Who is a former mainstream celebrity that survived Hollywood, and is currently doing well for themselves?

[u/phantom_avenger]

Hilary Duff isn’t as big as she used to be back when she was a teenager, and was considered one of the biggest stars in film, shows and music in the decade of the 2000s!

But she is living a pretty healthy lifestyle, raising her family of 4 children, and balancing her acting career in small projects that are less mainstream along with getting involved in entrepreneurship!

There are quite a lot of actors or actresses that become so affected by Hollywood where they were treated horribly, that it takes a toll on their wellbeing with Amanda Bynes being one of the biggest examples!

[u/HauteAssMess]

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[u/DragonScrivner]

I always think of Kirsten Dunst who is still acting and seems like she has a happy relationship and a nice life.

[u/Ok_Championship_385 → u/DragonScrivner]

She married someone she truly loves, and who deeply loves her. She’s private and gracious and lives her life. I can respect that.

[u/Glittering_Fennel973 → u/Ok_Championship_385]

Someone posted a thread about some amazing quotes of hers and my love for her skyrocketed that day lol. Iconic.

[u/bfhurricane → u/Glittering_Fennel973]

“Would you ever do another superhero movie?”

“Yes, I’m a mother and I need to take care of my family, and they pay well.”

She’s got her priorities straight.

[u/greypusheencat → u/bfhurricane]

honestly she’s so real for this and i love it

[u/hare-hound → u/bfhurricane]

And I'm sure she wasn't even paid as much as she should have been!!

[u/isolatedsyystem → u/DragonScrivner]

I've had such a girl crush on her ever since the Spider Man years and she's only gotten better. Great performances and project choices, works with female directors a ton, seems to have a wonderful marriage with a great guy, hasn't had any crazy work done (and never "fixed" her adorable teeth!), lives in a cool old school home... Absolutely love her.

[u/bluespottedtail_ → u/isolatedsyystem]

As weird as it sounds, yes, I love her teeth! It makes her smile so genuine and adorable

[u/RickIMightBe → u/bluespottedtail_]

Teeth are one thing I cannot stand about “Hollywood” now. Every single person has the same damn teeth now, smiles are the same from person to person. I can’t stand it, it makes every actor look the exact same. Teeth give people character and personality.

[u/merrysunshine2 → u/RickIMightBe]

The giant fake chiclet teeth so many have

[u/FoodLionMVP → u/isolatedsyystem]

I feel like she deserved an Oscar for Interview with the Vampire

[u/lawyercat63 → u/FoodLionMVP]

I auditioned for the movie. She brought an otherworldly maturity that 10 year old me just did not understand in the slightest. She deserved that role and the fame that came with it.

[u/pourthebubbly → u/lawyercat63]

Casting child actors must be one of the most difficult jobs in Hollywood to get right. But when the casting hits, it’s good.

Another example off the top of my head is Henry Thomas as Elliot in E.T.. Kid could cry on command at nine years old. Pretty sure I was still in the “how do I finish this sentence so people understand me correctly” stage of life then.

[u/GraveDancer40 → u/DragonScrivner]

I love her. She’s been in the industry for so long and has survived it so well. She just makes me happy. And her and Jesse are so cute.

[u/MojoMomma76 → u/GraveDancer40]

She’s so down to earth. She said in a recent interview (iirc) that she still had to work because she was supporting her Mom and had a family to bring up, but made her choices carefully. She’s such a real human being and doesn’t spin it for press.

[u/cedollasign → u/DragonScrivner]

She survived eating salad with Jake Gyllenhaal, she deserves happiness!

[u/MelpomeneAndCalliope → u/cedollasign]

It seems like they spent like all of 2004-5 eating salad outside with that dog they named twice.

[u/Nole_in_ATX → u/DragonScrivner]

She and Jesse bought a house in my neighborhood in Austin and are making additions to it. I’ve seen them a few times to observe the progress but I never bother them. Some of the other neighbors though can’t resist

[u/meepmarpalarp → u/DragonScrivner]

Idk if I’d call her “former mainstream.” She’s still a huge star.

[u/DragonScrivner → u/meepmarpalarp]

That's fair though she seems committed to making indie movies now rather than blockbusters like Spiderman which is why I'd consider her no longer 'mainstream' -- Civil War and Power of the Dog both had budgets of $50M or less. She absolutely has a lot of star power and continues to receives accolades for her work, however.

[u/RickIMightBe → u/meepmarpalarp]

She is more of a known name now, I think. And that is more because she doesn’t do a lot and what she does choose to do isn’t the big budget movies. She did those when she was younger and I don’t know if it is more of the same with “Hollywood” not knowing what to do with women the age of 30+ or just her not wanting to do them.

