John Leslie Coogan was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Coogan's role in Charlie Chaplin's film The Kid (1921) made him one of the first child stars in the history of Hollywood.

The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated terms include teenage actor or teen actor, an actor who gained popularity as a teenager.