When you were just out of your teens, you only dreamed of making decent money while counting every $10 bill you had. Meanwhile, there are young people who started raking up BIG money before they even got round to dreaming about it! How did they manage it? Wouldn’t it be worth our while to take a closer look at these successful people who can buy the restaurant we like eating? Just imagine earning so much money before you turn 21 that you may never lift your finger again during the rest of your life. Yet it’s not what these people are planning to do – on the contrary, they intend to further their careers of acting, modeling, performing on stage, and not for the sake of money solely.
You can understand that this kind of achievement doesn’t come very easily. Sometimes it’s parents who are already on the top that provides a stepping-stone for these youngsters, but in any case, it’s work, work, work and creating a name for oneself that will sound resonant the world over. Of course, the path is rough: who knows whether they would be able to build on their early success as they go on? They may fade away when they grow up, failing to repeat their laudable performance of old.
It’s almost unfathomable to think of a teenager wallowing in money, but it’s what does happen! Meet young people who struck the gold mine and made it big before they turned 21 – is it great or is it a wee bit dangerous?
Skai Jackson, worth $500 thousand
No, Skai Jackson is not a millionaire yet, but then, she is only 15 years old, so just wait and see! The smiley Skai is New-York born, and began to work as a child model in commercials at a very tender age, soon starting her conquest of the movie industry when she turned 5. Her breakthrough was in 2007 with Liberty Kid, an independent film where she played a three-year-old, after which she began receiving offers and eventually was invited to join the group of Disney child stars. That signified the beginning of her big-time work in the Disney Channel sitcom Jessie, and later in the Jessie spin-off, comedy series Bunk’d, where Skai will reprise the part of Zuri Ross. So the time when Jackson might top this list is maybe not very far off.
Hailee Steinfeld, worth $500 thousand
There are enough rich talents under 21 to fill this list, but who of them can boast of a nomination for an Academy Award? Hardly anyone – apart from Hailee Steinfeld who turned 20 last December. The girl from Tarzana, Los Angeles, started doing small parts from the age of 9. It had been four years of hard labor before Steinfeld was offered her breakthrough role of Mattie Ross in True Grit that became a hit. Her marvelous portrayal drew acclaim from both critics and viewers, leading up to an Oscar nomination. And though Steinfeld failed to grab the award, she definitely became marked for bigger things. She proved her worth in fun pictures (Pitch Perfect 2, featuring Anna Kendrick and Elizabeth Banks) and in leading roles (The Edge of Seventeen, a Golden Globe Award nomination). With her career going strong, the young actress took time to deviate into recording pop songs, where she also earned heavy recognition. Having established her reputation with the successful EP Haiz, she seeks to join the ranks of young pop icons who fill stadiums and halls.
Maude and Iris Apatow, worth about $1 million
It’s always nice when the younger generation tries to prove its worth to their famous parents, and this is what happens in the Apatow family. Judd Apatow, comedian, and Leslie Mann, actress, both achieved remarkable success in their vocations, and their daughters 19-year-old Maude Apatow and 14-year-old Iris Apatow started off early to show they can outdo their parents (or, at least, do their best to). Maude participated in a number of movies (This Is 40, for one) and TV shows (Girls), while Iris appeared in the Netflix Original, Love, where she played a child star to everyone’s delight. Then, how did you like both sisters’ handling of Knocked Up when they were so funny asking all those mischievous questions about everything that they kept the audience roaring with laughter. So while it’s still doubtful whether they would really attain their parents’ popularity, they are sure to become yet more successful (and rich!) than they are now.
Maisie Williams, worth $1 million
The Game of Thrones series with its vast popularity proved a launching pad for several young actors and actresses who earned enough dough to hit this list, Maisie Williams one of them. At her springtime age of 20, she is a rather prominent figure on the show, she has played Arya Stark for years. Although Williams has been busy filming for Games, she managed to squeeze in performances in other movies, sketches, and various minor works. She has got her share of praise for her acting abilities as well as a number of awards (Performer of the Year from the London Films Critics’ Circle Award, for one). Consequently, it looks as if Williams were constantly working away without having time to enjoy life and being young. That would be a pity, though being one of Hollywood’s youngest millionaires certainly is something like a good compensation for her toil.