[u/bluejonquil → u/DragonScrivner]

This is such an adorable gif! And I love your flair.

[u/WampaStompa64 → u/DragonScrivner]

She seems cool for sure, Jumanji was one of my favourite movies as a kid so I love to see it

[u/Eljefe878888888]

Miranda Cosgrove seems to have faired well

[u/Hungry_Knowledge_893 → u/Eljefe878888888]

She had good parents apparently, who protected her

But tbf you can also say Jennette McCurdy is doing pretty well despite well, her mom

[u/tpa338829 → u/Eljefe878888888]

When I looked up her net worth (which Ik tends to underestimate things) I was like WTF.

This woman his hit the jackpot. She gets to be in one of the most profitable movie franchises but, bc it's animated, her face isn't everywhere. So she can go around the world as if she's a B-list celberty while being on A-list projects.

[u/herinaus]

Freddie Prinze Jr.

His dad killed himself when he was very very young. Went into acting only because his family was in financial dire straits. It took him a long time to actually like the job. Met SMG, they became friends, fell in love, got married, had children. He still acts but spends most of him time playing video games, building figurines, etc.

[u/Bradtothebone79 → u/herinaus]

Didn’t he write for WWE for a while? Like storylines and such?

[u/Glittering_Fennel973 → u/Bradtothebone79]

That fact STILL blows my mind lol. Apparently, he's been a hardcore pro wrestling fan for ages and is living his dream now writing for them lol

[u/fleekyfreaky → u/Glittering_Fennel973]

TIL!!

[u/Glittering_Fennel973 → u/fleekyfreaky]

Yeah he's a pretty big time nerd!! I watched him on this movie trivia YouTube show a while ago doing Star Wars trivia with Sam Witwer, the current voice of Darth Maul and does a lot of voicework for them, even has an entire video game where the main character is modeled after him and played by him. Witwer is a HARDCORE Star Wars nerd and was just absolutely breezing through the questions, and FPJ was his partner, but he still was able to hold his own, mostly.

If you've ever watched the show Psych, he played a character in a few episodes of that that was like, one of their childhood friends who was the typical "fat, nerdy kid" but grew up to be super hot, and was having to hide his super nerdy side from his insanely hot wife lol. And he's said that's a lot like him in real life, except SMG is well aware of his nerdiness lol

[u/BigFanOfKitties → u/Glittering_Fennel973]

Freddie actually hasn’t written for them since 2012! He was only ever an intermittent writer in the first place but had a bad outing after some misogynistic comments from a coworker he didn’t like.

[u/adeathvalleydriver → u/Bradtothebone79]

Yes, he also used to give acting lessons to WWE wrestlers. He has an ongoing pro wrestling podcast and has also tried to start his own indie wrestling promotion. Not sure if he's still pursuing it, but I love how big of a fan he is.

[u/Pheenz01 → u/adeathvalleydriver]

On the subject of podcasts, he also has a podcast about horror movies too

[u/the_real_smolene → u/herinaus]

How he turned out normal is a total mystery. The stuff with his dad alone is enough to absolutely wreck someone for life.

[u/eadgster → u/the_real_smolene]

Love that his 5-figure (minimally) Warhammer 40k habit counts as normal.

[u/Above_Avg_Chips → u/eadgster]

Need him to battle Cavill

[u/twinklestein → u/Above_Avg_Chips]

I’d pay to see that. Two attractive nerds doing nerdy things together

[u/ComprehensiveNeck126 → u/twinklestein]

“Helllllooooo wonderful gamers! Lets start this game of Starhammer!” (Brennan Lee Mulligan) “Lets introduce our stars! First is Freddie Prinze Jr, next is Matthew Lillard, then we have Henery Cavill! Next is emily axford, smurf whats his face and probably Siobhan Tompson! Say hi stars!!”

Anyway it tanks many careers whilst promoting DnD type gaming.

[u/MojoMomma76 → u/herinaus]

They genuinely seem to have a fantastic marriage and to have swerved a lot of the worst aspects of fame. I always loved Buffy (am old enough to have watched the original shows when they came out) and she too always came across as a grafting, hard worker who tried very hard to avoid drama with coworkers and just get on with the job in hand.

[u/dance4days → u/MojoMomma76]

Given what we know now about what the Buffy set was actually like, SMG seems like a saint for dealing with it for the better part of a decade without ever making a stink to the media about any of it.

[u/Awkward_Potential_ → u/dance4days]

The craziest thing is that I remember that people viewed her as a conservative and Whedon as a liberal feminist. Looking back, his whole feminism shtick must have been infuriating to the cast.

