Whatever happened to child star Ricky Schroder

Richard Bartlett Schroder was born on April 13, 1970 in Brooklyn, New York City.  He was raised on Staten Island.  Ricky is the son of Diane Katherine Bartlett and Richard John Schroder, both former employees of AT&T.  After Ricky and his older sister were born, their mother quit her job at AT&T.  She began taking her son to photo shoots when he was only months old.

By the age of six, Ricky had appeared in numerous catalogues and advertisements. A few years later, he made an impressive screen debut in Franco Zefferelli's 1979 film The Champ, portraying T.J. Flynn, the son of Jon Voight's character in a remake of the 1931 film of the same title.  Ricky was seven years old when he was cast for the movie, and eight years old when he acted in it.  At the age of nine, he received the Golden Globe Award for "Best New Male Star of the Year," becoming the youngest ever Golden Globe recipient.

Ricky in 1976

After his successful debut in The Champ, Ricky Schroder moved to Los Angeles with his mother.  He appeared in the 1980 Disney film The Last Flight of Noah's Ark, alongside Elliott Gould and Genevieve Bujold.  He also starred in the 1980 version of Little Lord Fauntleroy alongside Alec Guinness.

Ricky then went on to become a child television star on the NBC sitcom Silver Spoons.  He was 12 years old when the series began in 1982.  It ran for four seasons on the network and an additional first-run syndication during the 1986-87 season.  In Silver Spoons, Ricky played Ricky Stratton, the son of divorced parents, whose mother had remarried and sent him to military school.  The youngster finagled an invitation to live in the palatial home of his wealthy father, Edward Stratton III, played by Joel Higgins.  The elder Stratton, whom Ricky had never known, was more childlike than his son.  His massive estate was filled with video games, stuffed animals, and a miniature railroad.

Below is a photo of Joel Higgins as Edward Stratton III in a conductor's hat, riding the train with son Ricky.  In a February 2010 interview with Will Harris for Bullz-Eye.com, Schroder stated, "I cannot tell you how many people were, like, blown away by and lost themselves in the world of Silver Spoons.  And everybody asks about the train.  Everybody!  I think the train is in a train park at Griffith Park, over by Universal"

In 1988, the year after Silver Spoons ended its run, Ricky starred in Too Young the Hero, a prime time CBS TV movie based on a true story.  He portrayed 12-year-old Calvin Graham, who poses as a 17-year-old to enlist in World War II.

After graduating from Calabasas High School in California., Ricky enrolled in Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado.  He continued his acting career, searching for more mature roles, and billing himself as "Rick Schroder."  In 2007, however, he stated that he was changing his credit back to "Ricky" because "no one wanted to call me Rick."

In 1989, Ricky played played Newt Dobbs in the television Western miniseries Lonesome Dove, an adaptation of the 1985 novel by Larry McMurtry.  The four-part series had an ensemble cast, including Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane and Angelica Huston.  Lonesome Dove garnered very high ratings.  It earned 18 Emmy nomination and seven wins.

Ricky in Lonesome Dove

 

From 1988 until 2001, Ricky played Detective Danny Sorenson in 59 episodes of the police series NYPD Blue.  In 2007, he portrayed Mike Doyle in 12 episodes of the action series 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland. He also played Robert Lee Parton, Dolly's father in the 2015 TV movie Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Color and its 2016 sequel Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love.

Ricky Schroder has been married twice.  On September 26, 1992, he married 20-year-old Andrea Bernard, a Canadian-born interior designer/real estate developer.  The couple met in  Canada in 1991 while Ricky was filming Blood River in Calgary.  In 2008, Andrea appeared as a contestant on Top Design, Bravo's interior design competition.   In 2017, she became a reality star after appearing in the Lifetime docuseries Growing Up Supermodel.  The show, which focused on the careers of the children of celebrities as they attempted to build their own careers in the fashion industry.  

