Former Child Stars Who Live Insanely Lavish Lives

Former child stars are just like the rest of us — minus the fact that they grew up in front of the entire world and tend to have a lot of money in the bank. While some former child stars live relatively modestly, what's modest for the rich and famous is sometimes insanely lavish for common folk who weren't blessed with a successful acting career shortly after being born.

We expect former child stars to have pretty nice houses, but that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these privileged members of society. Former child stars who have managed their money the right way can afford all sorts of luxuries that the rest of us could only dream ever of. From palatial residences to private jets to some seriously impressive bling, the following stars are living extravagant lives, and we are more than a little bit jealous.

It's pretty much guaranteed that Miley Cyrus lived a pretty pampered life from day one thanks to the fact that her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, is a country music star in his own right. She achieved an entirely new level of fame, though, as a child star on the hit Disney show Hannah Montana. Thanks to her early success, Miley Cyrus can now live an insanely lavish life that includes a $5.8 million mansion in her home state of Tennessee. The home is over 6,800 square feet and boasts more than 33 acres, as noted by Elle Decor. The property boasts a pool and a mini golf course. Sounds nice!

That's not the only multi-million dollar property that has been in Cyrus' portfolio, however. According to Radar Online, she sold her Malibu mansion for $1.7 million in 2020, after splitting with ex Liam Hemsworth. In 2018, she sold her Hidden Hills, Calif. horse farm for around $5 million (per Variety). No wonder Miley Cyrus is worth so much!

According to the Daily Star, former child star Miley Cyrus even has a pricey Range Rover Sport to drive around her dogs, since they aren't allowed in any of the cars she reserves for her own use. 

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Drew Barrymore has earned a jaw-dropping fortune of $125 million over the course of the career, beginning with her role in E.T. when the former child star was just 6 years old. Given her decades-long career and her vast fortune, it's no surprise that she's living an insanely lavish life that includes a $6 million farmhouse in Sagaponack, N.Y., which Business Insider noted boasts the most expensive ZIP code on the East Coast. While her publicist told the New York Post in 2019 that Barrymore was only renting the home, other sources said the house was only up for sale, not rent. Either way, Barrymore has forked over quite a bit of cash to stay in the 5,000-square-foot home.

In 2012, Marie Claire noted that Barrymore, who's had a stunning transformation over the years, married her (now) ex-husband Will Kopelman in a star-studded wedding, wearing a Chanel wedding dress. They were married at her lavish Montecito estate that she later put on the market for $9.995 million, as noted by House Beautiful. Guests at the wedding feasted on expensive items like "lobster rolls, pork buns and foie gras." Barrymore has clearly been living the high life for some time.

People sometimes forget that one of Hollywood's leading men, Leonardo DiCaprio, got his start in Hollywood as a child star. In 1994, the young heartthrob told Interview that he "grew up in Hollywood but not in any rich neighborhood." The young DiCaprio filmed dozens of commercials before rising to fame on shows like Parenthood and Growing Pains when he was still in his teens. Today, his estimated net worth is a jaw-dropping $260 million, as noted by Celebrity Net Worth.

The former child star may not have grown up in a rich neighborhood, but now he has enough money to buy an entire neighborhood if he wants to. In fact, he's sort of done that. In 2005, he forked over $1.75 million for a 104-acre island in Belize called Blackadore Caye, as reported by Travel + Leisure. DiCaprio later announced plans to turn Blackadore Caye into an eco-resort.

Even with DiCaprio's private oasis becoming not so private, he still has plenty of other places to indulge in his insanely lavish lifestyle. According to Realtor, he owns at least half a dozen properties, and each one cost well over a million dollars.

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe once told the Belfast Telegraph that he doesn't "really do anything with" his vast fortune beyond appreciating the "freedom" to be "choosy" with the roles he takes on. It's hard to view his life as anything but insanely lavish, though, when he purchased a couple of multi-million dollar homes in Manhattan in the 2000s, as noted by Curbed.

While those pricey homes could be chalked up to simply needing a place to live in the most expensive place in the U.S., Radcliffe made one extravagant purchase when he was 17 that proves he's a former child star living a super rich life: a custom-made Savoir mattress that cost him a whopping $17,000, according to People. That may sound like an outrageously large sum for a mattress to those of us who aren't former child stars, but, to Radcliffe, $17,000 is just a small fraction of the $110 million that Celebrity Net Worth estimates he has.