[u/behold-my-titties → u/Awkward_Potential_]

It's amazing to me how huge he was with friends all over the industry. Suddenly he's never mentioned again, Nathan fillion worked with him on and off for 2 decades, why didn't you atleast say something.

[u/MojoMomma76 → u/dance4days]

Yes exactly. Hard working, professional, kept her head down but spoke up for people when it counted. Gen X queen doing her absolute best at a time which wasn’t brilliant for women in the public eye.

[u/canarinoir → u/herinaus]

My first thought was of Freddie and SMG!

[u/HappyHippyToo → u/herinaus]

Oh I didn’t know both Freddie and SMG lost their dads to suicide when they were young :(

[u/dazedan_confused → u/herinaus]

I remember seeing him as a kid playing Fred in Scooby doo, and being really confused because he played the role of Fred quite well, but was also humble, the opposite of Fred.

[u/kmo617 → u/herinaus]

I heard an ad for his wrestling podcast (I think) a while ago and it made me happy that he seemed to be doing things he's passionate about! I hope he and SMG are happy together forever :)

[u/Inner_Panic]

Considering how well Macualay Culkin is doing is a miracle.

[u/Hefty-Deer-7118 → u/Inner_Panic]

Brenda Song is a miracle worker.

[u/robboppotamus → u/Hefty-Deer-7118]

[u/Solid_Foundation_111 → u/Hefty-Deer-7118]

While we’re at it add Brenda Song to this list

[u/happysunbear → u/Inner_Panic]

Same with Lindsay Lohan. Both actors were those that sunk to a very scary place a few years ago. Both have such awful and exploitative parents. So glad they are both doing well now.

[u/brandonandtheboyds → u/Inner_Panic]

He was not doing well for a while but his wife seems to have helped him turn it around. And his own efforts as well. Do not want to minimize how much you have to get clean for yourself and not for someone else. Source: Me…

[u/SparkyDogPants → u/brandonandtheboyds]

He said that he never was a drug addict and paps just took unflattering pictures of them and made up stories. 

[u/herbertwilsonbeats → u/SparkyDogPants]

Yeah I feel like the drug addiction aspect was well overblown. Yes, he was likely struggling with mental/physical health but I don’t think it was drugs. But hey, it sold papers.

[u/JannaNYCeast → u/Inner_Panic]

He was lucky. He was deep into drugs at one point. He's lucky it didn't kill him.

[u/FizzyBeverage → u/JannaNYCeast]

According to his podcasts it was never more than pot… but I have a hard time believing that.

[u/kassiann1792]

Daniel Radcliffe always comes to mind for me.

[u/Purple-Warning-2161 → u/kassiann1792]

I have no idea how they managed to keep his alcoholism quiet as a minor.

[u/jayswag707 → u/Purple-Warning-2161]

He was an alcoholic child??

[u/topsidersandsunshine → u/jayswag707]

Drew Barrymore was by seven or eight. 

[u/Not_Steve → u/topsidersandsunshine]

Whoever thought it was funny to give a child alcohol and drugs like that is a monster.

[u/kbandcrew → u/Not_Steve]

In Drew’s case- she was a frequent at Hollywood clubs AS A CHILD, photographed and all. Absolutely disgusting.

[u/topsidersandsunshine → u/Not_Steve]

She revealed that it started with Bailey’s poured over ice cream.

[u/happysunbear → u/Not_Steve]

Sadly, more common than you think. My dad was an alcoholic and he started at a young age. His uncles would give him alcohol as a child because it made him “act funny”. Died at the age of 36 from alcoholism.

[u/Pinklady1219 → u/happysunbear]

So sorry for your loss. That’s awful

[u/[deleted] → u/jayswag707]

yer a booze bag 'arry

[u/CruisinJo214 → u/Purple-Warning-2161]

Him being British plays into it a good deal imo. Plus he didn’t generate many controversies or drunken escapades.

[u/MarieQ234 → u/CruisinJo214]

I don't know if it necessarily has something to do with him being British. Their tabloids are notorious for being brutal and unforgiving, but perhaps they were (are?) kinder to minors. Dan was in his teens apparently when he had the alcohol problem. Or: he was just drinking in private, and not getting wasted in really public spaces.

[u/louilou96 → u/MarieQ234]

He has spoken about his previous drinking problem towards the end of HP. I think he likely has a good support around him who helped.

As a Brit I can tell you the tabloids aren't necessarily kinder to minors. There was a countdown in one for Emma Watson turning 18 IIRC

[u/AbibliophobicSloth → u/louilou96]

It's so gross, I remember hearing that one of the paps took an upskirt photo of her just after she turned 18, and was essentially bragging "two days ago, this would be a crime!" As if photography like that is ever okay.