Bella Hadid, worth $1 million
When asked who they would like to emulate, quite a lot of teenage girls are sure to name Bella Hadid, a famous model at her 19 years of age. Probably, being the daughter of an in-demand model and the sister of another, she had her way paved for her more or less. But first Bella took interest in photography and studied it in New York. Then she came round to approaching the camera from the other side at about the same time when her sister Gigi Hadid took up modeling too. Since then she has tread the runways of many a top designer and means to keep up the good work. When she’s not working, she spends her time attending events and award parties in company with other celeb teens who like grand outings, like Kendall Jenner and her sister Gigi. These youngsters sure can pay for any amount of pleasure.
Amandla Stenberg, worth $1 million
Probably Amandla Stenberg, an aspiring model, realized that she was capable of much more than she was doing at the start. And her gut feeling proved right in 2012 when she landed the job of playing in the Hunger Games (together with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson) the role of 12-year-old female tribute Rue. As the blockbuster rose in popularity, Stenberg became a very much noticeable person both as an actress and a singer. Her marvelous voice received its share of appreciation and she went touring as a member of the Honeywater band featuring also Zander Hawley, songwriter, and co-signer. The duo gained much positive attention and voiced their views on many topics from Kylie Jenner’s hairstyle to pop culture in general. Stenberg’s latest work was starring in Everything, Everything alongside Nick Robinson.
Amandla is not only a gifted entertainer but also a holder of strong views about the current world situation. She is an active member of the feminist movement and is always ready to discuss civil liberties and other burning questions. The actress is open about her sexuality and claims to be non-binary, or pansexual. Ms. Foundation for Women hailed her as “Feminist of the Year” in 2015.
Bella Thorne, worth $2 million
Thorne has been in business since she was 9 appearing in unimportant parts in movies and TV, and now. After ten years, she is on her sure way to stardom and is unlikely to halt. She has got an arm-long list of appearances, many of them noteworthy, starting with playing CeCe Jones in the Disney hit show Shake It Up. Jones, just like Thorne herself, suffered from dyslexia. Then, moving on from the Disney Channel, she featured in Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip and Famous in Love. And we won’t forget about her singing aspirations that will probably make for a debut album sometime soon. In personal life, she drew additional attention to herself going about with Scott Disick, available again after splitting with Kourtney Kardashian.
Sasha Pieterse, worth $2 million
Sasha Pieterse, remembered for her part in Pretty Little Liars, should definitely be mentioned here even though she has already turned 21. The daughter of professional acrobatic parents, she went professional early getting engaged in small parts for TV sitcoms from the age 6. But big success eluded her until 13 when she starred on ABC’s Pretty Little Liars in the role of Alison DiLaurentis. The series provided her with steady work – and steady income – for the next several years and seven seasons. Then she turned to music and has released four singles during the year 2013. Those were not greatly successful, yet with all the years ahead of her, we may still be talking about her as a wonderful hitmaker in some time to come.
Tom Holland, worth $2.5 million
Tom Holland is 21, and there is something in him that tells us he is only at the beginning of his career – even if the beginning is to be already envied by many. The British boy went in for dancing, got an offer for the leading part in the musical Billy Elliot: The Musical and got people talking about his performance. That experience primed him for an actor and he appeared in movies, namely How I Live Now and In the Heart of the Sea. But that’s history, while Holland’s future is, even more, promising with his being locked in to feature in Spider-Man: Homecoming and five more Marvel flicks. He will surely be busy over the next few years, and his earnings can be expected to grow accordingly.
