Kirk Cameron

Born on Oct. 12, 1970, in Panorama City, Calif., Kirk Cameron began acting at the age of 9. After small parts in such projects as "Beyond Witch Mountain" (CBS, 1982) and "Herbie the Love Bug" (CBS, 1982), his first major role came at age 13 when he was cast in the short-lived ABC drama series "Two Marriages" (1983-84). True fame and success came a couple of years later when he was cast as Mike Seaver on the ABC sitcom "Growing Pains" (1985-92). The sitcom, which went on to be a major hit for ABC, also starred Alan Thicke and Joanna Kerns as Jason and Maggie Seaver, a professional couple raising their children in Long Island, New York. Cameron was rocketed to teen idol status by the show, and became a regularly-featured name in all of the popular teen magazines of the era, including "Tiger Beat" and "16." He parlayed that success into several starring roles in films, such as the body-switch comedy "Like Father, Like Son" (1987) opposite Dudley Moore, as well as the serious drama "Listen to Me" (1989), which also starred Jami Gertz and Roy Scheider. In addition to his film work, he also made a guest appearance on the sitcom "Full House" (ABC, 1987-95), which starred his sister Candace. He was the recipient of several awards during this time as well, including a Young Artist Award in 1986 for Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television Series, and another Young Artist Award in 1987 for Best Young Male Superstar in Television. He also won a People's Choice Award in 1988 for Favorite Young TV Performer, and was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1987 for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film. After "Growing Pains" ended its run, Cameron went on to star on the self-titled sitcom "Kirk" for the WB Network (1995-97), on which he played a young man faced with the daunting task of raising his siblings after the death of their parents. He went on to appear in two "Growing Pains" reunion movies in the early 2000s, "The Growing Pains Movie" (2000) and "Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers" (2004), but his interests had begun to diverge, by then, from mainstream Hollywood. During his time on "Growing Pains," Cameron had become a born-again Christian, and following the end of "Kirk," he chose to focus most of his acting and professional efforts on ministry and Christian outreach. Since that time, he has appeared in a number of faith-based productions, including the "Left Behind" film series (based on the books), "Fireproof," which became the highest-grossing independent film of 2008, and "Saving Christmas" (2014). He was also co-founder, alongside Christian minister Ray Comfort, of the ministry The Way of the Master; and co-founder, alongside his wife Chelsea Noble, of The Firefly Foundation, which hosts an annual summer camp for terminally ill children. In 2012, he was honored by Indiana Wesleyan University with an induction into their Society of World Changers. In recent years, Cameron has continued to focus on his ministry and on faith-based Christian entertainment projects.