Christy Carlson Romano, a former child star, has called for enhanced safeguards to protect young actors in Hollywood, drawing parallels between the pressures of early fame and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Romano's commentary comes in the wake of the recent death of actress Hayden Panettiere, who was 36. Preliminary autopsy results for Panettiere indicated no signs of trauma contributing to her death, which remains under investigation.
In an op-ed published in Elle, Romano, who starred in Disney's "Even Stevens," described the experience of child stardom as subjecting young performers to repeated impact from stress, scrutiny, rejection, adult pressure, and the loss of privacy. She questioned why, unlike youth athletes who have protective protocols and equipment, children in the entertainment industry are not similarly shielded from long-term damage.
"We put youth athletes in helmets and pads. We invented entire sciences around protecting them from long-term damage. Why can’t we pad the children paid to make the world smile?" Romano wrote.
Romano argued that despite numerous accounts of former child stars facing difficulties later in life, the industry continues to treat young performers as exceptions rather than individuals engaged in demanding professional work. She stated that young actors are often seen as "lucky exceptions" whose labor fuels a profitable industry, while their mental health needs are overlooked.
She highlighted a cycle where responsibility for child performers' well-being is diffused among parents, producers, networks, and societal expectations. Romano noted that when these individuals struggle later in life, they often become cautionary tales rather than subjects of systemic change.
"Responsibility gets passed around. Stage parents blame producers, producers blame parents, networks blame culture, and culture then blames the child when the child becomes an adult in pain," she explained. "By then, the young performer is no longer cute enough to protect. They are a cautionary tale. A headline. A person expected to be grateful for the extraordinary childhood that may have cost them an ordinary self for life."
Romano, who has received adult support to address her own experiences, expressed concern for those who do not have similar access to help. She reflected on Panettiere's death, stating, "I am thinking of Hayden, her daughter, the people who loved her in real life — not as a headline, not as a symbol."
Panettiere was found unresponsive at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office stated that emergency medical services initiated resuscitation efforts, but they were unsuccessful. The cause and manner of her death are pending further investigation.
Romano concluded her remarks by urging a shift in perspective, stating, "We need to stop calling the truth bitterness just because it interrupts nostalgia. And we need to stop assuming former child performers are fine because they look pretty, sound grateful, book a job, and smile on cue."
"Some of them are not unscathed," she added. "Some of them are simply still performing."