Cute Teen Stars "All Grown Up"

When I was growing up, I remember being slightly envious of “child stars”. I thought they had the perfect lives-they were attractive, rich and popular, while I was a nerd in her “awkward stage”. As it turns out, that sort of thing didn't last. Many of them-Lindsay Lohan, River Phoenix, Corey Haim-ended up in a bad way because of the way their celebrity has affected them. Some of the others were really great for a while, but age wasn't kind and their looks faded as they got older. However, this isn't the case with everyone. Here are a few examples of men who started out in show business when they were young and have just gotten better (and better-looking) with age.

Justin Timberlake. Some of you might remember him as the guy with the curly hair in N'SYNC while others may have seen him as a child on The Mickey Mouse Club. No matter where you first saw him, though, you can't deny that he's grown into a gorgeous young man. Even if you're not a fan of his music, you've got to give him credit for having a great sense of humor about himself. He's hosted Saturday Night Live five times, each time making fun of himself by performing ridiculous 90s style R&B seduction song parodies with Andy Samberg or dancing in front of a store in a really weird costume. I think my favorite costume was a DD breast implant advertising a shop called "Plasticville"! 

Patrick Dempsey. Those of us who grew up in the '80s and early '90s probably saw Patrick with his black hair and blue eyes  in several "teeny-bopper" movies. I think the funniest (and most appropriately-titled!) movie he was in was Loverboy, where he played a pizza delivery guy who made, um, house calls to older women who order "extra anchovies". At 47, he's still got that  thick hair, albeit with a little more gray. These days, he's probably best known for playing Dr Derek Shepard (aka "McDreamy") on Grey's Anatomy. Rumor has it that this season will be his last, but a man with his looks and experience (he's been acting since he was 15!) will have no problem working as long as he wants to.

Neil Patrick Harris. When I was 12, I had a mad crush on him when he was the main character in Doogie Howser, M.D. He played a 16-year-old prodigy doctor who was very well-versed on medicine, but rather awkward when it came to girls and basically being a teenager. I thought he was cute and smart then, but he's even better-looking now. He was 16 at the time, but had been acting in some manner since he was about 10. What I find rather interesting about him is that, despite his many womanizing (How I Met Your Mother) and “hormonal” (Harold and Kumar Go To Whitecastle) characters, he's gay and has been “out” since about 2006. In coming out and being as comfortable with himself as he is, he's a rather good example of the way that being gay doesn't have to be seen as something shameful anymore; people are who they are, and that's all they really need to be.

Who are some of the celebrities you think have gotten better-looking with age?

"Candy" Made Just For Girls :)

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For some reason, I have the song, “I Want Candy” in my head. It was annoying when I first heard it in 1982 (dating myself here), and it's annoying now. However, it does give me an idea for an interesting blog post.

Sometimes it seems that guys have all the fun. Not only do they have all the sports teams and can easily find jeans that fit, they get 'eye candy' by the pound. Think about it; between professional cheerleaders, scantily-clad pop starlets and nubile young actresses, the guys have plenty to feast their eyes on. That's okay, though, because there is plenty of male 'eye candy' for us if we know where to look. After all, we should get to have some fun too! In this spirit, here are a few of the visual 'candy stores' I've found.

If you like cute love stories set in medieval times, check out A Knight's Tale. It's rather tongue-in-cheek, but it does tell a good story. Here, a squire (basically a knight's caddy) and his friends pose as nobles for the purpose of entering a jousting tournament. Heath Ledger is (was) one of the most beautiful men I've ever seen, and Paul Bettany (playing Geoffrey Chaucer) isn't hard to look at either. While his role is relatively small, James Purefoy adds a great deal to the 'eye candy' inventory. It's a really fun movie to watch with the girls, but the story will entertain your husband too.

On the TV front, there's Grey's Anatomy. Patrick Dempsey definitely lives up to the 'McDreamy' label, and Eric Dane's 'McSteamy' only makes it sweeter. If you like redheads, Kevin McKidd (Dr. Owen Hunt) is your man, and Justin Chambers (Dr. Alex Karev) has really nice skin. You'll see plenty of T.R. Knight's (Dr. George O'Malley) 'nerdy charm', and Chris O'Donnell had a brief stint on the show. As you can see, there's no shortage of men to look at. The show is great on it's own, which would be why it's lasted for seven years. However, the men definitely add to its charm!

Another show with multi-level appeal is Bones. It takes place in a forensics lab that works with the FBI to solve various crimes. The leading man is David Boreanaz who, in my opinion, looks better now than he did in his younger, Buffy the Vampire Slayer days. As for supporting actors, John Francis Daley (Dr. Lance Sweets) has a 'teenager-ish' charm, and T. J. Thyne (Dr. Jack Hodgins) has an amazing smile. His vivid blue eyes don't hurt either! For those of us who watch the reruns, Ryan Cartwright (Nigel) and Pej Vahdad (Dr. Arastoo Vaziri) are cute and smart at the same time.

As you can see, 'eye candy' isn't just for the men. Women can also find nice things to look at while still enjoying a good story.  The best thing about this kind of 'candy' is that you won't have to worry about gaining weight or rotting your teeth!