Entertainment
What Is 'Growing Pains' Chrissy Doing Today?
Michelle Tanner. Cindy Brady. Kylie Jenner. We love watching TV's youngest siblings grow up in front of our eyes, morphing from precocious tots in the first season to their tween selves. The only problem is, we tend to picture them as kids forever, even though the actors who play them eventually grow up. Sometimes, even the biggest fans may not recognize them a few years after their TV series come to an end. One of these TV siblings we love is Chrissy Seaver of Growing Pains , who may not be a kid anymore, but is still doing work you're guaranteed to love.
Though the six-year-old Chrissy was only on the sitcom for its sixth and seventh seasons, her face is one well-known to '90s comedy fans — perhaps because she got to pal around with Leonardo DiCaprio, who was also added to the cast in the last two seasons. The actress who portrays Chrissy is Ashley Johnson, and you might be surprised to know that she's a full-blown adult now. The 29-year-old may have spent her formative years in Hollywood, but she didn't retire when Growing Pains ended in 1992. Here's just some of what Johnson has been up to since she left the Seaver household.
Tons Of Voice Acting
Johnson's IMDb page is crazy long, and many of those roles are from her career as a voiceover artist. She's voiced characters on series like Teen Titans, Jumanji, and Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, but perhaps her most famous voice role was as the iconic Gretchen Grundler on Recess. She voiced the character for the cartoon series as well as the feature film Recess: School's Out.
What Women Want (2000)
Eight years after appearing on Growing Pains as a child, Johnson was going to prom — onscreen, anyway. She played Mel Gibson's character's teenage daughter in the romantic comedy.
King Of The Corner (2004)
Johnson appeared opposite Isabella Rossellini in the dramedy, which is currently available to watch on YouTube.
The Brothers Solomon (2007)
Johnson appeared alongside most of the more recent Saturday Night Live cast in this comedy about two brothers looking to find the perfect women to have a baby with.
Dirt (2008)
Before Cougar Town and after Friends was Courteney Cox's short-lived FX drama Dirt. Johnson appeared in five episodes of the series as Sharlee Cates, a parody of Britney Spears.
Spread (2009)
Ever wanted to know what Ashton Kutcher would look like as a gigolo in an ascot? Johnson has a supporting role in the movie that answers that question.
The Killing (2011-2012)
The former child actress played a much darker role this AMC murder mystery, of which she appeared in seven episodes.
The Whedonverse
Johnson was cast as Margaret in Joss Whedon's Shakespeare adaptation Much Ado About Nothing in 2012, but it wasn't her first Whedon work. The actress also appears as a waitress in The Avengers, a part that was more significant before cuts to the film were made. (They can be seen on the Blue-Ray DVD edition.) She also appeared in two episodes of Whedon's TV series Dollhouse.
Spooked (2014)
The Geek & Sundry web series is a parody of all of those ridiculous paranormal TV shows. Johnson plays Morgan, the lead investigator of the "awesome unknown."
The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014)
Gamers will no doubt recognize Johnson's voice. She plays Ellie, the last hope for humanity, in the zombie-apocalypse video game, and used stop-motion technology so the game could bring her likeness to life.
So what does Johnson look like now? She's not the Chrissy you remember. Here are some recent pics of the actress without her childhood signature curly locks.
Image: ABC