COVER WARS: Fresh For Fall, Child Starlets Grow Up

We’ve all witnessed the rise, fall and rebirth (repeat) of those special creatures who have been famous since childhood. Classically, there’s Judy Garland and Michael Jackson, and more recently Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. Each have their misfires, quirks, and claims to fame, and occasionally the train wreck aspects of their careers overshadow the good times. This fall, a few glossy magazines have reserved their cover spot for women who came of age under the spotlight, but with new projects (and new bodies!) they seem to be doing all right. But which cover most successfully documents the embattled maturation of a child star? Cover Wars decides.

For her appearance in The Piano, Anna Paquin became the second youngest Oscar winner in history. She was 11 — talk about starting off strong. And though she’s never really matched the chops she showed then, her turns as Rogue in X-Men and most recently, as Sookie Stackhouse in the vampire series True Blood have kept her famous. Nylon is the hip style mag made for True Blood fans.

Mediaite Grade (B): As an object of lust for vampires, Paquin plays a fair-skinned southern belle on HBO, but for this cover she’s extra pale. The washed out light reflects off of her glittery top and her pose is not exactly sexy — just full of attitude. The busy text on Nylon‘s covers is standard, as is an it-girl cover star, but it is odd that this one started off so high-brow. It’s not that she sold out — True Blood is wicked fun — but why does she look like a teenager? She’s 27, Nylon — let her act her age.

As the ’90s began, Jennifer Love Hewitt starred in the child-friendly sitcom Kids Incorporated. By age 16, she was becoming a ’90s icon, joining Party of Five. Then came the cementing of her time-specific legend as the scream-happy teen in I Know What You Did Last Summer, on her way to being Maxim‘s Sexiest Woman in 1999. But nothing says “I’ve grown up!” like a weight loss cover.

Mediaite Grade (B): Though she’s been chided in the press for the pounds she gained as her fame plummeted, it’s frustrating to see her stoop to answering body critics. Still, now 30, Jennifer has maintained her girl next door image, inarguably looks great and her show Ghost Whisperer is moderately successful. But this Shape cover — equally heavy on the pink and self-improvement — seems to be pandering a bit. And women looking to get in shape never really were her fan base, were they?

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