cameron began acting at the age of nine, and his first job was for a breakfast cereal. his first starring role was at the age of ten in the television series "two marriages". at this age, he appeared in several television shows and movies. he became famous after being cast as "michael seaver" in the 1985 television series "growing pains". in the series, seaver's girlfriend was kate macdonald, who was played by chelsea noble, cameron's future wife. cameron subsequently became a teen heartthrob in the late 1980s, while appearing on the covers of several teen magazines, including "tiger beat", "teen beat", "16" and others. at the time, he was making $50,000 a week. he was also in a 60-second pepsi commercial during super bowl xxiv.