Oh!
I, too, am sorry for your loss, Pam.
I had a second cousin who died at seventeen
, and though I wasn't close to him, his family never got over the loss. I'm sure everybody will have some or such sad tale to quote. I guess being a celeb is what makes MJ and the others more... well, highlighted.
Becoming a great star before you have had time to grow up and and grow into yourself must be punishing and possibly stunting or even fatal experience.
I do agree with you, Ann. IMO, these people beget fame too early and have to strive harder than before to retain it. It must be a huge burden for small kids (still under their parents' care) who are forced by fans and family alike to live up to what name they've earned. The urge to keep on proving forever that they're still the *little stars* probably makes them wish for a different sort of childhood/adolescence than the one that they've had. And when they are on their own, they set out to achieve the one thing that they lost - better childhood. So that's why they probably end up being kids when other people of their age grow up.
Of course, I don't mean everybody. There are some child-stars there who've grown into really normal, untroubled people... but that, again, is the joint effort of the immediate family and friends and the person's own attitude, IMHO.