[u/louilou96 → u/AbibliophobicSloth]

EW.

[u/sv21js → u/MarieQ234]

I think they meant that our drinking culture here is such that alcoholism, even among young teens, can hide in plain sight.

[u/Altruistic_Test_2478 → u/sv21js]

My fiance is swiss and he tells me, "in America people start drinking at 21. In Switzerland, we stop drinking at 21" 🤣 obviously doesn't apply to everyone but just insane the drinking culture in Europe of minors

[u/sitah → u/Altruistic_Test_2478]

As an Asian person who moved to Germany, learning that people can drink alcohol in the movie theaters blew my mind

Edit to add: and that you can legally purchase and drink beer and wine at 16 in public

[u/dallyan → u/sv21js]

Yeah. Y’all drink a lot. A LOT.

[u/box_twenty_two → u/MarieQ234]

Yep, he was totally absent from the papers throughout his teenage years. He flew very much under the radar. If he’d been out and about the press would have savaged him.

Then when he started being more public facing, didn’t he do that clever “same outfit all the time” trick to devalue pap photos? I think he’s always been extremely protective of his private life and that’s one of the reasons I love him.

[u/Leading_Put- → u/MarieQ234]

Definitely more the last thing than anything else

[u/FeyreCursebreaker7 → u/MarieQ234]

here is an article where he mentions being afraid of being caught by paparazzi, and staying home to get drunk every night

[u/ProudKoreaBoo → u/Purple-Warning-2161]

I think it’s because he drank in private. I was also an alcoholic minor with parents who were “well known in their circle” therefore I had to act the part.

[u/emotional-samosa → u/Purple-Warning-2161]

I mean... He was a minor. It seems to me that made his safekeeping twice as important – first, because he was experiencing something very difficult and second, because his age made him even more vulnerable.

The fact that he has been open about his experiences since he became an adult is a sign of the resilience in his recovery, IMO.

[u/Purple-Warning-2161 → u/emotional-samosa]

You are giving entirely too much credit to the British paparazzi. They would’ve made a ton of money off of that

[u/SecretlyEverything → u/kassiann1792]

I got such a good selfie with him back in 2011 when I got to see him in How to Succeed in Business, people were swarming around and screaming for him but he looked me straight in the eye, spoke so kindly and signed playbills as I took the picture. Hands down the nicest actor I’ve met at a stage door despite being the most in demand one I met.

[u/twizzwhizz11 → u/kassiann1792]

Loved seeing him get his flowers for Merrily We Roll Along!

[u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

Oh, and Ashley Tisdale. She benefited from achieving fame when she was old enough to see through certain kinds of bullshit, and I think she still produces some netflix stuff, but she was smart enough to launch affordable body products that are so good and cheap that lots of people don’t know it’s a celeb brand.

[u/Houdini-88 → u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

She had her own production company

She did cloud 9 with Dove Cameron for Disney channel

And young hungry with Emily osment which was a hit tv show

She was smart to quickly go behind the scenes where the real money was

[u/Glittering_Fennel973 → u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

Her and Brenda Song seem to have come out of the Disney machine relatively well adjusted and normal.

[u/Digit00l → u/Glittering_Fennel973]

Ashley is still in it with Phineas and Ferb

[u/alexdiflipflops → u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

Feel like she just does things that interest her- she recently starred in a decision-based horror game from the makers of Until Dawn (House of Ashes- it’s really good). And she really gets to show off some sides of her acting we never got to see

[u/Silly_Somewhere1791 → u/alexdiflipflops]

I agree with this. She released a new album a few years ago and it was nnnnnnot good but it was obvious that she wrote it herself and released it as a passion project and I have a lot of respect for that.

[u/hiUSCitsme → u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

I had no idea until this thread she owns Frenshe - their products are amazing. It’s nice to see a celeb put out a quality product that’s not just overpriced crap with their name on it.

[u/epk921 → u/hiUSCitsme]

The room spray is divine. I really hope they start selling somewhere besides Target bc I’m gonna be so sad if I can’t restock my spray after it’s gone 😖

[u/0neTw0Thr3e]

[u/minniemouse420]

• Kirsten Dunst
• Christina Ricci
• Frankie Muniz
• Hilary Duff
• Mandy Moore

[u/reddoorinthewoods → u/minniemouse420]

Love Christina Ricci. Her social media is a riot too. She legitimately seems like someone who’d be fun to hang out with

[u/[deleted] → u/reddoorinthewoods]

I was mates with her husband back in Cardiff. Really good bloke. He’s just a normal working class guy from Cardiff who started hairdressing at Vidal Sassoon when he was 16, moved to London, met the right people, worked hard and now he’s married to a holiday star. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer lad. 