Kylie Jenner, worth $3 million
Any list of the young and the rich is sure to include Kylie Jenner, a 19-year-old megabucks owner and a very famous person for unfortunately nothing more than her looks and – and her changed looks. There are no work-and-luck issues for Kylie, she has her genes and that’s all she needs. She is the youngest girl among all Kardashians and Jenners, and arguably the one most in the limelight. Having gotten her lips altered, she grew into a pop icon and keeps earning bucks on her personality and a makeup line. She doesn’t have to do anything much to raise a new surge of attention to herself but upload a photo with a new hat or grills on, and that’s it. There’s no telling how her career and popularity will be developing in foreseeable future, but it certainly won’t be a destitute life for Kylie.
Atticus Shaffer, worth $4 million
Another comedy series star, Atticus Shaffer, is memorable for his performance on ABC’s The Middle. His character is Brick Heck, an intelligent but introvert kid who is younger than 18-year-old Shaffer by several years. The fact is, the actor suffers from osteogenesis imperfect, a rare disability that prevents his bones from growing and getting stronger, so he looks about 5 years younger than he actually is. Apart from the role that brought him fame and fortune, he made quite a slew of appearances in movies, shows as well as being in demand for his excellent voice performances during the last five or six years.
Willow Smith, worth $4 million
A brilliant teenager coming from the celeb family of Will Smith and Jayda Pinkett, sister to the young star Jaden Smith, Willow is only 16 years old, but she is working on her career like there’s no tomorrow. She began her rise to fame after appearing in the horror movie I Am Legend where her father starred. Willow went on to play in other movies and provided a voice for animated films, some of which are as big as Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa.
At the age of 10 Willow released her first single Whip My Hair, reaching the platinum status in the US, and in 2015 wrote and produced her first album consisting almost solely of her own songs. With such an output, there’s no telling what success she will have attained by the time she becomes 21!
Cody Simpson, worth $4.5 million
It will soon be a decade since Cody Simpson’s star began to rise, making him a recognized teen and tween girls’ heartthrob. A multi-talented boy from Australia, Simpson showed himself as a swimmer of merit and won awards for his prowess. In 2009 he set about penning his own songs, recording them and discovering that people actually like them! Now he’s got three successful records and a number of tours to his credit. Simpson also took part in the Dancing With The Stars show in 1014, where he was one of the youngest participants, unfortunately failing to stay for a longish period of time. In addition, he played himself a few times in various movies, and he clearly means to go on with acting, for his plans include filming a remake of North Shore to be called North Shore Wave Warrior.
Sophie Turner, worth $5 million
The admirers of The Game of Thrones know the actress as the 5th highest earning one on the series – and that at 20 years old! So our Sansa Stark has got a rocketing career when fresh after teens, complete with the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a T.V. Series. Having gained recognition, she was invited to feature in other well-liked movies, to mention but Barely Lethal and X-Men Apocalypse. Meanwhile, the series remains a major influence in her life, and the show’s dog, Lady, will be a reminder because Turner’s family adopted the animal. And, by the way, in the series the actress wears her hair dyed: in real life she is a beautiful blonde!
Elle Fanning, worth $5 million
Elle Fanning, now 19, has been working in the industry almost as soon as she learned to walk. She was pulled into business at the tender age of 3 because her sister Dakota Fanning, who had already been doing fine, needed a younger edition of herself. From simply filling the gap she moved on to show that she could play as well as her sister. She did a slew of supporting roles but then went on to star in Reservation Road, Phoebe in Wonderland and other movies, most of which were nominated, won awards or received critical acclaim. For one, her recent movie Sidney Hall was hailed at the Sundance Film Festival. The titillating question is whether she is going to appear again alongside her sister Dakota in some great movie.
Ariel Winter, worth $7 million
There are not so many 19-year-olds who take Hollywood by storm. Ariel Winter succeeded in it (with a vengeance, some will say!). Right now she can be seen on ABC playing in the immensely popular sitcom Modern Family that runs for 8 seasons and shows no sign of stopping. She portrays Alex Dunphy, one of the children of the main family, who is acerbic and a bit nerdy. It was her major breakthrough part, the necessary piece of Hollywood-style luck, after doing very small parts on ER and other shows in her greener days. Now she’s hit the big time, Winter pockets something like $110,000 per episode – that’s the teen salary for you!
