Candace Cameron Bure Has Totally Transformed Since Her Child Star Days

Candace Cameron Bure was born in California in 1976 with big dreams — and she didn't waste much time chasing them. Similar to Lindsay Lohan at the start of her head-turning transformation, the star began working at a young age. Candace got her first child acting gig before she reached double digits, with a small role in the CBS sitcom "Alice" in 1983. 

Simply credited as "Child," the hopeful youngster continued to take on small roles, and she soon got her foot in the door further thanks to appearances on the likes of "Punky Brewster" and "Who's The Boss?" In 2017, Candace revealed on Facebook that she still got residual checks from her minor roles in the shows, showing off her 55 cent and 11 cent payments. Hey, a check's a check, right?

But the fully-fledged child star's life changed forever in 1987, when she landed the gig of a lifetime playing D.J. Tanner on "Full House." The gig made her a household name and catapulted her to stardom, instigating a transformation that's been nothing short of jaw-dropping.

In a Glamour interview, Candace Cameron Bure revealed she had four or so auditions for "Full House" — but the first one left her in tears. Candace wasn't happy with her initial audition, as the casting director didn't seem overly enthused by her efforts. 

"The casting director got on the phone immediately after and said, 'Yeah, she was fine. She was OK. We'll bring her back for a callback,'" Candace said, adding she was determined to get a better response. "I was just destroyed. So I walked back in and the casting director just went through the motions of being nice to a kid, and I said, 'What can I do better so it's good?' and she said, 'Well, just give me more energy.' So I did it, and she said, 'Oh, that was so much better! That was great. You still got the callback!'"

And the rest is history, as her career skyrocketed from there. Candace played D.J. Tanner for eight seasons over nine years and became a huge star alongside her co-stars Bob Saget, John Stamos, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, transitioning from child actor to young adult star in front of our eyes. But her life arguably changed even more once the sitcom ended.

Candace Cameron Bure was still a teen when "Full House" ended in 1995, but she was about to take on some very adult responsibilities. The cancellation of the show felt like a tough breakup, she said on "The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast" three decades later. "They were a second family to me, and still are very much today," she said. "That was that was a strange breakup, to have eight of your most formidable years of your life just come to an end. A complete, like, 'Bye! See ya! We're not coming back and pretending to be a family anymore!'"

Not only did her life change when her full-time gig ended, but she also started a new personal chapter when she started seeing Valeri Bure, her future husband. The two met when Candace was 18, around the time the sitcom was winding down. "The transition was eased in the sense that I had met Val, and we had started dating, and I knew at that moment this was just a new season of life," she said.

Things moved quickly for Candace and Valeri (who have a few red flags in their relationship), even though she wasn't looking to get serious so young. "I wasn't thinking of marriage and he was kind of really the first guy I ever dated," she told Us Weekly. "But then we kept talking and it just went from like zero to 100." Valeri and Candace tied the knot when she was 20 and he was 22.

Now a happy newlywed and fresh off the biggest gig of her career — as well as a few post-"Full House" guest roles in the likes of "Boy Meets World" – Candace Cameron Bure's life changed again when she became a mom. In 1998, she gave birth to her first child, daughter Natasha. The happy family expanded again in 2000 when their son Lev was born, and they became a family of five in 2002 when they welcomed son Maksim into the world.

But life wasn't exactly settled for Candace. She took a decade-long hiatus from acting as the young family moved around North America. They relocated to Montreal, Calgary, St. Louis, Florida, and Dallas to accommodate Valeri's professional hockey career. "I didn't act for 10 years. Once I had my kids, I was like, 'Okay, I'm a full-time mom and supporting my husband's career, to go to games and cheer him on,'" Candace recalled on "Full House Rewind." "You just do it. All the ladies, we just do it," she added.

Candace told Forbes that although she didn't regret her career break, she was constantly thinking about returning to work while out of the spotlight. "I could not wait 'til the day I was able to go back to work because I never stopped thinking about it," she said.

Though Candace Cameron Bure seemed to have it all, life as a stay-at-home mom challenged her sense of self-worth. "It was so hard. I felt worthless. I felt like I had been gifted all of these things in life, whatever that is, whatever skills God gave me. And I thought, 'I'm not using them,'" she told Motherly of putting her acting dreams on hold. She explained she would be recognized by "Full House" fans while out with her children, but people didn't give her much support when she explained she was now a full-time homemaker. "[It] is not valued by society," she said.

While living in Montreal (so Valeri Bure could play for the Montreal Canadiens), Candace also developed an unhealthy relationship with food, she explained. "I got into a cycle of binge eating and feeling such guilt and shame for that, then I would start purging. And without even knowing, it soon just took over to a point where you feel such a loss of control," she told Good Housekeeping in 2017. 

"I really kind of lost a sense of who I was because I put so much value in myself as not only a friend and a daughter but as an actress, having worked for so many years, and I couldn't quite find my place," she said, getting real about the impact of motherhood on her career and sense of identity. Thankfully, the star recovered, later becoming an Eating Recovery Center ambassador.

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

Following a rocky few years out of the spotlight, Candace Cameron Bure was ready to reignite her acting career, especially as her kids got older. In 2007, she appeared in an episode of Disney Channel's "That's So Raven" and starred in the Randy Travis movie "The Wager." That same year, she filmed her first Hallmark movie, "Moonlight & Mistletoe," which debuted in 2008. The holiday offering was the first of almost 30 Hallmark movies Candace went on to appear in.  

