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- THEN AND NOW: Here's what all your favorite '90s actors are doing today
THEN AND NOW: Here's what all your favorite '90s actors are doing today
- Some '90s stars made it big, while others left the spotlight, choosing quieter lives instead.
- TV shows like "Full House" and "Saved by the Bell" were packed with famous actors that made headlines, and now those stars are reprising their classic roles in reboots.
- Some of today's biggest stars got their start in the '90s, like Will Smith, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Candace Cameron.
The '90s were a glorious time. The decade was full of denim, pop music, and hundreds of teen heartthrobs. The young actors of the generation became all the rage thanks to magazines like Tiger Beat and TV shows like "TRL," but a lot has changed since their glory days.
Some of those teen celebs stuck it out in the industry and made it big, but others opted for simpler lives, leaving their young fame behind.
It's been 20 to 30 years since many of these budding celebrities got their start and half of them haven't been heard of in years. Here's what your favorite '90s stars are up to now.
People have seen Kenan every Saturday night for years now, but Kel Mitchell has been a steady figure in the industry as well.
Despite rumors that he had died, Mitchell is alive and well — and still acting.
Since his stint at Good Burger and his voice role in "Pink Panther," he has landed recurring roles on several small TV series including "Game Shakers" and "Wild Grinders."
Mitchell brought back the infamous Ed character to interview players and report for Nickelodeon Sports at the 2017 Super Bowl media day. In 2019, it was announced that Mitchell would reprise his famous role in the "All That" revival on Nickelodeon.
Bug Hall stepped onto the scene as the unforgettable Alfalfa in "The Little Rascals."
Since that pivotal role, he's kept up with acting. Over the years, he's had small roles in shows like "Masters of Sex," "CSI," and "Nikita."
Aside from acting, he got married to his longtime girlfriend in 2017.
Mayim Bialik got her start on the TV show "Blossom," which aired from 1991 to 1995.
Since her days in that leading role, she's graduated with a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, written three books, and then starred in the hit CBS show "The Big Bang Theory" as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler until 2019. She has even snagged a Critic's Choice Award and four Emmy nominations for that role.
Melissa Joan Hart hit stardom after starring in '90s classics "Clarissa Explains It All" and "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch."
Her career continued with several TV movies and she hit it big again in 2010 when she started ABC Family's "Melissa & Joey," which ran for five years.
Outside of acting, the mother of three has also become a spokesperson for Nutrisystem, starring in many of their commercials and ads.
Sarah Michelle Gellar became famous for starring in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
She also starred in "Cruel Intentions" and "The Grudge," as well as the soap opera "All My Children." She even reprised her role as Kathryn from "Cruel Intentions" in the 2016 TV reboot.
Since having children of her own, she also started a food crafting company called Foodstirs, which creates and sells baking kits for kids.
Her husband and fellow actor Freddie Prinze Jr. was all the rage after the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" movies came out.
His role in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" not only helped him launch his acting career, it also introduced him to the love of his life. He went on to act side by side with her again in "Scooby-Doo," before taking his talents to TV.
In 2012, the actor said he's a proud stay-at-home dad, but in recent years, he has returned to the screen. He had short stints on "24" and "Bones," all while keeping up with his voice part in the animated "Star Wars Rebels" series until 2018.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar was the "Saved by the Bell" leading man during its nearly five-year run.
Once Zach Morris had his fair share of air time, the actor moved on to even bigger and better things. Despite a short lull in his acting career, Gosselaar picked back up with a role in "NYPD Blue," and followed it up with spots on "Commander in Chief" and "Raising the Bar."
His biggest role since the '90s show was the lead role in "Franklin & Bash" playing Peter Bash. However, in 2020 he will reprise his career-making role of Zach Morris in the "Saved by the Bell" reboot.
Mario Lopez also started his empire by playing the muscle head A.C. Slater in the show.
After ditching the bomber jackets and acid-washed jeans, Lopez worked on "Pacific Blue," "The Bold and The Beautiful," and "Nip/Tuck." He also worked as a judge for "The X Factor."
These days Lopez is making a living working as a TV host, appearing on "Extra" and "Access Hollywood" for over a decade. He does exclusive celebrity interviews and is a regular correspondent on the red carpet.
