Aliens child star turned her back on fame 37 years ago with unusual motive

06 August 2023 , 19:29

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Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn in Aliens 1986 (Image: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

One of the most promising young stars of the 1980s quit fame after one hit movie to follow her dreams of being a school teacher.

Carrie Henn was just 12 when she starred as Newt in 1986 sci-fi horror Aliens. It was the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 hit Alien, and told the story of what happened after Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley escaped the Xenomorph infestation on the Nostromo spaceship.

The plot saw Ripley, who had been in stasis for 57 years, and a crew of Colonial Marines go on a mission to LV-426, where she believes there is a batch of Xenomorph eggs.

Upon arrival on the exomoon, they find the colony ravaged by the face-hugging beasts - apart from one child, Newt - played by Carrie, now 47.

Carrie Henn as a 12-year-old child star (REX/Shutterstock)

Carrie is now a married mum-of-one and school teacher (Getty Images)

Newt almost met a much grislier end in the movie after she and Ripley are set upon by two of the slimy-mouthed creatures, but ended up dying after her escape pod filled with water.

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Carrie won a Saturn Award and Young Artist Award for her performance, but it wasn’t enough to keep her making movies.

She now works as a teacher, and told Tulsa World in 2016 that she chose education over acting as it is her true passion. She said: "It was a decision that I made. My parents have always been encouraging of me to do what I want.

"That’s what a lot of people have a hard time understanding. They don’t understand that [acting] wasn’t my passion. It wasn’t my dream. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was it an amazing experience? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Of course.

"But it wasn’t my passion. Teaching was. "As a child, I always enjoyed sort of lining up my dolls, especially my Cabbage Patch Kid and teaching to them and I really enjoyed that kind of stuff."

She is now a married mum-of-one, and describes herself in her Instagram bio as a “Wife, mother, educator and child-Actress. (Newt - Aliens)."

Emma Gritt