Corey Scott Feldman (born July 16, 1971) is an American actor, activist, and musician. As a youth, he became well known for his roles in popular 1980s films such as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and Stand by Me (1986). Feldman collaborated with Corey Haim starring in numerous films such as the comedy horror The Lost Boys (1987), the teen comedy License to Drive (1988) and the romantic comedy Dream a Little Dream (1989). They reunited for the A&E reality series The Two Coreys, which ran from 2007 to 2008.
Feldman experienced diminishing success in the film industry as an adult, following well-publicized personal conflicts. In the 21st century, he has become known for a string of appearances on various reality TV shows such as Celebrity Wife Swap in 2015, Celebrity Marriage Boot Camp in 2020, The Masked Singer in 2024, and Dancing with the Stars in 2025 where he was eliminated first.
While he has been outspoken about sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, he has also faced public scrutiny over Corey's Angels and has also been accused of sexual misconduct. Feldman has released six studio albums, including Love Left (1992), Former Child Actor (2002), and Angelic 2 the Core (2016). His music has received widespread negative critical attention and has been mocked online.
Corey Scott Feldman was born on July 16, 1971, in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, the son of Bob and Sheila (née Goldstein) Feldman, a musician and a cocktail waitress, respectively. He was raised Jewish. Feldman has claimed that his parents exploited him for his earning potential as a child actor, and that his mother was abusive. She has denied his accusations.
1980–1989: Early years and breakthrough
Feldman started his career at the age of three, appearing in a McDonald's commercial. In his youth, he appeared in over 100 television commercials and on 50 television series, including The Bad News Bears, Mork & Mindy, Eight Is Enough, One Day at a Time, Madame's Place, and Cheers. He was in the films Time After Time and Disney's The Fox and the Hound. In 1981, he appeared in NBC's musical comedy children's special How to Eat Like a Child alongside other future child stars Billy Jayne and Georg Olden. In 1982, he portrayed "Little Big" Jim Malloy in the single-episode situation comedy Cass Malloy, which served as the pilot for the later sitcom She's the Sheriff.
Feldman became known as a teen idol in the 1980s. During the mid-to-late 1980s, he "was known for being one of the most popular teen pin-ups in the world". He was featured in several consecutive high-grossing movies during this period; those movies included Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Gremlins (1984), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), The Goonies (1985), and Stand By Me (1986) as Teddy Duchamp, the latter alongside River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, and Jerry O'Connell.
In 1987, Feldman appeared with Corey Haim in The Lost Boys, in which he played Edgar Frog, a role he reprised in two direct-to-video sequels years later, Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008) and Lost Boys: The Thirst (2010). The Lost Boys marked the first onscreen pairing of Feldman and Haim, who became known as "The Two Coreys". The pair went on to star in a string of films, including License to Drive (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989). Feldman also voiced the character of Donatello in the original live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
1990–2006: Career fluctuations
After a public battle with drugs, which began shortly after filming concluded for The 'Burbs in 1989, Feldman fought to re-establish his life and career by working with youths, starring in several lesser-known films, and branching out with an album titled Love Left. He returned to the big screen with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, again providing the voice of Donatello, and starred in the Richard Donner/Robert Zemeckis/Joel Silver film Tales From The Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood opposite Dennis Miller and Angie Everhart.
In December 1990, as part of a plea deal and following at least three arrests in 1990 alone, Feldman was briefly barred from film and television work. He entered drug rehabilitation after pleading guilty to possession of heroin and cocaine, avoiding drug rehabilitation and driving with a suspended license.
In 1995, Feldman starred with Haim in their last mainstream film together, Dream a Little Dream 2. In the late 1990s, Feldman starred in the CBS series Dweebs. In 1996, Feldman appeared alongside his former Stand By Me co-star Jerry O'Connell in "Electric Twister Acid Test", an episode of the Fox Network series Sliders. In 1999, he appeared as Officer Corey Feldman in the music video for the New Found Glory single "Hit or Miss". In the same year, he made an appearance in the television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.
In 2003, he appeared in the celebrity-driven reality series The Surreal Life on The WB. He also made a cameo appearance in the film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star starring David Spade. He appeared in the theatrical release My Date with Drew and was the voice of "Sprx-77" in the Toon Disney/ABC Family series Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!. In 2005, Feldman starred as Michael Douglas in the off-Broadway play Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy, a parody of the 1987 film Fatal Attraction.
2007–present: Reality TV appearances
In 2007, Feldman and Haim began a reality television series titled The Two Coreys on the A&E Network. In January 2008, they started production on the second series of The Two Coreys. He was also executive producer for both seasons. In January 2012, Feldman joined the British television series Dancing on Ice with American pair skater Brooke Castile.
In October 2013, Feldman released his first memoir, Coreyography. The book details his early life as a child actor all the way up to the death of Corey Haim. It also discusses his struggles with addiction and as a victim of Hollywood child sexual abuse. In April 2018, Feldman was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the third annual Young Entertainer Awards.
In October 2019, Feldman appeared in an episode of Marriage Boot Camp. In September 2020, he filed a lawsuit against We TV and Think Factory Media for emotional abuse, claiming he was held "hostage" on the set. He also claimed that We TV "falsified information to the public, and discredited Mr. Feldman as a liar on their show" and alleged that Marriage Boot Camp "glamorized abuse" and caused "distress". In March 2021, he dropped his lawsuit against We TV. Court records did not indicate whether they reached a settlement.
Feldman became friends with director Jordan Peele who called him, "one of the greatest teen icons of all time". In 2023, Peele programmed screenings of Feldman's film The Birthday (2005) at Film at Lincoln Center. Peele described the film as "a WTF did I just watch experience" comparing it to Nope, saying that both films are about "exploitation and erasure".