History Main / TeenIdol

* /Creator/AliLarter was clearly intended to be the pinup of choice for hetero males from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', but Creator/HaydenPanettiere turned out to be the one teenage boys [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer and not only boys]] (and more than a few ''post-''teenagers went for[[note]]Including [[CastIncest one of her co-stars]][[/note]] as it turned out.) really went for. (Well, AllGuysWantCheerleaders...)

* /Creator/AliLarter was clearly intended to be the pinup of choice for hetero males from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', but Creator/HaydenPanettiere turned out to be the one teenage boys [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer and not only boys as it turned out]] (and more than a few ''post-''teenagers[[note]]Including [[CastIncest one of her co-stars]], as it turned out.) really went for.[[/note]] (Well, AllGuysWantCheerleaders...)

* Creator/DavidCassidy of ''Series/ThePartridgeFamily''. Interestingly, he's one of the few real-life Teen Idols who was also portrayed that way on the show. And Susan Dey for the others.

* All of the stars of ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', especially Music/ZacEfron.
* Ali Larter was clearly intended to be the pinup of choice for hetero males from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', but Creator/HaydenPanettiere turned out to be the one teenage guys [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer and not only guys as it turned out]] (and more than a few ''post-''teenage guys) really went for. (Well, AllGuysWantCheerleaders...)

* Ali Larter was clearly intended to be the pinup of choice for hetero males from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', but Creator/HaydenPanettiere turned out to be the one teenage guys [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer and not only guys as it turned out]] (and more than a few ''post-''teenage guys) really went for. (Well AllGuysWantCheerleaders...)

* Ali Larter was clearly intended to be the pinup of choice for hetero males from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', but Creator/HaydenPanettiere turned out to be the one teenage guys [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer and not only guys as it turned out]] (and more than a few ''post-''teenage guys) really went for.

* Chronicled in part in the movie ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'' (and the book it was based on).

* Creator/TheCW has aprofitable sideline in this field.

** And then you have Music/BridgitMendler, Creator/DebbyRyan, Creator/BellaThorne, {{Creator/Zendaya}}, Creator/LauraMarano, Music/ChinaAnneMcClain, [[Series/DogWithABlog G. Hannelius]], Creator/DoveCameron, Creator/OliviaHolt, Creator//SabrinaCarpenter, Music/OliviaRodrigo... the list just goes on. Creator/RossLynch, Creator/JakeShort, and Creator/PeytonMeyer are among the channel's fresh male faces.

* Music/ElvisPresley.
* Creator/JamesDean.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Whiting Len Whiting]]. He was Romeo in Franco Zefferelli's 1968 ''Film/{{Romeo and Juliet|1968}}''. He was such a major Teen Idol for a while that it wasn't uncommon for him to be the subject of 60% or more of the articles in a single issue of a teen magazine.
* [[Literature/{{Twilight}} Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson]]. Both actors have said on numerous occasions that they are less than pleased with the status.
* Rudolf Valentino.
* Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio used to be one in his younger years.

* Creator/JenniferLawrence.

** And then you have Music/BridgitMendler, Creator/DebbyRyan, Creator/BellaThorne, {{Creator/Zendaya}}, Creator/LauraMarano, Music/ChinaAnneMcClain, [[Series/DogWithABlog G. Hannelius]], [[Series/LivAndMaddie Dove Cameron]], and Creator/OliviaHolt...the list just goes on. Creator/RossLynch, Creator/JakeShort and Creator/PeytonMeyer are the channel's fresh male faces.
** Before the Disney Channel, Creator/HayleyMills, Creator/AnnetteFunicello, Robert Considine and Tommy Kirk were teen idols in TheSixties.

* Music/TheJacksonFive, and Music/MichaelJackson the solo singer when he was in his teens. The "King of Pop," incidentally, was one of the few teen idols whose teen stardom parlayed into a career in adulthood, and to say it was successful would be a gross understatement.

* Donny Osmond, his sister, Marie, and the rest of the Osmonds. Both Donny and Marie (who recorded together as teenagers) would each have huge hits as adults in the '80s, both as solo artists or in Marie's case, with various duet partners. Marie's success came primarily on the country chart, with her solo No. 1 hit "There's No Stopping Your Heart," and duet No. 1's with two fellow ex-pop stars: Dan Seals ("Meet Me in Montana") and Paul Davis ("You're Still New to Me"); Donny returned to the pop chart's top 5 with "Soldier of Love" in May 1989, and had another top 15 hit with "Sacred Emotion" toward the end of the summer 1989.

