LiLo, the Olsen Twins and Shia Turn 30: 5 Memorable Moments From Their Awkward Transition Into Adulthood
Several former child stars are turning 30 this summer. (Photo: Getty Images)
Four stars — all of whom introduced themselves to audiences before their teen years — will blow out 30 candles on their birthday cake over the next few weeks. Hard as it is to believe, fashion designers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen turn the big 3-0 on June 13. And although it seems as if both have been around forever, Shia LaBeouf and Lindsay Lohan, aka LiLo, enter their dirty 30s on June 11 and July 2, respectively.
Take a look back at five of the most memorable moments when the stars were making the tricky transition from child star to adult.
Lindsay Lohan feuds with Hilary Duff over Aaron Carter
No one who was alive in 2003 can ever forget LiLo’s battle with another Disney star of her day, Hilary Duff. The teenage stars got into a public spat over teen sensation Aaron Carter, best known for his cheesy song “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It).” He had spiky hair, sweet dance moves (for a kid) and an older brother, Nick Carter, who was known as the cutest member of the Backstreet Boys.
Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff were rivals back in the day. (Photo: Getty Images)
The younger Carter later explained that he began dating Duff on his 13th birthday, but began dating Lohan about a year and a half later because he “got a little bored.” Then he went back to Duff.
The girls showed up at each other’s movie premieres in an attempt to steal the limelight, and it was rumored that they were at war in the background.
In 2008, Duff told People that the two women were “fine."
"Supposedly, I stole Lindsay Lohan’s boyfriend [Aaron Carter]. We were, like, 13! And I’ve never stolen anyone’s boyfriend! I don’t know how you do that! … She was talking about it and I wasn’t. It made us both look bad and put up a big weirdness. Really she was just a girl my age.”
The Olsen twins get edgy
After a childhood full of saying “you got it, dude” and wearing matching outfits in their many videos, sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen made it known at age 17 that they no longer wanted to be called “twins.” Their May 2004 movie New York Minute was supposed to be edgier and more grown-up. After all, they were on the brink of 18 and about to begin college at New York University.
The Olsens were tired of being described as twins. (Photo: Getty Images)
Unfortunately, New York Minute — their first theatrical release since It Takes Two in 1995 — featuring Eugene Levy and Jack Osbourne, as well as nonmatching clothing, bombed big time. Maybe it was the PG rating? It maintains a whopping 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Lucky for the Olsens, they had a backup plan.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen become mini-moguls
The Olsens’ 18th birthday was a big deal, not because of the creepy old men who had countdown clocks but because it meant they would take over as co-presidents at their Dualstar Entertainment Group. This is the company behind all that merchandise, from clothing to perfume to makeup and home decor they sold at Walmart, Target and other retailers over the years. By 2007, Forbes ranked them 11th on its list of the richest women in entertainment, with a net worth of $100 million, ranking between Jennifer Aniston and Britney Spears.
Their Council of Fashion Designers of America award-winning fashion empire, which includes the high end the Row and the more moderately priced Elizabeth and James, has continued to be successful.
Shia LaBeouf in 2005. (Photo: Getty Images)
Shia LaBeouf explains his simple motto for avoiding trouble
Following his starring roles in the Disney show Even Stevens, from 2000 to 2003, and the 2003 family friendly movie Holes, Shia LaBeouf was recognizable to audiences for his on-screen work. In 2005, when he was 19, there was the first hint of off-screen trouble when LaBeouf allegedly pulled a knife during an altercation with his neighbor.
Weeks before the release of box office behemoth Transformers in the summer of 2007, the actor spoke about his strategy for avoiding the pitfalls that have plagued many child stars in the past.
“It’s pretty simple when you think about it: Just don’t f*** up,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “It could all go away tomorrow if I’m at a club drinking like an a**hole,” he said. “Someone like Lindsay Lohan’s personality is [more] famous than her performance. You’ve got to maintain some mystery. Part of me wants to go out and see my peers,” he also said. “But if I go to a club and get my picture in the press, then I am that young Hollywood a**hole. That would shatter my world.”
Three months after Transformers was released, LaBeouf was in handcuffs following a bizarre incident at a Walgreens in Chicago in which the actor repeatedly refused to leave the store. He found himself in a similar situation again in July 2008, on suspicion of drunken driving, after the vehicle he was driving crashed into another one as he made an illegal left turn in Los Angeles. There were plenty of other arrests to come.
Lindsay Lohan mocks her party girl reputation on Saturday Night Live
By December 2004, Lohan’s life looked like one big night at the clubs from the outside. Mean Girls was a hit and her album, Speak, had just been released. (Don’t forget that LiLo was once a pop star!)
Lohan performing one of her pop-tastic songs. (Photo: Getty Images)
On SNL, Mean Girls screenwriter Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who also played a role in the movie, welcomed their co-star Lohan to their “Weekend Update” segment during the Dec. 11, 2004, episode for some mentoring. Their sketch poked fun at much of the gossip swirling about Lohan, with them asking whether her boobs were real and lecturing Lohan for her “Mischa Barton arms." Lohan, 19, dismissed them and said she had to go to New York City nightclub Marquee.
Lohan did go on to the club that night, where she spent time with that week’s SNL host, Colin Farrell. And it wouldn’t be the last time, because she hadn’t even begun to party with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears yet.
By that time, some talented younger stars named Miley, Zac and Selena were ready to take their places on the tween scene anyway.