Lopez will also reprise his famous role in the "Saved by the Bell" reboot.
Lark Voorhies, aka Lisa Turtle from "Saved by the Bell," hasn't done quite as well as her former co-stars Mario Lopez and Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
She worked a little after the series ended, acting in "Def Jam's How to Be a Player" and "How High."
Sadly, it was revealed she's battling lupus and may have bi-polar disorder, though the actress denies any mental health issues. She made headlines in 2019 when she said she felt slighted for not being included in the "Saved By the Bell" reboot.
Another lesser-known star from the hit show "Saved by the Bell" is Elizabeth Berkley.
She also starred in the '90s movie "Showgirls," which notoriously bombed at the box office and then turned into a cult classic. Since then, she's had recurring roles on "The L Word" and "CSI: Miami," and danced on "Dancing with the Stars" in season 17.
She also published a book, "Ask-Elizabeth," which draws from her cross country self-help workshops for teenage girls.
Berkley will also reprise her role in the "Saved by the Bell" reboot.
Tiffani Thiessen was also in "Saved by the Bell," starring as Zach Morris' love interest Kelly.
She also played villainous Valerie in "Beverly Hills, 90210" before landing the role of Elizabeth Burke in USA's "White Collar."
From 2015 to 2017, she took a break from acting to host "Dinner at Tiffani's," her very own show on the Cooking Channel. In 2020, she will return to acting in the "Saved by the Bell" reboot.
The "Saved by the Bell" cast rounds out with Dustin Diamond, who played Screech.
Unlike his co-stars, Diamond hasn't remained in the spotlight for positive reasons. The actor released a racy movie and penned a book all about his time on the set, which was greatly criticized by his castmates who denied many of the allegations in the tell-all.
He was also arrested in 2015 for stabbing someone in a bar. After being released from jail, the actor sat down with former castmate Mario Lopez for an exclusive interview with Extra. He explained that his infamous book was written by a ghostwriter.
"Home Improvement" hottie Jonathan Taylor Thomas was the it teen actor in the '90s.
However, instead of the fame and fortune, many imagined from him, he's been almost entirely out of the limelight since the early 2000s. He had roles in "8 Simple Rules" and "Veronica Mars" before mostly stepping away to go to school.
"I never took the fame too seriously," he said during an interview with People. "It was a great period in my life, but it doesn't define me. When I think back on the time, I look at it with a wink. I focus on the good moments I had, not that I was on a lot of magazine covers."
He reunited with Tim Allen to guest star on an episode of "The Last Man Standing" and has been out of the industry again since then.
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen shared the role of Michelle Tanner on "Full House," which was only the beginning of their illustrious childhood careers.
Before they even ended their run with "Full House," these twins were making a series of movies. They put their films to rest after 2004's "New York Minute," and slowly started to act less and less.
Ashley hasn't done much since, but Mary-Kate appeared in "Weeds" and a film called "The Wackness" before bowing out around 2008.
These days, the girls are known much more in the fashion industry. They're often spotted in the front rows during fashion week and have their own line, which only furthered their fashion empire.
Andrea Barber appeared in the '90s TV classic "Full House."
The show catapulted the Olsen twins into success, but many of their co-stars were long forgotten. The infamous Kimmy Gibbler, resident funny girl on the show, didn't act again until she reprised her role on the Netflix spin-off "Fuller House."
Up until then, she attended school at Whittier College and the University of York in England until becoming a stay-at-home mom. She also got into running marathons, examples of which can be found all over her Instagram.
"Full House" wrapped up in 1995 leaving Jodie Sweetin, who played Stephanie Tanner, out of work.
Sweetin went on to act in a few small TV series and movies. It wasn't until she appeared on "Good Morning America" in 2008 and announced that she had been a drug addict, that the attention started again.
She wrote her book "Unsweetined" about the trials and tribulations of those times, danced on "Dancing with the Stars," and starred on "Fuller House" up until 2020. She is also celebrating years of sobriety.
Candace Cameron starred in the same famous sitcom as D. J. Tanner.
Since those days, she's been in ABC Family's "Make It or Break It" and danced as a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" in season 18. She also co-hosted "The View" for two years before stepping away to focus on "Fuller House," which ended in 2020.
