Taran Noah Smith

At 18, he gained control of his $1.5 million trust fund, which he accused his parents of squandering by purchasing themselves a mansion.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E3o0AAAAIBAJ&pg=5652,1516098&dq=taran-noah-smith%20trust&hl=en |title=Smith to gain access to trust |newspaper=The Tuscaloosa News |date=April 9, 2002 |page=2A}}"Former 'Home Improvement' star turns 18 Monday, wins right to trust fund", Associated Press State & Local Wire, April 8, 2002 His mother, Candy Bennici, stated in 2015, "Of course we didn't touch his money... It was in a trust fund. We couldn't have touched it if we wanted to. They were trying to get it when he was 17, and we were trying to protect it. Luckily the Marin courts were very good about it and didn't give it to them".{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Liberatore |title=Marin mother of 'Home Improvement' child star writes book warning of 'sharks' in show business |newspaper=Marin Independent Journal |date=May 7, 2015 |url=https://www.marinij.com/2015/05/07/marin-mother-of-home-improvement-child-star-writes-book-warning-of-sharks-in-show-business/}} He later said, "I'd gotten out of the teenage phase and realized my parents weren't doing anything wrong but were trying to protect me."

In 2001, Smith was quoted as saying, "I started Home Improvement when I was seven, and the show ended when I was 16. I never had the chance to decide what I wanted to do with my life. When I was 16, I knew that I didn't want to act anymore."{{cite web |url=http://www.minorcon.org/taran.html |title=Taran Noah Smith Battling Parents |website=A Minor Consideration |date=2000-04-25 |access-date=2012-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208135746/http://www.minorcon.org/taran.html |archive-date=2012-02-08 |url-status=bot: unknown }} At the age of 17, Smith married Heidi van Pelt on April 27, 2001. The marriage sparked much controversy due to the couple's age difference, as van Pelt was 16 years older. The couple filed for divorce on February 2, 2007.{{cite news |first=Hearne |last=Christopher Jr. |url=https://kansascity.newspapers.com/image/821080327/ |title=No improvement in the Smith home |date=February 16, 2007 |page=40 |work=The Kansas City Star |access-date=June 24, 2023 |url-access=subscription}}

Smith is a vegan. In 2005, Smith and his then-wife formed a California-based non-dairy cheese manufacturer and restaurant, Playfood, specializing in vegan and organic foods. In 2014, he volunteered doing disaster relief with Communitere in the Philippines.{{cite web| url=http://www.hngn.com/articles/173172/20160128/home-improvement-star-taran-noah-smith-mother-candy-bennici-talk.htm| title='Home Improvement' Star Taran Noah Smith And His Mother Candy Bennici Talk Childhood Fame In 'Stardom Happens' [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]| website=HNGN| date=January 28, 2016| access-date=February 23, 2021}}

Smith is also the Technical Manager for the Community Submersibles Project, where he teaches people how to pilot submarines.{{cite news |last=Letang |first=Alani |date=July 16, 2019 |title=Mystery submarine spotted in Monterey Bay belongs to former child actor |url=https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/Mystery-submarine-spotted-in-Monterey-Bay-belongs-14099739.php |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=2021-02-23}}

• 1993, Young Artist Award, Home Improvement, Outstanding Actor Under Ten in a Television Series
• 1999, Young Artist Award, Home Improvement, Best Performance in a TV Drama or Comedy Series – Leading Young Actor

• 1992, Young Artist Award, Home Improvement, Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Under Ten
• 1994, Young Artist Award, Home Improvement, Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series (shared with Zachery Ty Bryan and Jonathan Taylor Thomas)

• {{IMDb name|0810101}}

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Category:Living people

Category:American male child actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:Male actors from San Francisco

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:Child marriage in the United States

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)