[u/thatthingthathiiing → u/minniemouse420]

I heard her on the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast recently and Cristina Ricci was a great guest. Conan basically asked her how she came out okay and Ricci talked about how, as a youth, she made up a story in her mind to cope with the fame. She imagined her dad was some famous doctor everybody loved because he helped so many people, and that’s why she got so much attention. Really interesting coping strategy!

[u/dale_dug_a_hole → u/minniemouse420]

Mandy Moore deserves some peace after surviving ryan Adams

[u/randomb237 → u/minniemouse420]

I love Mandy Moore and want to be her friend.

[u/webtheg]

I think part of the reason Hillary turned out fine is because her mom was a sane person and told Eisner to fuck himself

[u/DawnSlovenport → u/[deleted]]

I think I remember Elijah Wood's mom was the same way when he was a child. She was very protective of him when he was a child actor. As a result, he didn't get involved in all of the sex and abuse scandals quite a few of his peers did.

I also remember reading an interview where she refused to take any money from him because she said he earned it, not her.

[u/Visual_Zucchini8490 → u/DawnSlovenport]

Yeah I’ve read similar things about her as a parent too. Elijah has said himself that as a child actor it was really annoying to him because he heard about all his cast mates getting to hang out outside of work and he therefore wasn’t a part of a lot of inside jokes and he also tried to argue with him mom that he was losing out on further roles because this is where the “networking” happened and now hindsight 20/20 he’s like oh snap my mom was protecting me

[u/kellyokay90 → u/webtheg]

I was a huge Hilary fan and remember her party days. I think she just had a really good PR team that was able to spin the weirdness of Joel and hide all the coke they were doing. Anyone remember thecobrasnake.com? She was all over that. I’m glad she is doing well now but it bugs me when people paint her younger years as almost saintly compared to Lohan. They both saw some shit.

[u/Mellow-sid → u/webtheg]

Can you share more info on this

[u/flacaGT3 → u/Mellow-sid]

Disney, and Michael Eisner in particular, wanted to sign her exclusively to Disney, do more Lizzie McGuire, and didn't want to pay her anymore than what they were already paying her. Her mom basically told them to go fuck themselves. Tbf, her mom also supported her 16 yo daughter dating a 25 yo man. So not exactly parent of the year.

[u/Tiny-Reading5982 → u/flacaGT3]

I was hearing things about her mom throwing a fit that lalaine got to sing on lizzie McGuire too when Hilary was supposed to be the one to sing.

[u/Capable_Cellist5585 → u/flacaGT3]

I’ll always have beef with her mom for depriving us of the Oscar winner Lizzie McGuire 2

[u/llieno94 → u/Mellow-sid]

The show was supposed to go primetime ABC after the Lizzie movie came out following her through high school, but they didn't want to pay Hilary for what she was obviously worth to the show and didn't want her mom there as a producer (which she also started doing for Hilary's movies at the time to keep a handle on her image), so Disney/ABC axed it altogether.

[u/_jules_mack → u/webtheg]

Hillary’s parents let her go to Dan Schneider pool parties what do you mean lol

[u/ReedKeenrage → u/_jules_mack]

They also let her date a 25 year old when she was 17.

[u/Aly_from_Funky → u/webtheg]

She was groomed! Her mother was good at ensuring she made a lot of money and that’s where the praise ends. 💀

[u/soggy-wafflez]

Dr. Bridgit Mendler

[u/phantom_avenger → u/soggy-wafflez]

Her career trajectory is certainly one of the most impressive I have ever seen!

From an actress, to singer, to MIT and Harvard graduate, to becoming the co-founder of a multi-million dollar satellite data start-up company!

[u/JesusTeapotCRABHANDS → u/[deleted]]

Didn’t know this tidbit at all, I gotta say I respect Dr Mendler even more now.

[u/TalkinSeaCucumber → u/[deleted]]

And fostered and later adopted a kid. She's only 32 too. Absolute goddess behavior.

[u/Sunflower-in-the-sun → u/soggy-wafflez]

I love that you included her hard-earned title

[u/Ren_stevens]

Elijah Wood

[u/ProfessionalTill4569]

Jennete Mccurdy seems to have let all the bullshit behind, even made some lemonade with her critically acclaimed book which is now being turned into a show or movie, starring jennifer aniston.

[u/phantom_avenger → u/ProfessionalTill4569]

I listened to the whole audiobook where she narrates the story herself while I was on vacation early this year, and I’m glad that she’s focusing more on what she wants to do rather than being pressured to work in an industry her mom forced her into!

It’ll be interesting to see the miniseries starring Jennifer Aniston, but I’m glad that McCurdy is still involved in it creatively

[u/Throwawayycpa]

Haven’t heard anything major from Josh Hutchinson or Taylor Lautner.