Additionally, the actress has written several books and is happily married to former NHL player Valeri Bure, whose name she has since taken.
Candace's real-life brother, Kirk Cameron, was also pretty famous in the '90s. His role in "Growing Pains" made him the apple of every teenager's eye.
He even won the affection of the Golden Globe committee seeing as he was nominated twice for his role.
Since then, the elder Cameron sibling has taken a back seat in terms of acting. He has however become quite a name in Evangelism. He's partnered with Ray Comfort teaching and training Christians in evangelism and in doing so, has sparked some debate during talk show appearances for stating that homosexuality is "unnatural, it's detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization."
One of his more recent projects, a faith-based Christmas movie called "Saving Christmas," was actually voted the worst movie ever by IMDb.
Jaleel White was known for working on "Family Matters" as Steve Urkel, a household name in the '90s.
His character is still one of the most iconic characters of all time, but despite having such big shoes to fill, White has made do in the industry since the show ended in 1998.
He landed roles in the TV series "Fake It Til You Make It" as well as the hit movie "Dreamgirls," and made small appearances in "Drunk History," "Psych," "Atlanta," and "Bones." He has also appeared in the Disney Channel series "Raven's Home."
Ben Savage acted as Cory Matthews in the '90s favorite "Boy Meets World."
Cory Matthews might not have been the dreamy teen boy every '90s girl lusted after, but he made waves for his role on "Boy Meets World." The show was a favorite throughout its years, and its spin-off "Girl Meets World" became one too.
Savage reprised his role for the Disney show alongside Danielle Fishel, a.k.a. Topanga, when the show started in 2014. Before that, he was only taking on minor roles in a few prime time TV shows.
Savage's co-star Rider Strong was the one making hearts melt. The actor played bad boy Shawn Hunter.
Since his days of being Cory's right-hand man, Strong has graduated from Columbia with an English degree and broken out into film making.
He wrote and directed the film "Irish Twins" and then signed on to "Girl Meets World" (despite rumors that he wasn't going to) reprising his role as Shawn Hunter and directing several episodes.
Additionally, from 2015 to 2019, he played Tom on "Star vs. The Forces of Evil."
Danielle Fishel got her start playing Cory's girlfriend Topanga Lawrence on "Boy Meets World."
The actress went on to appear in the "Dorm Daze" movies before deciding to lay low. She reprised her role as Topanga in "Girl Meets World," but other than that has shied away from the entertainment industry.
She made quite a few headlines after she posed for Maxim in 2013, but managed to keep her divorce from Tim Belusko pretty much a secret.
The Olsens weren't the only multiples making things happen in the '90s. Tia and Tamera Mowry became a huge hit on "Sister, Sister."
Their work on the show helped them land parts on the Disney Channel Original Movies "Twitches" and "Twitches Too." They also got their own reality TV show, "Tia & Tamera," once they were older.
Since their work as teen twins, the sisters have branched out on their own a bit. Tia stuck with TV shows, starring in "The Game" and "Instant Mom," and got her own show on the Cooking Channel. She also recently released her own cookbook.
Tamera on the other hand has made a name for herself in the lifestyle world. She started a blog, became a talk show co-host on "The Real," and penned a young adult book series "Twintuition: Double Vision" with her sister.
Tia and Tamera's younger brother hit stardom in the '90s too. Tahj Mowry first made his name on "Full House" playing the adorable Teddy.
Tahj was a resident cutie acting opposite the Olsen twins on "Full House" playing Teddy, but he also loaned his voice to another '90s favorite, the animated "Kim Possible."
Most recently, he played Tucker in ABC Family's "Baby Daddy" from 2012 to 2017.
This "Dawson's Creek" cutie James Van Der Beek ran the scene in the late '90s thanks to his work on the dramatic show.
The role also made him an internet sensation recently when the four-second clip of him crying became a meme.
He went on to act in "One Tree Hill" and "Mercy," before playing himself in "Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23."
Most recently, Van Der Beek has appeared in Ryan Murphy's "Pose" and "Vampirina."
Andrew Keegan gained a following after his roles playing the bad boy in both "10 Things I Hate About You" and "7th Heaven."
