Curse of the Christmas movie! From drug abuse to schizophrenia and being orphaned at 15 - how life for young stars of festive films has not taken a fairytale path
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By their very nature, Christmas movies are supposed to be feel-good films for the whole family to enjoy. But in recent years, some of the most popular productions have become tinged with sadness due to the tragic circumstances cast members have found themselves in.
![[James Stewart and Karolyn Grimes pictured filming the Christmas movie It's a Wonderful Life in 1948]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/11/78640115-14196971-James_Stewart_and_Karolyn_Grimes_pictured_filming_the_Christmas_-a-14_1734349898486.jpg)
The young stars of some of the most famous festive favourites have endured difficult paths in life - including Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin's very public battle with his parents. Taylor Momsen, who played the adorable Cindy Lou in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, also struggled through an 'utterly dark hole of and substance abuse' while finding success as the leader of a punk rock band called The Pretty Reckless.
![[Karolyn Grimes was a six-year-old child star when she appeared in the Christmas classic 'It's a Wonderful Life']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/11/78641569-14196971-Karolyn_Grimes_83_was_a_six_year_old_child_star_when_she_appeare-a-15_1734349902453.jpg)
Tragedy further struck for Karolyn Grimes, who made her acting debut aged six in post-war Christmas cracker It's a Wonderful Life. She lost both her parents before her 16th birthday. ‘My life has never been wonderful,’ the former actress candidly told the Washington Post in 2011.
![[American child actress Karolyn Grimes, star of such films as Sister Kenny and It's a Wonderful Life, in June 1946]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/11/78641571-14196971-American_child_actress_Karolyn_Grimes_star_of_such_films_as_Sist-a-16_1734349918259.jpg)
‘Maybe when I was a child, but not after age 15. And maybe that’s what makes the film so important for me and a lot of other people.'. Here, FEMAIL delves into the curse of the Christmas movie for these young stars - and why you may never look at them the same.
![[Taylor Momsen listening to Jim Carrey in a scene from the film How The Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/11/93191997-14196971-image-a-20_1734350038556.jpg)
Karolyn Grimes (pictured in 2010), now 84, starred as six-year-old Zuzu in the 1946 movie It's a Wonderful Life. When the cameras filming It’s A Wonderful Life stopped rolling, life wasn’t so picture-perfect for the child at its centre. Karolyn Grimes, now 84, starred as six-year-old Zuzu in the 1946 movie that follows an angel who saves a father set on killing himself so his family can benefit from the life insurance.
![[Momsen's image today is a far cry from the cheery youngster who appeared in the Grinch]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/11/65741265-14196971-A_recent_Instagram_shot_showing_Momsen_on_tour-a-19_1734350015655.jpg)
