How child actors claim their new identity through style
I couldn’t help but wonder: can a wardrobe truly rewrite your narrative? In the case of child actors, yes. In Hollywood, we counted many child actors, from Judy Garland and Drew Barrymore to Keke Palmer and even Miley Cyrus. Hollywood has long been obsessed with youth; the industry often builds an entire brand around the innocence and charm of child stars (for instance, Disney actors). By the way, I could’ve talked about Sabrina Carpenter, but it would be too long, and I think I’ll write an article about her case specifically.
Think about it: after years of playing sweet/innocent characters that made you famous, you want a new path for your career, but it is impossible for you to grow, especially under the spotlight. The transition into adulthood, a natural and inevitable evolution, becomes a battleground. Reinventing yourself is hard enough, but when the world refuses to see you as anything but your former self? That’s when fashion comes into play.
Fashion as identity and rebellion
Clothing isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s language. For these stars, it becomes a dialect of defiance, independence, and reinvention. They trade the style of their characters and the style dictated to them by the industry for a bold garde-robe that just represents them, their real personalities, and how they are experiencing life at that time.
But it’s not just about rebellion. The shift in style is also about personal discovery. These stars have spent their formative years playing characters scripted by someone else, often with wardrobes that reflect a persona they may not even relate to anymore. Fashion becomes a means of self-expression, a way to finally say, “This is who I really am.”
The first example that comes to mind is Miley Cyrus. We all remember Miley Cyrus from the show Hannah Montana on Disney Channel in the 2000s. It was all about glitter tops, dresses over jeans, and colorful outfits.
And then 2013 happened: it was the Bangerz era. Everything that the former Disney star said, wore, or did was scandalous. It was a huge break from her Disney/Hannah Montana image: latex bodysuits, short platinum blonde hair, nudity, tongue sticking out, rebellious attitude, etc. She used that to reject her Disney image. When Miley Cyrus swapped her Hannah Montana wig for a rock-pop style, it wasn’t just about being edgy. It was about power. Miley Cyrus was dragged by every media outlet for that, but if she were a man, no one would bat an eye.
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Backstage at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. |
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Met Gala 2013 dressed by Marc Jacobs |
When a child becomes a public figure, society projects onto them an idealized version of innocence, purity, and authenticity. Child actors are not only entertainers; they are cultural symbols. The difficulty, then, is not just about “growing up”; it is about doing so under a collective gaze that resists change.
For me, Drew Barrymore embodies this struggle. The actress became world-renowned as a child when she starred at 7 years old in E.T. (1982). She was quickly commodified as America’s sweetheart. But Hollywood’s obsession with preserving her childlike charm was in opposition to what happened backstage. Indeed, Drew Barrymore was addicted to alcohol and cocaine at a very young age: she was drinking by age 9, using drugs by 12, and entering rehab at 13.
In the early 1990s, Barrymore began cultivating a look that was intentionally transgressive. Her grunge-punk outfits: chokers, ripped jeans, leather jackets, dark lipstick, and a cigarette in hand were often described by magazines as “sloppy” or “attention-seeking.” Even The Washington Post referred to her as “trying too hard to shock her way into adulthood.” By seeing her looks right now, I simply cannot understand how it was provocative; I can’t… it was simply bold, unique, it was her.
At 19, she was on the cover of Playboy; it was a deliberate rupture, a public statement of adult sexuality aimed at dismantling the infantilized image projected onto her. Steven Spielberg famously sent her a quilt of clothes with a note saying, “Cover yourself up.” (wtf) This anecdote was widely repeated in the press, often with a moralizing tone.
When they deviate, through sexual expression or rebellion, society often frames it as scandal rather than self-expression. Barrymore was vilified in the press for her choices, labeled as “troubled,” while in reality, she was negotiating autonomy.
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| When Drew Barrymore flashed David Letterman during his birthday episode: Conservatives described her as "out of control", reinforcing the "wild child" label |
Society resisted her transition into adulthood, reading her attempts at agency as scandalous. Drew Barrymore’s style is now iconic, but at the time (sadly) for the media, she was more a warning about “what happens when child stars grow up too fast,” while the media are not so pure because of how judgy they can be. The criticism wasn’t just about her; it was about society’s struggle to let women, especially those who had once symbolized innocence, define their own identities through style and behavior.