Andrea Bernard

Andrea took the last name "Schroder." and Ricky eventually converted to Andrea's Mormon faith.

The couple had four children: sons Holden, (born January 8, 1992) and  Luke (born August 1, 1993), and daughters Cambrie (born September 14, 1997) and Faith (born August 8, 2001).  Son Holden is named after actor William Holden with whom Ricky co-starred in film The Earthling (1980).  Faith and Cambrie starred in Growing Up Supermodel, along with their mother.

Ricky and Andrea maintained a residence in Grand Junction Colorado, but Arizona was their year-round home of record.  They owned a sprawling ranch-style residence in a gated community near the DC Ranch area of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Below are photos of daughters Faith (left) and Cambrie

In September of 2016, after almost 24 years of marriage, Andrea filed for divorce in the Los Angeles Superior Court, citing "irreconcilable differences."  After the breakup of him marriage, Ricky went through a difficult period.  In 2019, he was arrested twice within a month on suspicion of domestic violence,  However, no charges were laid.  

During COVID pandemic, Ricky clearly opposed the wearing of masks.  In May of 2021, he uploaded a controversial video that showed him pressuring a Costco employee about the company's policy and California's mandate requiring wearing face masks or coverings in stores.  Ricky later uploaded a second video apologizing for his treatment of the employee, but stating that he stood by his beliefs regarding the mask mandate.

On July 9, 2025, Schroder wed for a second time.  He married theatre actress Julie Trammel at the Four Seasons resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  The couple shared photos of their seaside beach wedding on Instagram.  Ricky and Julie told People that their nuptials were a "dream come true" and that they chose their venue after viewing the latest season of White Lotus.  "Cabo is much closer than Thailand," they said.      

Julie Trammel

END NOTES

* Ricky Schroder has an older sister, Dawn Schroder, sometimes known professionally as Dawn A. Gregg.  Dawn and her husband, Bradley Gregg. are filmmakers.  They have five children.

* Ricky's paternal grandparents were German immigrants.

* Ricky played Jon Voight's son twice: first in the The Champ (1979) and 14 years later in Return to Lonesome Dove (1993).

* In 2000, Ricky delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention in support of George W. Bush.   A 2001 article in the East Valley Tribune, a Phoenix, Arizona area newspaper, described Ricky as "one of the few out-of-the-closet conservatives in the entertainment industry."

* Ricky did not appear in the May 2001 season finale of NYPD Blue due to the impending birth of his youngest child, Faith.  He later announced his decision to leave the show in order to devote more time to his family.

* In 2004, Ricky made his debut as a writer and director with Black Cloud, a drama about a Navajo man who embarks on a journey of personal growth to prepare himself to box at the Olympics.  Eddie Spears played the title role of Black Cloud, while Ricky and Tim McGraw also appeared in the film, which marked McGraw's acting debut.

* Ricky is a strong advocate for Childhelp, a nonprofit organization devoted to preventing child abuse.

* Recently, Ricky and wife Julie travelled to Provo, Utah to support Charlie Kirk's family as the preliminary hearing for Kirk's alleged murderer began.  The former child star sported a grey beard, with his blond hair tucked underneath a tan trucker hat.  He wore black-framed glasses and a navy blue T-shirt with a blue patch that read "The Hell I Won't."

SOURCES

People, "NYPD Blue Star Rick Schroder Marries Theater Actress Julie Trammel in Seaside Cabo Wedding: 'Our Hearts Are Grateful," by Kimberlee Speakman and Erin Clack, August 25, 2025; East Valley Tribune (eastvalley.com), "From child star to director," by Craig Outhier, Septemeber 26, 2004, Updated October 6, 2011; In Touch, "Ricky Schroder Looks Unrecognizable in New Video as He Supports Charlie Kirk's Family at Trial," by Whitney Danhauer, July 8, 2026; Wikipedia; IMDb (Internet Movie Database

- Joanne