So Fetch! See What the 'Mean Girls' Cast Is Up to Now
So fetch! Nearly two decades after Mean Girls debuted in theaters across the world, the teen flick remains a favorite with fans and celebrities.
The 2004 film, which raked in $129 million globally on a $17 million budget, is responsible for creating iconic lines including, “On Wednesdays, we wear pink” to “Is butter a carb?” Mean Girls also helped catapult the careers of its stars, including Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried.
“I’ve just worked a long time. I’ve gotten a lot of cool opportunities here and there and I’ve made some good choices with the help of my amazing team,” Seyfried told the Los Angeles Times in 2013. “I still look back at Mean Girls as my best work.”
Directed by Mark Waters and written by Tina Fey based on the book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, Mean Girls follows Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) as she navigates her way through the American school system after her family moves back to the U.S. from Africa. Early into her high school journey, she is asked to join The Plastics — a popular girl clique run by Regina George (McAdams). However, Cady finds herself in hot water when she develops a crush on Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels (Jonathan Bennett).
Fey, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Tim Meadows and Amy Poehler also star.
“I have to thank Regina George for giving me some longevity,” McAdams told The New York Times in 2018. “I’m forever grateful to Tina Fey and Mark Waters. I remember when I read it, I called my agent right away and said, ‘I will play any part in this, please, please, please.’ I was at the beginning of my career, and it was a lofty thing out there, that I really, really, really wanted to do.”
The popular movie has also spawned a TV film, Mean Girls 2, in 2011 and a Broadway musical created by Fey in 2017. It also inspired Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” video, with Kris Jenner recreating Poehler’s “cool mom” character. Fey additionally announced in January 2020 that she would reimagine the Mean Girls Broadway musical as a major motion picture.
The film’s popularity additionally sparked the launch of the fan-created holiday, “Mean Girls Day,” that’s celebrated annually on October 3. This special occasion references a line said by Lohan’s Cady about her crush, Bennett’s Aaron. “On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was,” she said.
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In honor of the iconic film, scroll down to see what the cast has been up to since the movie’s 2004 premiere:
Lohan starred in films including Georgia Rule, Herbie Fully Loaded and I Know Who Killed Me. She also had a recurring role on Ugly Betty and released two albums, Speak in 2004 and A Little More Personal (Raw) in 2005. The former child star, however, became a tabloid magnet due to her partying, substance abuse issues, family drama and romantic relationships. She has since made a comeback with a short-lived MTV reality series, Lindsay Lohan Beach Club, and released a song, called “Xanax,” in September 2019. She briefly served as a judge on the Australian version of The Masked Singer in 2019 and launched a new business venture called #BeYourOwnBoss in September 2020. Lohan made her acting return in Netflix's Falling for Christmas, which premiered in November 2022. Lohan has had many high-profile romances post-Mean Girls. She notably dated Samantha Ronson on-and-off from 2008 to 2009 and was briefly engaged to Egor Tarabasov in 2016. The Parent Trap actress got engaged to businessman Bader Shammas in November 2021. The twosome said “I do” in July 2022. Less than one year later, Lohan told Us Weekly in March 2023 that she and Shammas are expecting their first child together. Shutterstock (2)
Fey’s career blasted off following the success of Mean Girls. Though she exited Saturday Night Live in May 2004, she created 30 Rock and starred as protagonist Liz Lemon on the series for seven seasons — a part that allowed her to nab a Primetime Emmy Award. She continued to appear in movies including Baby Mama, Date Night, Sisters and Wine Country. She then created more projects under her Little Stranger production company such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Busy Tonight. Additionally, she published her memoir, Bossypants, in 2011. Fey’s Broadway rendition of Mean Girls ran from August 2018 to March 2021, shutting down amid the coronavirus pandemic. A filmed adaptation of the Broadway production was announced in January 2020. The SNL alum created Peacock’s Girls5eva series, which premiered in May 2021. She made a brief cameo in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building — which stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez — which aired in September 2021. Fey shares daughters Alice and Penelope with husband Jeff Richmond. Shutterstock (2)
2004 was a big year for McAdams. In addition to Mean Girls, she landed another iconic film role opposite Ryan Gosling in The Notebook. She continued to appear in major films such as Wedding Crashers, The Vow, Game Night and Doctor Strange. She also starred on the second season of HBO’s True Detective in 2015 and scored her first Oscar nomination in 2016 for Best Supporting Actress for Spotlight. McAdams welcomed her first child with boyfriend Jamie Linden in 2018. In August 2020, it was announced that they were expecting their second child together. It wasn’t until May 2022, however, that the actress subtly revealed she and Linden welcomed a daughter. Shutterstock (2)
