America’s Got Talent Alum Grace VanderWaal Celebrates 21st Birthday in Sultry Sheer Dress
Grace VanderWaal’s latest look is worthy of a golden buzzer.
The America’s Got Talent alum was shining bright as she celebrated her 21st birthday Jan. 15 in a glittery gown fit for the festive occasion.
In an Instagram carousel posted on her big day, the singer—who won the talent competition series in 2016 at just 12 years old—modeled a sheer beige minidress covered in sparkly sequins. Across several photos and videos, she struck several playful poses for the camera, alternately winking and blowing kisses.
While Grace is all grown up now, she recently reflected on coming of age in the spotlight following her AGT victory.
“I honestly felt like it helped me as a person,” she told content creator David Carmi in a TikTok video shared in August 2024, “because it threw me into scrutiny and just kind of forced me to sink or swim.”
The “So Much More Than This” singer then offered some “corny” but “true” advice, urging others to “accept who you are”—though she also warned of deceptive influences as she shared another valuable lesson: “Don’t trust everyone.”While Grace has admitted her public upbringing brought its own ups and downs, she’s used her experiences as opportunities for personal growth.
“I feel like I keep learning about how to take care of myself better and my biggest thing recently is just acknowledging your triggers,” she told E! News in 2022. “Staying in your pajamas all day—that’s gonna make me depressed. Let’s get up, get dressed.”
And she hasn’t let negativity get in the way of her well-being.
“I feel like I’ve been doing this for so long that you get desensitized to hate online,” she went on. “I went through a ton of hate online when I was really young. I’m happy it happened though because it prepared me for this life.”
Curious how other child stars are doing now? Find out below.Jonathan Taylor Thomas
JTT rose to fame playing brainy and adorable middle child Randy Taylor on Home Improvement starting in 1991. His big-screen roles that decade included voicing young Simba in The Lion King (though that’s not him singing) and starring with Brad Renfro in 1995’s Tom and Huck and Devon Sawa in 1997’s Wild America.
He left Home Improvement in 1998 (Randy went to Costa Rica) to focus on school, but kept acting on his list of extracurriculars.
He had a recurring role on 8 Simple Rules in 2004 and in 2013 reunited with TV dad Tim Allen to direct (and appear in ) several episodes of Last Man Standing.
But though JTT backed away from the spotlight to live his life, which included graduating from Columbia in 2010, Thomas doesn’t need to be onscreen to cause a splash: On the rare occasions the paparazzi snap him, the sightings go viral.