As for personal life, Winter found it hard to live with her dominating and assumingly violent mother and had to break free and emancipate herself legally. Mass media like Winter for her strong stand in social matters and her ingenious approach to styling herself. It certainly looks like her path will take her higher yet as she is moving out of her teens.
Rico Rodriguez, worth $7 million
Modern Family seems to be another show that spawns actors and actresses who become rich and famous, and here is Rico Rodriguez to prove that. The Texas-born boy followed his sister into the acting world but had no discernible success until he got on the set of the famous comedy where he plays – or rather has been playing for 8 years – Manny Delgado, the charming and intelligent fellow who brings him a tidy sum of $110,000 for each season 7 episode. For the time being he is set firmly and well, and on the road of becoming even richer than he is now. While this is probably not the best career in Hollywood, the role helped him gather a handful of awards and enough experience to produce a book about life’s lessons, so at 18 he’s rich in many senses of this word.
Jaden Smith, worth $8 million
Jaden Smith is the 18-year-old offspring of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, coming to this world on July 8, 1988, and bound for stardom from the very beginning. At least when he was 8 he played his celeb father’s character’s son in The Pursuit of Happiness and carried off an MTV movie award for his performance. Then the younger Smith went from a movie to a movie, starring in the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid and again with his father in After Earth. So it’s only natural that he is on the way to being a teen girls’ heartthrob among those who regularly tread red carpets. Also, he sings some rap and has launched a clothesline of his own. Outside work Jaden Smith is known for keeping company with all the teenage celebs, Justin Bieber and the like. He can afford that with his $8 million. We will certainly hear of him in the years to come.
Chloe Grace Moretz, worth $12 million
Chloe Grace Moretz is 20 years old and she could have bought a brewery before she could order a glass of beer – that just shows what real talent can achieve. As soon as Moretz played her first movie part more than 10 years ago (at the age of 7!) she started receiving offer after offer. Like playing Chelsea Lutz in the remake of The Amityville Horror that brought her first nomination for the Young Artist Award, starting a string of nominations and awards during the following years. Somehow movies featuring her also tended to be nominated and win awards – to mention but Hugo by Martin Scorsese and Dark Shadows by Tim Burton. Her talent embraced comedy too, the fact that was revealed in Neighbors 2: A Sorority Rising and 500 Days of Summer. Moretz had her share of flak for the way Red Shoes, her upcoming animated film, was promoted, but it seems she wasn’t involved personally in the body-shaming marketing of the movie.
Abigail Breslin, worth $12 million
Of course, Breslin has recently quit this category having turned 21 in the spring, but that’s too recent to disprove the fact that she made it earlier than some others! She is memorable for her portrayal of a charming little girl in Mel Gibson-starring thriller Signs. After Signs Breslin never looked back. During her comparatively short career span, she was a star in more than 20 movies, including playing the aspiring beauty queen in the famous flick Little Miss Sunshine. And though her work in ABC’s TV-targeted remake of Dirty Dancing didn’t add a lot to her fame, we all know that remakes can be tricky and not all movies lend themselves happily to remaking. Everybody expects the next release to be a more successful one for Breslin.
Lorde, worth $12 million
It’s not enough just to make an impressive appearance and make people sit up and take notice – a good deal of staying power is also needed to get a firm grip on your initial success. That’s what Lorde has managed to do by the age of 20. The New Zealand talent understandably doesn’t go on stage under her original name of Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, and she had to think of a pseudonym. Her avid interest in all things royal prompted her the name Lord to which she added an “e” for a more feminine touch. She had been engrossed in music and composing throughout her teen years when she eventually came up with the hit Royals in 2013. She moved on to collaborating in producing some make-up and won the title of one of the Most Influential Teens the following year. Currently, she is engaged in bringing out her second album and getting ready for the promotional tour. It seems there’s no way of stopping the young lady on her way to the very top!