Not to be confused with the Creator/MegCabot novel, Literature/TeenIdol, or Music/MarinaDiamandis' song "Teen Idle" (though Marina is given to playing with the trope).

* Music/TheRollingStones were this in the United States during UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion.

People have been declared teen idols for as long as being a teenager has been recognized[[note]]which, by the way, is NewerThanTheyThink - until the '50s, anybody under the age of 21 was simply a "child" or "young adult"[[/note]]. Many, but not all, have been specifically groomed for this purpose. They generally have several things in common:

An entertainer who is idolized by teenagers.

People have been declared teen idols for as long as being a teenager has been recognized[[note]]which, by the way, is NewerThanTheyThink - until the '50s, anybody under the age of 18 was simply a "child"[[/note]]. Many, but not all, have been specifically groomed for this purpose. They generally have several things in common:

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfOzzieAndHarriet'': Ricky Nelson, who parlayed his TV fame into a legitimate music career, and carried on his family's tradition (Ozzie was also a huge star, but in the 1930s and 1940s).

* Ricky Nelson. His sons, Matthew and Gunnar (who performed as Nelson), also became teen idols for a time in the early '90s, extending the family tradition to a third generation. As patriarch Ozzie Nelson had No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' charts in the late 1930s/early '40s, and Ricky followed with his string in the late '50s/early '60s, Nelson became one of the few multi-generation families to each have No. 1 hits, turning the trick in 1990 with "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection."

* Music/TheMonkees certainly count, being jokingly referred to as [[FanNickname 'The Pre-Fab Four']] due to their artificially composed nature, yet they're also known for gaining a lot of respect from both musicians and music critics.

* Music/{{NSYNC}} was this in the late '90s/early 2000s. Music/JustinTimberlake is this now.

* Lesley Gore was 16 when her debut "It's My Party" went to #1. After attending college in 1965, she started a modestly successful adult career with the entirely self-written comeback album, ''Someplace Else Now'', in 1972. She remained on the oldies and cabaret circuit while recording the occasional album until her death in 2015.

** The Gibbs' youngest brother, Andy, was also a teen idol in the late '70s. Unlike post teen pop of the '60s and later, Gibb's music made as a teen still gets heavy oldies/classic hits airplay -- espeically "I Just Want to Be Your Everything," his ultra smash from 1977 -- due to his music being substantially and stylistically different from peers such as Shaun Cassidy, Bobby Sherman, etc.

* The Cowsills

** Although oldest teen star Staci Keanan was supposed to be the designated teen queen of the series -- and at least in the early going it was this way -- by 1995 her popularity was completely eclipsed by co-star Creator/ChristineLakin (who played youngest daughter Al Lambert), once she entered puberty, became completely hot and became the apple of many young men's eyes (and those in their late teens).

Not to be confused with the Creator/MegCabot novel, Literature/TeenIdol, or ''Music/MarinaAndTheDiamonds'''s song "Teen Idle" (though Marina is given to playing with the trope).

* Ali Larter was clearly intended to be the pinup of choice from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', but Creator/HaydenPanettiere turned out to be the one teenage guys [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer and not only guys as it turned out]] (and more than a few ''post-''teenage guys) really went for.

** And then you have Music/BridgitMendler, Creator/DebbyRyan, Creator/BellaThorne, {{Creator/Zendaya}}, Creator/LauraMarano, Music/ChinaAnneMcClain, [[Series/DogWithABlog G. Hannelius]], [[Series/LivAndMaddie Dove Cameron]], and Creator/OliviaHolt...the list just goes on. Creator/RossLynch, Creator/JakeShort and Peyton Meyer are the channel's fresh male faces.

** Although oldest teen star Staci Keanan was supposed to be the designated teen queen of the series -- and at least in the early going it was this way -- by 1995 her popularity was completely eclipsed by co-star Christine Lakin (who played youngest daughter Al Lambert), once she entered puberty, became completely hot and became the apple of many young men's eyes (and those in their late teens).

** Before the Disney Channel, Creator/HayleyMills, Annette Funicello, Robert Considine and Tommy Kirk were teen idols in TheSixties.

* Chronicled in part in the movie ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption''.

* Creator/DavidCassidy of ''Series/ThePartridgeFamily''. Interestingly, he's one of the few real-life Teen Idols who was also portrayed that way on the show.

* Ali Larter was clearly intended to be the pinup of choice from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', but Creator/HaydenPanettiere turned out to be the one teenage guys (and more than a few ''post-''teenage guys) really went for.