Former child star Selena Gomez has had a stunning transformation, having racked up millions of dollars and film credits since she landed on Barney & Friends in 2002, according to IMDb. Five years later, she cemented her child star status on the Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Gomez is worth an estimated $75 million. With that kind of cash in the bank, it's no wonder that she thinks nothing of picking up a $30,000 birthday party tab like she did for then-boyfriend The Weeknd in 2017, as noted by TMZ.

Gomez has also had the requisite list of luxury homes in her arsenal like so many former child stars, including a Calabasas home she put on the market for a cool $6.6 million in January 2020 (per People).

Perhaps the thing that proves more than anything that Gomez is living an insanely lavish life is her workout routine. According to E! News, Gomez's favorite workout is a Hot Pilates class at a Los Angeles studio where private sessions with the studio's owner cost $300 an hour.

Before he was a world-famous rapper with millions in the bank, Drake was going by his birth name, Aubrey Graham. Under that name, Drake was a child star on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Drake has talked about his childhood, saying that, while he grew up on TV, his family didn't have much money. "We were very poor, like broke," he told Complex, saying that the money he made from Degrassi wasn't "that much money when you break it down" and "under a teacher's salary."

That's all changed now, though, because the former child star now has more money than he knows what to do with. When he's not staying in one of his three multi-million dollar homes, the superstar lives a jet-setting lifestyle, complete with his own private jet. While Drake definitely has enough money to fund his own international travels, he actually got the multi-million dollar aircraft completely free. According to TMZ, the airline Cargojet gave him his custom "Air Drake," a 767 jet that typically retails in the ballpark of $200 million, for the free publicity it would bring them.

Hollywood leading lady Natalie Portman is also a former child star, having gotten her start in her acting career in Léon: The Professional playing 12-year-old Mathilda. As one of the stars of the silver screen, Natalie Portman has a massive net worth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the star is worth an impressive $60 million, and she makes the most of it with her vacation home. As noted by Elle Decor, the $6.5 million home boasts four bedrooms, five baths, and sits on 10.4 acres with views of the Pacific Ocean.

Portman also seems to have lavish taste in vehicles. In 2012, Auto Evolution noted that she was driving a Mercedes Benz S-Class, "one of the ultimate luxury limos out there." Portman also has a love of designer fashion, especially Dior. In 2019, Hola! noted that she particularly loves her $4,500 Dior Addict Flap Bag, even wearing it to walk her dog.

It's hard to comprehend the insanely lavish life led by former child star Ariana Grande. She gave fans a sneak peak into her extravagant world with her song "7 Rings." in which she sang, "I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it." That pretty much sums up how the star lives her life, where virtually nothing is out of reach. In 2017, Grande and then-boyfriend Mac Miller went on a Colorado vacation and stayed in an AirBNB called the Pulitzer Mansion that cost $10,500 a night (per Glamour).

The former Victorious star likes to be surrounded by all the comforts from home, even when she travels. In 2019, The Sun noted that she chartered a plane to have her dogs, Myron and Toulouse, flown out to Glasgow where she had a gig. The dogs reportedly had their own room in Grande's lavish hotel suite, which cost a whopping £2,500 a night. They even had their own personal pet sitter to pamper them during their stay.

Most people have to budget their weddings and honeymoons carefully, saving up for one of the biggest events of their lives. If you're former child star Hilary Duff, though, you don't have to worry about having to save up for your dream wedding. As noted by Vogue, the Lizzie McGuire star married Matthew Koma at their Los Angeles home in December 2019, wearing a custom-made Jenny Packham dress. Koma had previously proposed with a stunningly huge diamond that Insider noted could be worth as much as $100,000.

It's no big shock, then, that Koma and Duff also went all out on their honeymoon. Instead of taking a trip to a nice beach, or perhaps heading to a European city, they went on a lavish safari in South Africa as noted by People.

Duff is clearly the type to go big or go home. Another perk of the former child star's lavish lifestyle is her skincare routine which, according to The New York Times, includes Peter Thomas Roth's 24k Gold face mask. Duff is also a big fan of La Mer's luxury moisturizer that retails for an eye-watering $180 for one ounce.

