What does it look like to be a child star in today’s age?
It’s a grueling schedule: practice, acting, music, or dance lessons, school, time with family, time to pursue other interests, and just being a kid!
And, of course, education!
Being a child celebrity can seem glamorous on the surface, but it takes significant focus, dedication, planning, and much more. There are opportunities galore, and it’s hard to know what to say “yes” or “no” to at times. Because it’s such a complicated lifestyle with so little room for error, many child stars have a difficult time adjusting, and it’s easy to lose track of priorities, especially in terms of education.
Mackenzie Couch is a prodigious talent from California who has mastered the complicated life of being a child star while putting her education first. She’s a quickly rising talent on many of TV’s most popular shows viewed by millions, with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
In the midst of incredible success that would put great pressure on any teenager, Mackenzie is the definition of young Hollywood in that she prioritizes her education and attends school full time in the midst of her pursuits.
Her mother, Christie, explains,
“We moved to LA when Mackenzie was just 10 years old. She signed with an agency right away. Since then she has danced in music videos for Nia Sioux and has appeared in 2 episodes of Fresh Off The Boat, has also appeared on Modern Family, Our People, and the HBO series, Insecure. She was SAG-eligible at the young age of 12 years old. Mackenzie attends the very prestigious Orange County School Of The Arts full-time in the commercial dance conservatory. Mackenzie and her sisters just appeared on the cover of The Teen Magazine and have another cover coming out in December.”
Regarding her experience with some of TV’s biggest shows, Modern Family and Fresh Off The Boat, Mackenzie herself explains,
“Filming both of those shows was an amazing experience. Modern Family was such a funny scene that it took awhile to get and Fresh Off The Boat was so good that I was just invited back for another episode.”
For many child celebrities, especially when beginning their journey as young as Mackenzie did, it can become tempting to put off education in favor of building a career, especially when they’re receiving interest from huge networks.
However, Mackenzie and her parents have made it a priority: education will always come first, because it’s the foundation for anything else. There are many stories of child celebrities who put off education in favor of a career, experience a few breaks, but ultimately don’t succeed and have little to lean on. Given Mackenzie’s trajectory, she’s prepared to excel in both her education and her career.
Follow Mackenzie on Instagram.
