Nan Palmero from San Antonio, TX, USA · CC BY 2.0

Soleil Moon Frye became a household name at seven, starring in the title role of Punky Brewster, a scrappy foster child whose optimism carried the show through low initial ratings into years of syndication and a 2021 revival. She later directed her first film at 22, wrote a memoir about her unconventional childhood, and built a long career as a voice actor.