Seyfried appeared on the acclaimed HBO drama Big Love from 2006 to 2011 and had a recurring role on Twin Peaks’ third season in 2017. She also landed parts in high-profile films including the Mamma Mia! franchise, Jennifer’s Body, Dear John, Les Misérables and Ted 2. In 2013, she was nominated alongside the Les Misérables cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. She earned her first Oscar nomination in 2021 for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Mank. The following year, Seyfried won her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes on The Dropout. Seyfried wed Thomas Sadoski in 2017 after dating Dominic Cooper and Justin Long. The same month of their private nuptials, she gave birth to their daughter, Nina. The couple welcomed a son in September 2020. Shutterstock (2)
After Mean Girls, Chabert continued to have a steady career and has starred in more than 15 Hallmark movies, including My Secret Valentine and Christmas in Rome. She has also lent her voice to characters on Justice League Action, Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny and Transformers: Rescue Bots. The Party of Five alum wed David Nehdar in 2013. The duo welcomed a daughter, Julia, in 2016. Shutterstock (2)
Caplan found success in the television world by landing roles on True Blood, The Class, New Girl and Party Down. Her biggest television role came when she played Virginia Johnson on Masters of Sex from 2013 to 2016, and she later nabbed the leading role on Castle Rock’s second season in 2019. She has additionally starred in several films including Cloverfield, Now You See Me 2, Allied and The Interview. Caplan notably dated Matthew Perry from 2006 to 2012 and went on to wed actor Tom Riley in 2017. Shutterstock (2)
Bennett appeared in movies like The Haunting of Sharon Tate and Do Over, and TV shows such as Awkward and Hit the Floor. He expanded his horizons outside of acting by competing on Dancing with the Stars’ 19th season in 2014 and hosting the Food Network’s Cake Wars from 2015 to 2017. He paid tribute to his Mean Girls roots by cowriting a cookbook, The Burn Cook Book, in 2018 and by reprising his character appeared in Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” music video in 2019. That same year, he competed on Celebrity Big Brother and began cohosting Fetch Me a Date with Dorothy Wang on Facebook Watch. Hallmark announced in September 2022 that Bennett would star in its first LGBTQ+-lead holiday film, The Holiday Sitter. Bennett announced in November 2020 that he got engaged to Jaymes Vaughn after dating for four years. The duo tied the knot in March 2022. Shutterstock (2)
After Mean Girls, much of his work was in the television world. He guest-starred on shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, GLOW and Party Down. He’s additionally appeared on Electric City, Recovery Road and Conviction. He starred in a one-man show, I’ve Never Really Made the Kind of Money to Become a Mess, in 2013 and became an art curator. Franzese proposed to his boyfriend Joseph Bradley Phillips in 2016 after two years of dating, but they called it quits in 2018. Shutterstock (2)
Since Mean Girls, Meadows has appeared in several movies from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story to Semi-Pro to Grown Ups 2. He has made memorable appearances on TV shows like Schooled, The Goldbergs, Son of Zorn and Marry Me. He has also voiced characters on Bob’s Burgers and BoJack Horseman. Meadows shares two sons, Isaiah and Julian, with his ex-wife, Michelle Taylor. Shutterstock (2)
Pohler’s star power continued to rise as she appeared in films including Blades of Glory, Baby Mama and The House. She notably portrayed Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation from 2009 to 2015 — a part she won a Golden Globe for in 2014. She voiced a leading character on Duncanville and has produced several shows like Broad City and Difficult People. In 2019, she made her directorial debut with Wine Country — a film that she also starred in. The Saturday Night Live alum also penned a memoir, Yes Please, in 2014. Poehler was married to Will Arnett, with whom she shares sons Archie and Abel, from 2003 to 2013. After the divorce, she dated Nick Kroll from 2013 to 2015 and briefly dated attorney Benjamin Graf between 2017 to 2018. Shutterstock (2)
Following Mean Girls, Surendra had his last onscreen acting credit in a short film titled 6 ft. in 7 min. in 2005. He went on to pen a memoir in 2016 titled The Elephants in My Backyard and was awarded the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in 2017. He’s currently based in New York City and has since established himself as an artist. Paramount Pictures; Adam Nemser/startraksphoto.com
Gasteyer went on to have several recurring or prominent parts on shows including Suburgatory, Lady Dynamite, People of Earth and The Goldbergs. The Saturday Night Live alum has appeared in movies such as Wine Country, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and Adam. She also competed on The Masked Singer in 2019 as The Tree, ending the competition in sixth place. Outside of TV and film, she starred in the Broadway production of The Royal Family and the play Girl Crazy in 2009 as well as A New Brain in 2015. Gasteyer has been married to Charlie McKittrick since 1996. The pair share a daughter, Frances, and a son, Ulysses. Paramount Pictures; Famous/ACE PICTURES/INSTARimages.com
Flynn continued to play the janitor on Scrubs into its ninth and final season in 2010. His next major TV role came in 2009 when he played Mike Heck on The Middle, which ended after nine seasons in 2018. He’s appeared in films such as Hoot and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and he also popped up on other shows like Joey and Abby’s. He’s additionally voiced characters on several animated series including Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Bob’s Burgers. Paramount Pictures; Andrew H Walker/Shutterstock
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