11 Famous Women Who Were Horribly Mistreated And Sexualized As Child Stars In Hollywood
Maya Ogolini
5 min read
"I was never sexually harassed on a film set. My sexual harassment always came at the hands of the media and the public."
11 Famous Women Who Were Horribly Mistreated And Sexualized As Child Stars In Hollywood
As a child actor, it can often be difficult when it feels like you’re growing up in front of the entire world. When that’s combined with the sexism that women face in everyday life, the loss of agency may feel doubled. Here is a list of a few women who grew up in Hollywood and faced sexism on the way:
Warning: This post contains discussions of sexual assault.
1. In her early days at MGM, Judy Garland was commonly given sleeping pills by the studio to give her a bit of rest before waking her up with what she called “pep pills” that gave her enough energy to work long hours on studio projects. At the age of 47, Garland died after accidentally overdosing on sleeping pills, and the coroner who examined her body said, “This is quite clearly an accidental circumstance to a person who was accustomed to taking barbiturates over a very long time.”
TROS4. Natalie Portman, who made her film debut in Leon: The Professional at age 13, recalled experiencing what she called “sexual terrorism.” She remembered a local radio station holding a countdown to her 18th birthday, as well as the first fan letter she ever received was a rape fantasy. Later, Portman said, “I understood very quickly, even as a 13-year-old, that if I were to express myself sexually I would feel unsafe and that men would feel entitled to discuss and objectify my body to my great discomfort.”
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images5. Similarly, the Olsen twins, child stars of shows like Full House, had multiple countdown clocks to their 18th birthday.
Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue6. Harry Potter star Emma Watson also reportedly had countdown clocks to her 18th birthday. She actually discussed an incident the day after her 18th birthday where the paparazzi waited for her in order to take a photo up her skirt, which would be legal now that she was considered an adult. Watson said of the incident, “If they’d published the photographs 24 hours earlier, they would’ve been illegal. … My transition into womanhood was dealt very differently by the tabloid press than it was for my male counterparts.”
Taylor Hill / FilmMagic7. In an opinion piece in the New York Times, Matilda actress Mara Wilson described the sexualization by the public and the media that she experienced as a young person growing up in Hollywood. Wilson described being asked if she had a boyfriend by interviewers at age 6, or who she thought was the sexiest man in Hollywood at the time. Wilson added, “Hollywood has resolved to tackle harassment in the industry, but I was never sexually harassed on a film set. My sexual harassment always came at the hands of the media and the public.”
Alberto E. Rodriguez / FilmMagicWilson also commented on the fact that she was labeled a “spoiled brat” for being honest during an interview.
8. Millie Bobby Brown has spoken out about her treatment by the public and media, notably after she turned 18. Brown spoke on The Guilty Feminist podcast and noted that since turning 18, she’s “definitely been dealing with [being sexualized] more — definitely seeing a difference between the way people act and the way that the press and social media have reacted to me coming of age.”
Arturo Holmes / WireImage“I believe that shouldn’t change anything, but it’s gross and it’s true,” she said. “It’s a very good representation of what’s going on in the world and how young girls are sexualized. I have been dealing with that — but I have also been dealing with that forever.”
More recently, Barstool Sports podcast PlanBri hosts discussed Millie’s recent interview on Hot Ones. The cohosts discussed Brown and said, “She kind of seems like a bitch” and added, “She’s like smoke show hot, but she knows it, and that’s a problem.”
Jc Olivera / Getty Images9. Brooke Shields posed for Playboy in 1975, an act that was consented to by her mother, Teri Shields, though she later tried to sue Garry Gross, the photographer, on the grounds that his continuing sale of them was damaging her daughter’s reputation. In an interview with Barbara Walters, Walters asked then-15-year-old Shields what her “measurements” were, indicating how tall she was and how much she weighed. As an adult, Shields called the line of questioning “practically criminal.”
Images Press / Getty ImagesShields added, “The [interviewers] never wanted my answer. They just wanted their point of view.”
During the Cannes Film Festival, while promoting the film Pretty Baby, where Shields played a 12-year-old prostitute, a man reportedly stormed Shields and attempted to cut her hair.
10. Shirley Temple began her film career at the young age of 3, but in her autobiography, Child Star, she recalled having to fend off the advances of several executives in the film industry. In one instance, she claimed that David O. Selznick cornered her in his office, and when she tried to leave, Temple said that Selznick flicked a button that she realized was a remote door-locking device. Temple was eventually able to leave. David O. Selznick is perhaps best known for producing the award-winning film Gone with the Wind.
Bettmann / Bettmann ArchiveTemple recounted another instance in her book where Arthur Freed, producer of The Wizard of Oz, had a meeting with then-12-year-old Temple where he exposed himself. Temple recalled nervously laughing in response, after which Freed shouted at her to get out of his office.
11. In a 2021 interview with Elle magazine, Selena Gomez discussed the lack of privacy she felt with the media attention she received after filming the Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place. Gomez said, “For a while, I felt like an object. … It felt gross for a long time.” Gomez added that when she went to receive treatment for lupus, some assumed that she was instead going to rehab, and said, “I don’t even know what they really believed I was doing — drugs, alcohol, running around, partying. The narrative was so nasty.”
Kevin Winter / Getty Images for iHeartIf you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.
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