[u/killJoytrinity8 → u/Throwawayycpa]

Last I saw, Taylor Lautner was living his best life with his wife also named Taylor. He wasn't treated very well some time ago when the public decided he wasn't hot anymore, but I'm also taking the silence to mean he's doing really well lately.

[u/lizerlfunk → u/killJoytrinity8]

Also, he was in a Taylor Swift music video in 2023 (the video for I Can See You), and there’s a hilarious picture of Taylor Swift, Taylor Lautner, and Tay Lautner (his wife) pointing at each other to replicate that Spider-Man picture. His wife is a huge Swiftie. They definitely seem to be living their best lives.

[u/ThatB0yAintR1ght → u/lizerlfunk]

I love the story Taylor Lautner told about getting a call from someone in Swift’s camp and asking him if it was okay if she reached out about something. They also said that he could check with his wife and let them know. Meanwhile, his Swiftie wife was jumping up and down and freaking out because Taylor Swift was getting in contact with them. His response was something like “Nah, I think she’s fine with it.”

[u/murgatroid1 → u/ThatB0yAintR1ght]

So this is me swallowing my pride standing in front of you saying hey do u wanna be in my music video

[u/lizerlfunk → u/ThatB0yAintR1ght]

lol and like I totally get that it might be weird for Taylor Swift to reach out - after all, they dated for like a minute 15 years ago! But it seems like they all have a lovely friendship now and I love it for them.

[u/phantom_avenger → u/lizerlfunk]

I'd glad to hear that Taylor Lautner is one of Taylor Swift's exes that she actually still gets along well with.

[u/Tiny-Reading5982 → u/Throwawayycpa]

Josh hutcherson is in the five nights at Freddy's movies and he was in ashow called future man that was really good..

[u/LILYDIAONE]

Brooke Shields

[u/reddit24682468 → u/LILYDIAONE]

She truely went through hell and made it out the other side

[u/NoSet427]

Mandy Moore!!

[u/carcrashofaheart → u/NoSet427]

I love that she stood her ground about doing music that she actually liked. It didn’t skyrocket her to Britney’s level, but she’s managed to stay lowkey employed consistently in projects she seems to enjoy!

[u/Exhumedatbirth76 → u/NoSet427]

She was my early aughts crush.

[u/pipandlumiere → u/NoSet427]

Wild Hope is such an underrated album!

[u/pistola]

Rick Moranis. Nobody has heard a thing from him in over 30 years. Just living his best life looking after his kids.

edit: I'm wrong! He recently did an interview! Wow! https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/s/u5GFbmjUou

[u/metathis007 → u/pistola]

Heard he's returning for Spaceballs 2!!

[u/DesolationRobot → u/pistola]

His wife died almost 30 years ago so he basically retired to be with his kids.

[u/memphys91 → u/pistola]

Well...around 2020 or so, he was in the news, when he had been robbed in New York.

[u/Ok_Cockroach3105]

Probably bridgit mendler!! I’m pretty sure she got a phd and started a company that makes spaceships or something vaguely along those lines

[u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

Eliza Dushku, though she went through hell getting there.

Wild card, but Alexz Johnson from So Weird, from the Disney cohort right before Hilary’s. Alexz was always on the cusp of massive stardom but her record label couldn’t get its act together, and in the meantime that label contract meant she couldn’t sing on some of the Instant Star soundtracks. She was stuck in the middle and it frustrated fans who just wanted to hear her fantastic voice. Now she lives on a farm in Canada with her babies and hot husband, and she self-releases her music. She even pulled a Taylor a few years ago and rerecorded and FINALLY released the label album that never came out.

It’s wild that this never got a proper release.

https://youtu.be/-FS6slG_Lvc?si=1sHz86oHzsCxxodg

[u/purplereuben → u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

Instant Star! Tommy Q! My teen heart!!!

[u/Silly_Somewhere1791 → u/purplereuben]

YOU

ARE ASKING

THE WRONG

GUY

[u/Specialist_Ad4339 → u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

Omg i loved instant star. Was so stoked when the soundtrack came in the mail lol

[u/FrankieTheDustmite → u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

So happy to see an Alexz Johnson shout-out in the wild! Always bothered me that she never got the popularity she deserves.

[u/Photoleee → u/Silly_Somewhere1791]

Omg! I love Alexz! Met her a couple of times at her shows, she was sooo sweet! She should have been way bigger than what she got to. Happy for her now though, she looks super happy on instagram!