Now let’s talk about my favorite one: ZENDAYA !!!
From her early days as a Disney Channel actress on Shake It Up to now, Zendaya is a respected actress and a fashion icon. Rather than relying on rebellion or scandal, she has made fashion the primary vehicle for constructing and asserting her identity. Her stylist, Law Roach, has been central to this process, shaping her aesthetic vision and curating each public appearance with precision. The collaboration between Law Roach and Zendaya is one of the best things that has happened to fashion.
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| Zendaya wearing Bob Mackie at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2024 |
Law Roach revealed that, early in Zendaya’s career, some of the fashion industry’s most prestigious brands refused to dress her. He explained on The Cutting Room Floor podcast:
“I would write Saint Laurent, Chanel, Gucci, Valentino, Dior, and they would all say, ‘No,’ reasoning that she was too “green.”
In this context, “too green” meant that Zendaya was considered inexperienced, unknown, and therefore not yet a credible brand ambassador. This early rejection shaped how Roach and Zendaya approached fashion partnerships. Today, she still has never worn Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent, or Gucci at a red-carpet appearance.
This experience illustrates how strategic and intentional her fashion choices have been. To gain visibility, Roach initially dressed her in pieces that other celebrities had already worn, a calculated move that allowed Zendaya to appear in the iconic “who wore it better” columns of the early 2000s blogs and magazines. This genius tactic helped her gain recognition in a competitive media landscape.
Zendaya’s style is now recognized for its precision and taste, she's just never wrong. Everyone is excited to see her red carpet looks, people want to see how she will make reference to the film (like she did during the press tour of Dune 2 and Challengers) she’s in, people will make theories (we remember the hat theory), ... Her wearing a new look becomes a whole event. She blends archival references and haute couture into a coherent visual language, each look narrating an aspect of her identity. It was not simple to gain credibility as a mixed young actress. For instance in 2015, Zendaya wore a white Vivienne Westwood gown and locs as her hairstyle. A TV host, Giuliana Rancic commented her look by saying that Zendaya probably "smells like patchouli oil ... or weed". A white woman tearing down a woman of color. Later Zendaya responded: "My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough."
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| Zendaya wearing Vivienne Westwood at the 87th Annual Academy Awards |
Her collaboration with Roach exemplifies how fashion can operate as cultural capital: a way to earn credibility, assert individuality, and negotiate visibility in an industry often shaped by exclusionary gatekeeping.
This deliberate cultivation of style has earned her critical acclaim. Magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar regularly highlight her as a fashion icon. In 2021, she received the CFDA Fashion Icon Award, becoming the youngest person to receive this award; in 2024, she was the co-host of the Met Gala, and the list is long. All of that confirms her status. Beyond aesthetic achievement, Zendaya’s trajectory demonstrates a societal shift: stars can transform style into a tool of respect and influence.
Zendaya and Law Roach’s work together underscores a broader point: fashion is not merely decorative. For her, it is a language of identity, a measure of cultural literacy, and a form of agency, turning appearances into both personal expression and professional strategy.
Whether it’s a drastic style shift or a slow, strategic evolution, clothing has the power to reshape perception. For former child stars, it wasn’t just about growing up; it was about taking control of their narrative. Society put pressure on those women; however, men can easily start their careers without worrying if the media will like the films they’re in, if they are too provocative, if they have aged, etc: it’s all about women. It’s about misogyny, ageism, and you can’t win if you don’t take control. Take a look at what happened to Millie Bobby Brown: in an Instagram video, she condemned the media for bullying her, making fun of her appearance, and commenting that she looked “aged.” When it came from women, she underscored how such criticism reinforces the unrealistic beauty standards imposed on young women, especially when the woman became famous as a child. People expect them not to change at all. She ended defiantly:
“I refuse to apologize for growing up … Let’s do better, not just for me, but for every young girl.”
At the end of the day, it’s not about clothes, it’s about society that expect perfection from women but a perfection rooted in misogyny.
Thanks for reading my article <3
By Aya L.
hihi super article, j’adore les exemples !!! and i was waiting for you to talk about millie as well you delivered continue comme ça <33
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