A Child Star's Struggle With Addiction

Nov. 21, 2006 — -- She was the cute preschooler behind the famous Oscar Meyer ad campaign, as well as in the Sizzler's restaurant commercial. Jodie Sweetin's success in commercials led her to a big break at the age of 5 -- the role of Stephanie Tanner on a new television sitcom "Full House."

Before long, the show was a smash success and the kindergartner was a star -- a star who even had her own catch phrase -- "How rude!" But Sweetin says she didn't know how big of a success she had become.

"I'd go and do these appearances and sign autographs and it would be -- you know -- like thousands of kids there to see me and I was like, 'Me?" Sweetin recalls.

Among her castmates were the Olsen twins, Mary Kate and Ashley, who would later shoot to superstardom. All the child actors actually grew up on the Warner Bros. studio lot.

"You grow up very fast. You become an adult very quickly. Some people regard you as an adult, so you're in adult situations at an earlier age than most people are," Sweetin says. "You're not 5 or 8 or 9. You're 25 when you're on the set and you're doing your job."

But after eight years, Sweetin lost that job when "Full House" was canceled. Suddenly Sweetin's exhilarating life as a child star was over, and she was forced to contemplate the question of what to do next.

"It was, you know, sort of like a midlife crisis at age 13. Like, 'What now? What do I do with my life?" Sweetin says.

Suddenly, the 13-year-old celebrity was just another high school freshman -- but one with an identity crisis. Sweetin says she was always questioning her friendships, often wondering if people just liked her because she was on a series and not because of who she was.

Sweetin appeared as a guest on a couple of television shows but still felt lost.

"One minute, everyone loves you. … And then, the next minute they're like, 'Who?'" Sweetin explains. "It's hard for a child. It's hard for an adult. It's hard for anyone."