11 Child Stars Who Sought Emancipation

Some just wanted to skirt child labor laws
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 2, 2013 7:09 AM CDT
11 Child Stars Who Sought Emancipation
Jaden Smith doesn't really want to be emancipated from his parents—but these 10 child stars did: Drew Barrymore petitioned for emancipation in 1991, when she was 15, in order to skirt child labor laws restricting the hours she could work.   (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

Turns out Jaden Smith doesn't really want to be emancipated from his parents—but these 10 child stars, rounded up by the Huffington Post, did:

  • Drew Barrymore petitioned for emancipation in 1991, when she was 15, in order to skirt child labor laws that were restricting the hours she could work.
  • Alicia Silverstone did the same thing, at the same age, so she could film The Crush in 1993.

  • Michelle Williams was also emancipated at age 15, but she later said she was "stupid" to live on her own: "I didn't know what I was taking on."
  • Macaulay Culkin's quest for emancipation was a bit more contentious: It was preceded by a custody battle and a financial fight.
  • Similarly, financial reasons were behind Corey Feldman's emancipation at age 15—he discovered he only had $40,000 left of $1 million he'd earned.
  • Emancipation runs in this family: Courtney Love was emancipated as a teen, and then her daughter Frances Bean Cobain won emancipation in 2010.
Click for the complete list. (More Drew Barrymore stories.)

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