The Big Bang Theory might be what many people best know Kaley Cuoco for, but she's been on screen for most of her life. Her first acting credit was in 1992's TV movie Quicksand: No Escape, according to IMDb, and she went on to star in Ladies Man and 8 Simple Rules.

Now, Cuoco is living an insanely lavish life, but the former child star isn't keeping her entire fortune to herself. In 2013, ABC News reported that Cuoco gifted her mom a brand new Lexus RX350 for Christmas. The following year, the Daily Mail reported that she was seen snagging a fancy car for herself: an SLS AMG GT Mercedes-Benz, which cost her at least $250,000.

Cuoco's lavish lifestyle isn't limited to getting herself and her family nice cars. Variety noted in February that Cuoco and her husband, Karl Cook — who is the heir to a fortune worth billions — purchased a Hidden Hills estate for the sum of $11.75 million.

It's no surprise that Scarlett Johansson is rich. The actress has been acting for decades, after all, dating back to 1994's North, according to IMDb. Now, the former child star is known not just for her acting talent but also for her insanely lavish lifestyle. According to Architectural Digest, she snatched up a 4,000-square-foot home in Palisades, N.Y. for $4 million. That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Johansson's extravagant properties though. In 2014, she purchased a home in Amagansett, N.Y. for $2.2 million, and she also bought a $3 million home in Los Angeles. Nothing shows that you're living the high life quite like living it up in multiple multi-million dollar homes.

In 2019, the Observer noted that the actress had purchased a Lois Dodd painting. While it's unclear how much she forked over for the original work of art, considering that Dodd is a celebrated artist whose work is in several museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, it's safe to assume that she paid a pretty penny.

Former child star Claire Danes admitted herself that the honeymoon she went on after marrying Hugh Dancy was one that only those with an insane amount of wealth could afford. The couple were married in France in 2009, and, since they didn't have much work ahead of them, they decided to globetrot for a while. They headed to the Mediterranean, followed by Turkey, Greece, and Italy. "It was heaven but getting increasingly lavish," Danes told Vogue, describing attending a "film festival... filled with sequins and booze" and partying on Valentino's boat.

The My So-Called Life star is also into clubbing, stating on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she's a big fan of the extravagant club Berghain, located in Berlin.

When she's not jet-setting all over the globe, Danes has some luxury digs to stay in. In 2013, Zillow reported that she and Dancy purchased a four-bedroom, four-bathroom townhouse in Greenwich Village for $6.876 million.

Former child star Demi Lovato got her start in show business on Barney & Friends (per IMDb). Since then, she's become a household name thanks to starring in shows and films like Sonny With a Chance and Camp Rock, not to mention her successful music career. Lovato is living quite the lavish life these days, thanks to her millions of dollars. In February 2020, Hola! reported that Lovato was putting up her $8.9 million, three-floor Hollywood Hills mansion — perhaps in search of even more lavish digs?

Lovato has the funds to live the life of a jet-setter, but that doesn't mean she wants to play tourist and battle massive crowds. Instead, Lovato vacations in true luxury. InStyle reported that, in 2018, the former child star decided to share her wealth with her friends by bringing them on a squad vacay. Vacationing with your pals is something that many people do, but Lovato kicked it up a notch by renting out a private island, saying she wanted to ensure she had some privacy on the trip.

Full House star Mary-Kate Olsen started acting as a baby. Although her last acting credit was in 2011, this former child star has enough money in the bank to live lavishly for the rest of her life — $250 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. In 2015, she tied the knot with Olivier Sarkozy, a French banker and the brother of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, as noted by Page Six. The couple live in the lap of luxury in their 8,000-square-foot Turtle Bay home. Curbed noted that the lavish pad includes a ballroom, a rooftop pool, and an elevator. The home cost an astonishing $13.5 million, a small sum for the wealthy power couple. 

Even The Row, the fashion line Mary-Kate Olsen helms with her sister, Ashley, screams luxury. In 2011, the twins launched a handbag line that included a $39,000 alligator backpack. Ashley Olsen told Women's Wear Daily that the high-priced item "was the first thing that sold off the shelf."