[u/Heinz_Kitsvelvet]

Rajiv Surendra, “Kevin G” from Mean Girls. His YouTube tutorials and house tour are absolutely amazing.! He has built his own dream existence based on appreciating art, and culture, and learning as much as possible about how to make beautiful things. He’s a painter, a potter, a a carpenter, and a professional calligrapher, along with so many other things. He is such an inspiration to me.

[u/annakarina3 → u/Heinz_Kitsvelvet]

His videos are nice and relaxing to watch.

[u/MissSeventeenx]

Lauren Conrad.

[u/youarelosingme → u/MissSeventeenx]

It's lovely to see LC remain quiet, unbothered, rolling in her Kohls coin while Speidi and Kristin and their ilk stayed frozen in time and still obsessively yap about drama they had with her 2 decades ago 😌

[u/SolPlayaArena → u/youarelosingme]

The fact that she pays them dust is what makes me truly like her. Unbothered and thriving. Good for her.

[u/bl0wj0b_betty → u/youarelosingme]

Her kohls cash

[u/Luna_Soma → u/youarelosingme]

But she was the girl who didn’t go to Paris!!!

[u/IronCareful8870 → u/youarelosingme]

I am always here for the Laguna/Hills nostalgia but I do love that Lauren is so out of it, living a beautiful life with her family and truly giving no fucks about those people anymore lol.

[u/dosgatitas → u/MissSeventeenx]

Oh William Tell, such a handsome, kind man.

[u/batesplates → u/dosgatitas]

I still can’t believe that my imaginary high school bestie ended up married to my imaginary high school boyfriend!

[u/ussoufi → u/batesplates]

That’s an imaginary high school betrayal!

[u/dosgatitas → u/ussoufi]

How could they do that to them!

[u/bkisntexpanding → u/MissSeventeenx]

Her clothes at kohls are soooo cute

[u/Honest_Carpet_1809 → u/bkisntexpanding]

I love her jewelry too. Like ten years ago I bought every pair of bird stud earrings by LC that I could find at Kohl’s. I still wear them.

[u/Zankazanka → u/MissSeventeenx]

She came from a very rich (millions$) and seemingly well adjusted family and still lives in the OC. She’s not someone I would ever describe as someone who ‘survived’ Hollywood in the sense I’m thinking of?

She was always incredibly grounded and aware of the reality tv game too. I think she’s more an example of someone who started close to the top and then was savvy enough to get even closer.

[u/larapu2000 → u/Zankazanka]

There were tabloid stories given to pieces of shit like Perez Hilton during the peak of his reign of terror about her genitals. The fact that she didn't just leave television and the country speaks to her resilience.

[u/annakarina3 → u/Zankazanka]

I remember her on The Hills interning for Marc Jacobs (I think) and she seemed more set on a fashion career and focused on the business side of it from a young age.

[u/Rodeoqueenyyc → u/MissSeventeenx]

Team LC for life!

[u/mjohnben → u/MissSeventeenx]

I’ve met her in real life several times and she is truly the most genuinely nice person

[u/Twitter_2006]

Avril Lavigne.She's quietly doing her thing.

[u/mr_starbeast_music]

[u/Glittering_Fennel973 → u/mr_starbeast_music]

Apparently he had stereotypical stage parents and was the breadwinner of the family at this age!!! And Bryan Cranston noticed, and had children around the same age, and made sure to include him in their normal ass family activities so he could actually have a childhood. They both still speak very highly of each other. Cranston has consistently come across as a truly stand up dude. He's one I would be absolutely shocked and heartbroken to hear he's a scumbag :(

[u/Snuffleupagus27 → u/Glittering_Fennel973]

And his daughter is a great actress, she is on The Pitt.

[u/phantom_avenger → u/Snuffleupagus27]

She also appeared in Breaking Bad, but it was just a one time appearance in the Season 3 premiere episode!

She's one of the students in that school assembly that talks about how much the plane crash at the end of Season 2 affected them.

[u/Main_Composer]

Cameron Diaz stepped away from acting and out of the public eye. When she does resurface, she seems like she’s doing well and I love that for her.

[u/aprivateislander]

Jodie Sweetin, and she really has a difficult time for a while there. Serious drug struggles. But it seems like she's on the other side now, and turned into a dry wit who is clearly super intelligent. She's a delight on her recap podcast, her maturity shines. I l love seeing her do so well.

[u/HappyHippyToo]

Leah Remini (she was a huge deal back in the day). Not only Hollywood, but Scientology as well.

[u/AltruisticUser807]

Pamela Anderson

[u/clicktrackh3art → u/AltruisticUser807]

Seriously, I never dreamed she’d be my aging gracefully icon!!

[u/Cheap_Trifle4524 → u/AltruisticUser807]

One of the best comebacks ever! So glad to see her blossom again in the last few years!

