Growing Pains' Carol Seaver Is Still Such A Beauty Decades After The Hit '80s Sitcom

The following article includes mentions of disordered eating.

It's hard to believe the beloved sitcom "Growing Pains" originally aired more than four decades ago. Its young cast members now have their fair share of gray hairs, but Father Time has been rather kind to one Tracey Gold, who played brainiac Carol Seaver in the beloved show. Gold, now in her late 50s, still looks gorgeous, and unlike other celebs who are chasing eternal youth, she's not afraid to age naturally — or show off her gray hair, for that matter. In August 2025, Gold announced on TikTok that she would be attending the Southend Community Center for the Xtreme Collectors Show in Springfield, MA. While fans were obviously excited to see her, they were even happier about the actor proudly sporting gray locks. "I love that she has let herself age gracefully. Still looks beautiful!" one impressed commenter wrote. Another added, "So iconic. You look amazing."

Bobby Bank/Getty

It's always refreshing to see a celebrity embracing their natural frown lines and graying hair, especially since, over the years, there have been so many drastic face transformations that left celebs completely unrecognizable. Cosmetic doctor Tracy Mountford confirmed to The Guardian that most stars opt for some sort of cosmetic procedure to preserve their youthful glow as they age. "People would be staggered [...] The majority of people [in the public eye] will be having something done," she said. Professor Virginia L Blum noted that, for many celebrities, simply letting aging happen without any intervention is actually counterintuitive because their appearance is "their livelihood," adding, "So they're constantly forced to manufacture the look of youth and keep producing it."

Oftentimes, our favorite comedy shows turn out not to have been as cheerful behind the scenes, which was sadly the case for "Growing Pains." Plenty of tragic details about the cast of "Growing Pains" have emerged in the years since the beloved show ended, and one of the most harrowing accounts came from Tracey Gold, who revealed how the fat-shaming of her character, Carol Seaver, led to her developing an eating disorder. "They started to have Mike Seaver make fat jokes about Carol Seaver," Gold pointed out to People in 2025. She felt utterly powerless, especially after Gold told the writers that the fat jokes they were writing into the show were hurtful. 

They tried to convince her that there was no harm in it, arguing that's just how brothers treat their sisters in real life. "Now I have to be in front of an audience that's laughing at me and my body and my weight, and it became tough," Gold admitted. Eventually, the powers that be wanted her to shed some pounds. Her father took her to a doctor who put her on a 500-calorie-a-day diet. Naturally, the subsequent praise Gold received from everyone on set only added to her disordered eating. 

As she recalled, "Something hit me and I was like, 'I will not be the butt of anybody's joke again.'" Many celebrities' health struggles tend to fly under the radar, and Gold was one of them. She discussed her experience with anorexia, and how she overcame it with intensive treatment, in a 1995 interview with the Los Angeles Times. One mindset changed it all: "I thought it would be a whole lot more fun being successful and happy than sick and sad."

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).