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Child stars are always so adorable. However, instead of having a normal childhood, they are working throughout most of their younger years. As entertaining as they are to us, sometimes this takes a toll on their life. It can be sad to hear about child stars who have had a rough time in the public eye. Now, there are many laws to protect young child actors. Back in the day, there weren't as many laws to protect them. Some kids on this list had troubles because they were a child star, while others simply had some rough times in life. Here are some famous child stars of the past that had tragic stories. 1. Shirley Temple Even the cutest optimist Shirley Temple had issues. Her famous curly hair actually involved a ton of upkeep and much of it was painful. She had to endure a nightly ritual of twisting and pinning her hair and had to do weekly vinegar rinses. Even after all of that painful upkeep, fans often thought she was wearing a wig and would pull her hair! Ouch! 2. Gary Coleman Gary Coleman was a star on the popular Diff'rent Strokes show. He suffered a congenital autoimmune kidney condition that affected his height. He also received two kidney transplants. He also had some money issues because his adoptive parents mismanaged his money. Poor Gary! 3. Ricky Nelson Ricky Nelson was a teen idol, but he was actually very shy! He was often called insecure, odd, and mysterious. Many said it was due to his overbearing parents. He also had severe asthma and breathing problems. 4. Patty Duke Patty Duke often had crazy mood swings when she was a teen. Turns out she had bipolar disorder. However, her bipolar disorder was the inspiration behind her twin cousins characters on The Patty Duke Show. 5. Maureen McCormick Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! Maureen McCormick played the iconic Brady sister on The Brady Bunch, but she had a lot of sad times in real life. Her grandmother died in a mental institution and her grandfather committed suicide a week later. Maureen also suffered from depression. Read on to the NEXT page to find out what child star is next on the list! 6. Natalie Wood Natalie Wood's mother caused her a lot of pain. Her mother wanted a famous life but never achieved it, so she pushed her daughter to obtain what she couldn't. She often pushed Natalie into abusive relationships to keep her in the public eye. 7. Jackie Coogan Jackie Coogan was a little boy in the Charlie Chaplin movie The Kid. He made lots of money as a young boy, but his parents spent all of it before he got a dime. This helped to pass a law to protect child actor's money. 8. Margaret O'Brien Margaret O'Brien lost her mother as a teen. Around the same time that her mom died, a maid stole her Oscar. However, after 40+ years, she finally got her award back. 9. Jackie Cooper Unfortunately, this child star's father left when Jackie was only two years old. In one of the Our Gang shorts, the director (who was also Jackie's uncle) decided to get genuine tears for a scene by pretending to shoot Jackie's dog! How cruel. Who is your favorite child star on this list? Did you know they had such a tragic backstory? Did we miss anyone for this list? If you enjoyed this article, please SHARE with your friends and family! Check out this video of child stars who we lost way too soon:

Tragic Backstories Of Hollywood Child Stars Of The Past

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