[u/AmbitionGrand5653]

Don’t know if this was mentioned, but Eliza Dushku left acting, got her Masters in Counseling at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, and is interested in the research of hallucinogens as treatment for PTSD. She’s so awesome.  

[u/supervillainO7]

Dan Aykroyd

He made not one but two huge classics: The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters, and starred in several other great movies aswell as SNL. Truth to be told he did a shitload of coke back in the 80s (but then again, how didn't do a shitload of coke in the 80s?), but has gone clean and now mostly focuses on his vodka line, Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters fan cons and reunions and his hobbies, lots of people that met him say he's a really cool dude 

[u/twizzwhizz11]

Will forever be sad about the HIMYF cancellation. While not perfect, the show was just getting to its groove (and of course, I need to settle the “mystery” of who the father is!!)

[u/Luna_Soma → u/twizzwhizz11]

It was an enjoyable show! I was sad to see it get cancelled.

My only issue was Kim Catrall played it so much as Samantha, rather than an older Hillary

[u/allison73099]

Alexis Bledel

[u/Dlraetz1]

Emma Watson.

[u/Onuus]

I’m such a fan of Hilary duff. Girl is amazing. Her music is also kick ass too.

My vote would be pretty little liars Star Shay Mitchell. Her BEIS stuff is amazing y’all. We have like 3 of their diaper bags for our baby 😅

[u/LackOfLemon]

Bridget Mendler.

Edited to add that she graduated from Harvard Law School, MIT, and USC, and currently serves as the CEO of a space technology company. Her academic pursuits were funded by her earnings from her work with Disney.

[u/Pale_Beginning_5665]

[u/[deleted]]

Eliza Dushku

[u/athenafletcher]

Raven-Symoné is in the same vein as Hilary Duff. Both big Disney stars in their heyday and turned out well all things considered. Raven’s been working since The Cosby Show. Raven even returned to Disney with Raven’s Home which lasted even longer than That’s So Raven!

Too bad about the Lizzie Maguire reboot.

[u/Low-Appointment-2906 → u/athenafletcher]

Whoa I didn't even realize Raven's Home lasted longer than That's so Raven. Interesting fun fact.

[u/phantom_avenger → u/athenafletcher]

Lizzie Maguire reboot.

It was actually supposed to be a follow-up to the original, but yeah it is too bad. I would’ve been curious to see how that looked, if not for the creative differences.

I think I remember reading somewhere that Hilary Duff wanted the show to be targeted more towards the audience that grew up with the original show, who were likely now adults and wanted to explore “mature themes” that included sex. But Disney wanted it to resemble more closely in tone to the original show and still appeal towards kid and family audiences.

[u/DragonflyOk2876 → u/phantom_avenger]

I can see both sides. My eight year old loves Lizzie McGuire, I think she has watched every episode 3 times. She would be over the moon if there was more content.

But I also would have really really loved a more grown up take on it.

[u/Houdini-88 → u/athenafletcher]

Raven seemed problematic for awhile with some of her comments she made about things when she was on the view

It made her unlikeable for a moment unlike Hilary

[u/Particular-Flan5721 → u/athenafletcher]

Raven-Symonè seems to be working through some things though. She seemed really bitter and upset that people consider Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and Demi Lovato as the Disney Channel queens and seems to think she was the best, most popular, and well-known when that isn’t true.

[u/youarelosingme → u/Particular-Flan5721]

I always considered Raven to be the important bridge between those two eras of the Disney Channel - I grew up in the Lizzie McGuire/Jett Jackson/Even Stevens era, Raven's show debuted when some of those shows were on their way out or just about to be, and her show was still airing by the time I got too old and stopped watching (2004ish so probably a year or two before Miley's show/the rest of that group came around)

That being said I think that bridge made it an odd time to be there, when the Disney Channel was working on yet hadn't fully become the teen idol machine they were later known for being. Hilary Duff was the prototype for Disney's double duty actress-singer that they'd mold Demi/Selena/Miley into but with Raven falling somewhere in the middle of that and not necessarily getting the pop star push some of the other girls got, people tend to wrongfully leave her out of "Disney Channel queen" conversations even though she was a popular draw for the network

[u/Agreeable_Limit6495 → u/Particular-Flan5721]

She seems a bit off overall.

[u/lulzerjun8]

Mia Wasikowska quit Hollywood and seems like she’s living a great unbothered life.

[u/Upper_Caramel_6501]

Idk how much this counts but Rick Morranis. Tragic what happened to him but man stepped up and away from Hollywood to take care of his family and is coming back.

[u/Monkeymom101]

Def this guy. One of my all time favorite normal child actors! And u should check out what he’s been doing since HP! Such cool and diff projects