Kirk Cameron was born on October 12, 1970, in Panorama City, California. Growing up, Cameron lived next door to Eight is Enough sitcom star, Adam Rich. Adam's mother encouraged both Kirk and his younger sister, Candace Cameron of Full House, to pursue acting.

In 1985, fifteen-year-old Cameron landed the role of cute and conniving Mike Seaver on the family sitcom Growing Pains, which also starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Alan Thicke, and Tracey Gold. The show quickly caught on with audiences, and turned Cameron into small screen heartthrob and the centerfold of virtually every teen magazine on the newsstands. At this time, Cameron also transferred his star-power to the big screen, appearing in such films as Like Father Like Son in 1987 with Dudley Moore, and in 1989 Listen to Me with Roy Scheider .

At the height of his Growing Pains popularity, Cameron found fame to be an un-fulfilling experience. He has since reflected, "The Hollywood lifestyle was just overwhelming. A party here, an interview there, magazine and modeling shoots daily, your face everywhere and girls throwing themselves at you. As great as it felt at the time, I still felt something was missing, and that I needed to change." Although Cameron had not previously been exposed to Christianity growing up, he began to explore the religion and soon converted to evangelical Christianity. At this time, Cameron’s newfound beliefs caused friction with his cast mates, as he would often impose his opinions on the producers, pressuring them to change items in the script which he perceived as immoral. When Cameron’s onscreen flame, Julie McCullough posed in Playboy during the late 80s, Cameron reportedly used his influence over the producers to have McCullough fired from the show.

After Growing Pains ended in 1992, Cameron starred on the WB sitcom, Kirk, which debuted in 1995 and ran for two years. Since then, Cameron has mainly acted in the Christian-themed Left Behind film series, which depicts a post-apocalyptic world as predicted in the Bible’s New Testament. Cameron has also partnered with evangelist, Ray Comfort, in the evangelical ministry, The Way of the Master.

In 1991, Cameron married his Growing Pains co-star, Chelsea Noble. Cameron did not invite other members of the cast to the wedding. By 2006, Cameron had made up with his Growing Pains family, and the cast were reunited on Larry King Live to promote the release of the show’s first season on DVD.

Cameron and his wife, Chelsea, have founded Camp Firefly and The Firefly Foundation, two charitable organizations which help terminally-ill children and their families.

The Camerons currently live with their four adopted children, Jack, Isabella, Anna, and Luke; and two biological children, Olivia Rose and James Thomas.

YUDDY