Action Hero
Austin O'Brien was born on May 11, 1981 in Eugene, Oregon, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Last Action Hero (1993), My Girl 2 (1994) and Promised Land (1996). He has been married to Kristin Wurgler since September 3, 2006. They have one child.
Age: 12 Film: Last Action Hero (1993) Category: Worst New Star Year turning 18: 1999
12. Macaulay Culkin
Actor | Home Alone
Macaulay Culkin, one of the most famous American child stars, was born on August 26, 1980 in New York City, New York, USA, as the third of seven children of his father Kit Culkin (a former stage and child actor and also Macaulay's former manager) and mother Patricia Brentrup. He is the brother of ...
Age: 13–14 Films: Getting Even with Dad, The Pagemaster, and Richie Rich (all 1994) Category: Worst Actor Year turning 18: 1998
13. Jake Lloyd
Actor | Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Jake Matthew Lloyd Broadbent is an American former actor. He is most famous for playing Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)." Directed by George Lucas, the movie became the second-highest-grossing film worldwide at the box office, behind only "Titanic (1997)."
Lloyd...
Age: 10 Film: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) Categories: Worst Screen Couple (shared with Natalie Portman), Worst Supporting Actor Year turning 18: 2007
14. Hilary Duff
Actress | A Cinderella Story
Hilary Erhard Duff was born on September 28, 1987 in Houston, Texas, to Susan Duff (née Cobb) and Robert Erhard Duff, a partner in convenience store chain. When Hilary was six, she had been traveling in the Cechetti Ballet with her sister Haylie Duff but decided she wanted to fulfill her dream of ...
Age: 16–17
Films: A Cinderella Story and Raise Your Voice (both 2004)
Category: Worst Actress
Year turning 18: 2005
Note #1: This marked the only time Hilary Duff received a Razzie nomination as an adolescent before turning 18 seven months later.
Note #2: Duff was still 17 before The Perfect Man came out, but turned 18 before Cheaper by the Dozen 2 came out, resulting in her second Worst Actress Razzie nomination.
15. Nathalia Ramos
Actress | Bratz
Nathalia Ramos was born in Madrid, Spain, to an Australian mother, Kate Cohen, and a Spanish father, Juan Carlos Ramos. Fluent in both English and Spanish, she lived in Madrid, Melbourne, and Miami before finally settling in LA at the age of 14. She played Hope Loblaw on the hit show Arrested ...
Age: 15 Film: Bratz (2007) Category: Worst Actress (shared with Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, and Skyler Shaye) Year turning 18: 2010
16. Miley Cyrus
Soundtrack | Hannah Montana
Miley Ray Cyrus was born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992 in Franklin, Tennessee and raised in Thompson's Station, Tennessee to Tish Cyrus & Billy Ray Cyrus. She has five siblings - two half-brothers, a half-sister, and a younger brother and sister. Her parents named her because they hoped ...
Age: 16
Film: Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)
Category: Worst Actress
Year turning 18: 2010
Note #1: This marked the only time Miley Cyrus received a Razzie nomination as an adolescent before turning 18 eight months later.
Note #2: Cyrus was still 17 when The Last Song came out, but turned 18 before she was nominated for her second Worst Actress Razzie.
17. Nick Jonas
Actor | Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Nick Jonas is best known as one of the Jonas Brothers, a band formed with his brothers Kevin and Joe. He has appeared in films such as Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) and Careful What You Wish For (2015). He has also appeared television series Last Man Standing (2011) and ...
Age: 16 Film: Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (2009) Category: Worst Actor (shared with his brothers Joe and Kevin), Worst Screen Couple (shared with his brothers Joe and Kevin) Year turning 18: 2010
18. Nicola Peltz Beckham
Actress | Lola
Nicola Peltz is emerging as a force to be reckoned with, on both the big and small screen. Her most prominent roles include the series Bates Motel (2013), and the films The Last Airbender (2010) and Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014).
Nicola was born in Westchester County, New York, to Claudia (...
Age: 15
Film: The Last Airbender (2010)
Category: Worst Supporting Actress
Year turning 18: 2013
Note #1: This marked the only time Nicola Peltz received a Razzie nomination as an adolescent before turning 18 two years later.
Note #2: Peltz turned 19 before Transformers: Age of Extinction came out, resulting in her second Worst Supporting Actress Razzie nomination when she turned 20 in 2015.
19. Mackenzie Foy
Actress | Interstellar
Mackenzie Christine Foy was born 10 November 2000. She began her career as a child model in 2004, working for Garnet Hill, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Guess Kids. She has also modelled in print ads for companies such as Rubbermaid, Jones Apparel Group, The Walt Disney Company, Mattel, Target Corporation...
Age: 12 Film: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) Category: Worst Screen Couple (shared with Taylor Lautner) Year turning 18: 2018
20. Jaden Smith
Actor | The Karate Kid
Jaden Smith is an actor, known for The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), The Karate Kid (2010) and After Earth (2013). In addition to being an actor he is also a dancer, songwriter and rapper who won an MTV award for his performance in The Pursuit of Happyness. He co-starred with his father Will Smith ...
Age: 14 Film: After Earth (2013) Categories: Worst Actor, Worst Screen Combo (shared with his father Will on planet nepotism) Year turning 18: 2016
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