The actor went on to take small parts in TV series like "CSI" and "CSI: NY," but the most interesting thing he's done since the '90s has nothing to do with acting at all.
Keegan and his wife actually started their own religion. Yep, the two lovebirds started Full Circle, "an experiential environment that aims to elevate the individual while connecting us with each other."
Marla Sokoloff landed almost every mean girl role the '90s had to offer.
She made a name for herself by cashing in on the intimidation factor in movies such as "The Baby-Sitters Club" as well as shows like "Full House" and "Party of Five."
In the early 2000s, she landed roles in "Dude, Where's My Car?" and "Sugar & Spice." Let's not forget that she dated James Franco. However, since then she's been practically MIA despite a few minor roles in television series.
Like many of her peers, Sokoloff has also turned to the lifestyle business, writing a blog and attending parenting parties.
Another familiar '90s face that hasn't been seen on screens in a while is Erik von Detten's.
This actor became a Disney Channel star thanks to his roles in "Escape to Witch Mountain," "Brink!" and later "The Princess Diaries."
His most recent work was on "Toy Story 3," in which he reprised the role of voicing Sid. He will sometimes grace Disney's red carpets with his niece and nephew, but other than that he's hardly ever heard from.
Barry Watson got his start on "7th Heaven" playing one of the seven children.
Shortly after the show ended in 2006 he picked up roles in "Samantha Who?" and "Gossip Girl." Most recently he's been in "Hart of Dixie," "Masters of Sex," "The Loudest Voice," and "Into the Dark."
He is also a cancer survivor. The actor was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and finished treatment in 2002.
From the oldest Camden sibling to the youngest, Ruthie, played by Mackenzie Rosman, isn't so young anymore.
The actress was just 6 when she landed the role, but now she's living a life outside of acting.
She did snag a role in "The Secret Life of an American Teenager," before stepping away. The actress ended up posing for Maxim shattering her innocent image but hasn't done much since.
Alicia Silverstone had her big break when she landed the lead role as Cher in 1995's "Clueless."
Since her days of saying "as if," she's acted in "Butter" with Jennifer Garner, landed a role in the short-lived "Suburgatory," and worked on Broadway in "Time Stands Still."
Most recently, she starred in the "American Woman" TV series as Bonnie Nolan, but it only lasted one season.
Stacey Dash acted as Cher's wing-woman in "Clueless."
After that big break, she continued acting as Dionne in the TV spin-off. She also worked on the shows "The Game" and "Single Ladies." Her most notable role since then was in "Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens."
Despite having a full acting career, Dash has been noticed more for her politics as of late. The actress was hired, and subsequently fired, as a Fox correspondent. She supported Donald Trump during the 2016 election and made headlines after suggesting to put an end to Black History Month.
Alfonso Ribeiro played Carlton Banks in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Years later, he won "Dancing with the Stars."
"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" is still a hit to this day. The show threw Will Smith into the limelight, and with him went many of his castmates. While Ribeiro might not have achieved the same success that Smith has, he's still made waves in the industry.
He doesn't act anymore, but he's still in front of the camera. Ribeiro has hosted for "Access Hollywood Live," "America's Funniest Home Videos," and "Unwrapped 2.0." He also won season 19 of "Dancing with the Stars."
Plus, he's known to throw down for Carlton-themed dance battles with Justin Timberlake and Steph Curry at celebrity golf events.
Ribeiro's sassy on-screen sister, Ashley Banks, was played by Tatyana Ali.
Since her days on "Fresh Prince," Ali has acted in the soap opera "The Young and The Restless" and the cult-classic "Jawbreaker." She's kept her resume full with smaller roles in shows like "Key and Peele" and a few made-for-TV movies.
Will Smith became a hotshot after working on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Men in Black."
There's no doubt that you've kept up with Smith since the show has ended. He's been in several highly acclaimed films including "Ali," "Pursuit of Happyness," and "Seven Pounds," and was nominated for two Oscars. He also acted in fan favorites "Independence Day" and "I Am Legend."
Most recently, he has starred in some of Hollywood's biggest films like "Suicide Squad," and "Collateral Beauty," the "Bad Boys" reboots, and "Aladdin."
He also makes headlines because of his famous family, which includes wife Jada Pinkett-Smith and his children Willow and Jaden.
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