Christy Carlson Romano Says Being A Child Star Blew Up Her Life And Her Entire Family In The Process

You probably know Christy Carlson Romano best for her time spent on the Disney Channel. She started her career in Hollywood as a child star and was the voice of Kim Possible. She also had roles in Cadet Kelly and Even Stevens.

But while you might think pursuing an acting career at such a young age is glamorous and amazing, Christy recently revealed on TikTok that it took an enormous toll on her and her loved ones.

"Being a child star didn't just affect me; it blew up my entire family. People hear child star, and they picture red carpets, and the premieres, and the fun," Christy explained in her video.

"Nobody asks what it costs everyone else. I was the youngest of four kids in Milford, Connecticut. My mom was my manager, and when I started booking jobs, commercials, theater, then bigger things, she went wherever I went."

"And my dad and my siblings didn't. It happened so gradually I almost didn't notice. Auditions in New York, Mom takes me. Summer run in Atlanta, Mom takes me. L.A. for pilot season, just me and Mom. And everybody else stayed behind."

Christy's dad was at home, working, while her siblings were in school. Christy's family was split into two different worlds, causing her parents to lead very different lives.

There was Christy and her mom in one world, and her dad and her siblings in the other. The one time every year when both worlds came together was at Christmas.

After Christy was cast as Ren in Even Stevens, a Disney Channel series, she packed up and moved to L.A., which was the catalyst for everything really falling apart.

Christy admits she would go months on end without speaking to her siblings, who became people she felt like she used to know but no longer did.

Larry Gibson - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only - pictured above is the Hollywood sign

They stopped feeling like a family. Christy then turned 21 and didn't speak to her family for an entire year. She was living on the other side of the country, busy chasing her career and money.

"I don't think anyone meant for it to happen. The machine just needed me out there performing, and it didn't care what it cost everyone at home," Christy continued.

"My dad passed away. I flew back to Milford, and I said goodbye to our house, and I stood at his grave. Held my mom's hand as she walked into a new chapter of life."

"When you're standing at someone's grave, and you know you weren't as close as you wanted to be because life got so complicated and a career got in the way, you reckon with that."

Christy moved to Austin in 2020, and her mom lives five minutes away. Christy helped move her mom in, and they have a good relationship presently.

However, Christy is still working on dealing with how her family fell apart "one audition at a time." She wrote a book called Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Fall and Rise of a Child Star, in which she unpacks a lot of this, and it's available on October 6th through Simon & Schuster.

I definitely appreciate how vulnerable Christy is, and it's sad that fame really can cost you everything.