OMG!” Leif Garrett’s 61-Year-Old Look Stuns Fans — See the Unbelievable Changes After His Life’s Crisis

Teen idol Leif Garrett, known for his song “I Was Made for Dancin’,” has made fans sad with his appearance at age 61.

Leif talked about his life after his fame and explained what led to his downfall. He also shared how he has been living now, years after pretending everything was fine.

In the 1970s, Leif Garrett was as famous as David and Shaun Cassidy and the Bay City Rollers. He was popular for his boyish looks and catchy pop songs.

But in 2023, fans were upset to see how he looked at 61. While he was once a clean-cut star loved by young girls and their parents, his adult career faced difficulties, like many child stars.

In the mid-’80s, Leif Garrett’s career had mostly ended, though he did try acting in movies that didn’t become popular. He was also struggling with substance abuse and felt guilty about his role in a car accident that left his friend Roland Winkler paralyzed.

More than 20 years ago, Garrett was drunk and high when he drove off the Hollywood Freeway, causing the accident that paralyzed Winkler. In 2020, Garrett revealed that Winkler had since died, and the last time he saw him was during a show called “Behind the Music.”

The meeting was unexpected and emotional for Garrett. On the day of the crash, Winkler was supposed to drive, but Garrett, who was into racing and was scared, took the wheel instead. The accident became a painful lesson for him.

In 2023, fans saw how much Garrett had changed through social media. His boyish looks and charm from the past were gone, and followers were heartbroken.

How Does Leif Look Now?

On March 30, 2023, author and actress Ginger Coyote posted a photo of Garrett on Facebook. In the picture, he looked different, wearing a bandana, a scarf, and a jacket.

Fans reacted to the photo with sadness. One fan commented, “Aww,” another mentioned they had a “crush” on him for a long time and felt moved by his story, and someone else simply said, “OMG.”

On March 20, 2023, a fan shared a photo that looked like an album cover from Leif Garrett’s famous years. They said they had his pictures on their wall back in 1997.

Another person felt sad about what happened to Garrett and his friend Winkler, and mentioned Garrett’s struggle with drug addiction. Garrett once explained how he became addicted and faced problems, which might surprise his fans.

In a 2020 interview, Garrett revealed that, as a teenage star, his managers lied and said he was sick from working too hard to cover up his busy schedule. He had to pretend to be sick and felt like he was “living this lie.”

His managers wanted him to look perfect, but Garrett knew it wasn’t right. Instead of getting proper training for his music career, his voice was changed until it didn’t sound like him. A background singer, Jim Haas, was used so much that Garrett sometimes felt it was Haas’s record, not his. Garrett felt used for his looks when he really just wanted to act.

In his book, Leif Garrett said he was made to use a lot of technical help when singing and had to lip-sync during concerts. He found this experience “horrible” and felt it was unfair to his fans who paid for tickets.

Garrett admitted that pretending to be a real singer led him to use drugs. He felt like no one cared about what he had to say as long as his records were selling, and he wanted to have a long-lasting career as an adult artist.

Leif Garrett wanted to do different things with his career, but his team only wanted him to be a “Tiger Beat” cover star and a California surfer boy, even though he wasn’t interested in surf music. He struggled with his feelings because he wasn’t being true to himself or choosing his own path.

Even though he had trouble with drugs, they weren’t everything in his life. Garrett felt “grateful” for the experiences he had, even if things could have been better.

His father passed away in 2019, and Garrett felt upset because he wanted to get to know him better. Now, Garrett is taking life one day at a time. He isn’t in jail or rehab and doesn’t need to use substances to escape his pain.

Garrett said he feels good and plays music because he loves it. He’s not in a hurry to do more unless it feels right and authentic.