17 ex-celebrities who ended up with completely different careers

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• Not all stars are destined to be lifelong celebrities.
• Some give up on show business entirely and go on to pursue fulfilling careers in other lines of work.
• See if you recognize any of these stars who've moved on to become lawyers, hairdressers, and business magnates.
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Fame can be quite fleeting, and show business comes with a lot of pressure.

So it's no surprise that celebrity can have an adverse effect on people, especially child stars, USA Today reported. The plight of Hollywood icons who achieved success, only to fall from grace due to drug use or erratic behavior, is well-documented.

But not all stars fall. Some just fade into a less visible line of work after their brush with fame.

Here's a look at some former stars who ended up in completely different careers:

Jeff Cohen — Lawrence 'Chunk' Cohen from 'The Goonies'

Claim to fame: Cohen shot to fame for his turn as clumsy, bad-luck-prone Chunk in the classic 1985 adventure film "The Goonies."

What he does now: Growing up, he was able to use his stint as a child actor to land roles at movie studios, according to the ABA Journal. He decided to go into law, earning his J.D. from UCLA after attending Berkeley.

Cohen went on to cofound the entertainment-oriented law firm Gardner Cohen LLP.

Crystal McKellar — Becky Slater from 'The Wonder Years'

Claim to fame: McKellar acted alongside her sister Danica in the television series "The Wonder Years."

Both sisters had been considered for the main role of Winnie, but Danica won out, and Crystal was brought on to play Becky Slater instead.

What she does now: During their time in show business, education was always a priority for the McKellars, according to Biography.com. McKellar went on to study at Yale and Oxford, and she earned her J.D. at Harvard.

Today, she's the managing director and legal counsel for Mithril Capital Management.

Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter — Guitarist for Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, and Spirit

Claim to fame: Baxter was a founding member of Steely Dan and later joined the Doobie Brothers.

The guitarist has led quite a lengthy career in rock and roll, working with acts and artists like Dolly Parton, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, and others as a session guitarist.

What he does now: The storied guitar-for-hire now has top security clearances. In the 1980s, his interest in recording technology prompted him to research and become fascinated with military software and hardware.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a paper Baxter wrote on missile defense attracted the attention of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. He became a defense consultant for the US Department of Defense and other defense entities, Guitar Player reported.

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SEE ALSO: 'It's not worth losing your job over': Bachelor, Amazing Race, and Survivor alums explain how reality stardom affected their careers