Oh, the precariousness of being a former child star. On one hand, you have tragic, hot-mess stories like that of Lindsay Lohan, who went to jail on Tuesday, and Gary Coleman, who died broke last month. On another, you have success stories like that of the squeaky-clean Selena Gomez, who opens a new movie tomorrow (Ramona and Beezus) and who seems poised to become America's next sweetheart.
So where do other Latino former child actors fall? We tracked the careers of the best known and while we found no scintillating abundance of sex, drugs and debauchery, hey, at least we don’t have to be ashamed of them.
Jessica Alba
Working since: Age 14, when she got attention for her two-year stint on Flipper.
Breakthrough role: As rebellious teen super-soldier Max Guevera on Dark Angel.
Now: She may not be a box-office powerhouse exactly, but the gorgeous married mom, 29, has built quite a following as a sex symbol and fashion star. The closest she’s come to scandal were published quotes that revealed a seeming disdain for her Mexican roots (she later told Latina that writers took her words out of context and said she was proud of being Latina). Look for her in The Killer Inside Me, currently in theaters, and Robert Rodriguez’s Machete, out in September.
Getty Images (right)
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