But she wasn't taking on just any gig. Candace was still focused on her family and finding roles that aligned with her Christian values, telling Forbes, "When I decided to go back to work, I turned down quite a bit of jobs." Candace's biggest post-"Full House" role came in 2009, when she appeared as Summer Van Horne on "Make It Or Break It." She appeared in more than 40 episodes of the teen drama, which ended in 2012.

Now firmly back in the spotlight, Candace took on a totally different challenge and signed up for "Dancing with the Stars" in 2014. The actor competed alongside pro Mark Ballas and finished in a respectable third place. "I had the time of my life doing 'Dancing With the Stars;' it was incredible and to do something I have never done before, which is dancing in front a live audience," Candace told SheKnows.

Fresh off success on "Dancing with the Stars," Candace Cameron Bure was ready to take her career full-circle in 2015. That spring, Netflix confirmed that a "Full House" reboot, entitled "Fuller House," was in the works, with Candace reprising her role as D.J. Tanner. "It will be fresh and contemporary and it'll be current. We're not going to try and re-do the old 'Full House' stories, but I think that we will capture the same feel of the show," Candace told E! News. The star even directed multiple episodes of the sitcom, which premiered in 2016.

Outside of acting, Candace also collaborated with DaySpring to launch a line of Christian decor and gifts, and agreed to a co-hosting gig on "The View." "I am honored to be a new addition to such a strong group of bright and opinionated women, and I look forward to sharing this exciting journey with viewers new and old," said Candace, who had previously made guest appearances on the daytime talk show (via ABC News).

However, her daytime gig didn't last long, as Candace left the role in 2016. Announcing her departure on "The View" (via Entertainment Tonight), she suggested she had taken on too much, saying the commute from the East Coast to the West Coast "has been tough on me and hard for my family, as well. And I want to make sure that I am able to spend as much time with my children."

After five seasons, "Fuller House" was cancelled in 2020 and Candace Cameron Bure faced yet another goodbye. The mom of three opened up about how hard she found leaving the show and her co-stars for the second time, saying in an Instagram Story (via People), "We are currently filming the fifth and final season of 'Fuller House,' there will be no season 6. This is it. We just have a week left with each other. It's really hard. It's really, really hard." 

The star also spoke about filming her emotional final scenes with Access Hollywood, saying, "I shed all my tears when we were shooting 'Fuller House.' So I'm done with tears." With more free time on her hands, Candace (who's worn a few outfits that missed the mark) put her focus back onto TV movies. She appeared in multiple "Aurora Teagarden Mysteries" movies for the Hallmark Channel, as well as several of the holiday movies she became known for, including "If I Only Had Christmas," and "The Christmas Contest."

In 2022, Candace Cameron Bure jumped ship from the Hallmark Channel and signed a new contract with rival Great American Family. "We share a vision of creating compelling wholesome content for an audience who wants to watch programming for and with the whole family," she said in a statement. But the star's decision was controversial. During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Candace suggested the company wouldn't create Christmas movies based around LGBTQ+ love stories, saying "I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core." 

Her comment sparked serious backlash across social media. Sophia Bush slammed Candace in an Instagram Story (via Just Jared), writing, "Imagine being this threatened by someone else's love ... Go to therapy. Deal with your s**t." Hilarie Burton also put her on blast, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Bigot. I don't remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy. But sure. Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank." Ouch.

Candace released a lengthy Instagram statement in response to the intense criticism, writing "I have great love and affection for all people. It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone." She added, "I am a devoted Christian. Which means that I believe that every human being bears the image of God. Because of that, I am called to love all people, and I do."

Candace Cameron Bure pushed past the controversy and continued her thriving career in 2023, filming several projects for Great American Family. But things were a little different on set of the holiday movie "A Christmas For The Ages", which she executive produced, as her daughter Natasha Bure took on a main role. Natasha denied getting the job because of her mom, telling Today, "A lot of people will kind of assume that if I get any job or work at all that it's from her. Or it's given to me or it's handed to me, and it's honestly quite literally the opposite. I'm out here like everyone else just grinding and trying to follow my dreams."

But Candace made it clear she was happy to pass on her knowledge to her daughter. "[Natasha] was like, 'This is what I want to do. So I'm like, 'Great. I've been down this path. I can help guide you,'" Candace told Fox News. The Golden State native also shared how her passion for working behind the camera had grown. "I absolutely love producing. I've produced more than 30 films. I think people don't quite realize that," she said. Candace opened up about her passion for production to Forbes too, saying it was an obvious next step that stemmed from her decades on set as an actor. "I realized it was the natural progression for me to go into producing," she said.

Candace Cameron Bure got extremely candid about her past experience with depression on "The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast" in 2024. "It feels so shameful and it feels so lonely," she said through tears. "It's very difficult to speak out about it, even to your most trusted people. At least for me, I feel like I should be strong enough to overcome that." Fortunately, she got help. 

As she continued working hard on her career, Candace was still as focused on family as ever. In 2025, she revealed on "StRest with Kerstin Lindquist" that she and Valeri Bure had moved out of Los Angeles to be closer to their children. "I'm very near my boys now, full-time. We live in a much smaller town and it is giving me so much life, I just love it," she said. Candace was also gearing up for a new chapter in her personal life ... grandparent-hood! Following her son Lev Bure's wedding (where she was no frumpy mother of the groom), the star told People, "[I] can't wait to be a grandma."

Candace wasn't resting on her laurels, though, as she challenged herself with a surprise appearance on "The Masked Singer." "I've never sang live before. I'm so happy I got to do it," she said after she was unmasked (via E! News), making it clear she's still very much thriving.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.