Celebrity News | Where Are They Now?

They were household names.. until they weren’t.

Are they hidden in rural, remote ranches?

—Or are they just constrained (by contract) to an obscure network television channel that you never watch (i.e.— Hallmark Channel or Lifetime?)

…Are they making a comeback? —Or not?

Need to know the latest celebrity news?

Do reboots mean a lot to you?
—They don’t to everyone.
…But if it’s your thing, here’s some throwback Hollywood gossip to keep you going.

See what’s up with the 90s + Y2K celebrities we all forgot…

1. Amy Smart

Years Active: 1996- Present

Known For:

• Road Trip (2000)
• The Butterfly Effect (2004)
• Just Friends (2005)
• Crank (2009)

Now:

After struggling w/ years of infertility, Amy finally became a full-time mom in December 2016.

In 2017, her actor/husband was accused of sexual misconduct w/ an on-set makeup artist. Smart defended her husband.

Additionally, the actress has dabbled into being a yoga instructor, selling eco-friendly products, and co-owning an organic winery. However, she claims her empire is “only in the beginning stages.”

Mrs. Smart is also an environmentalist! Like many other boasted celebrities, this celebrity actually serves on the board of the Environmental Media Association  (via.)

Amy Smart now lives a quiet life in Michigan, while still calling Los Angeles home.

Despite all this, Mrs. Smart, never really left Hollywood. She landed a role in the DC Universe. Look for her in 2020’s Stargirl as Barbara Whitmore

Find out more about why Amy Smart disappeared Here.

 

…Or check out the video below:

 

 

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2. Stuart Townsend

Years Active: 1993- Present

Known For:

• Queen of the Damned (2002)
• The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (2003)
• Chaos Theory (2008)

Now:

Everything went downhill for Townsend after he was arrested for domestic violence against his wife in 2019. However, his current wife didn’t press charges.

The celebrity, who previously dated (and allegedly abused) Charlize Theron for 9 years, was booked on 1 count of felony domestic abuse.

In addition, he’s also facing 2 misdemeanor counts for false imprisonment and dissuading someone from reporting a crime.

He was released after posting $50,000 bail.

While speaking to TMZ, Stuart acknowledged that he and his wife,

“…had a loud argument,”  but said the situation had “simmered down by the time police got there.”

Career-wise, he now has 3 movies in post-production that will be coming out this year.

Check out more about Staurt Townsend’s legal problems here.

 

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3. Tara Reid

Years Active: 1987- Present

Known For:

• The Big Lebowski (1998)
• Urban Legend (1998)
• American Pie (1999)
• Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
• Van Wilder (2002)
• My Boss’s Daughter (2003)
• Taradise (2005)
• Alone in the Dark (2005)
• Sharknado (2013)

Now:

Tara was hit hard by her “party girl” reputation. Consequently, directors began to notice.

She also pulled questionable PR stunts, like fake marriages (I see you, Tana & Jake Paul.)

Not only that, but she pigeonholed herself into the “girl-next-door” roles. Unfortunately, this was a mold she could no longer fit (i.e. the late-night fiascos.)

As a result, she wasn’t really given the chance to prove her acting chops beyond the “sweetheart” roles she was known for.

Next, she took on 2005’s Taradise. Tara claims this was the biggest hit to her career.

In need of a payday, Reid’s career was revived (as a cult classic figure) in a film she thought no one would ever see, Sharknado.

She was grateful for finding that niche.. until she hit legal problems and sued the producers for $100 Million.

In 2014, she released a swimwear and perfume line called, Shark by Tara.

Check out more on Why Hollywood Won’t Cast Tara Reid anymore Here

 

…Or Watch the Video Below:

 

 

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4. Josh Hartnett

Years Active: 1997- Present

Known For:

• The Faculty (1998)
• Halloween: H20 (1998)
• The Virgin Suicides (1999)
• Pearl Harbor (2001)
• Black Hawk Down (2001)
• 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)
• Sin City (2005)
• Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
• The Black Dahlia (2006)
• 30 Days of Night (2007)

Now:

Directors thought Josh Hartnett was too difficult, so they stopped offering him roles (he turned down the chance to play Superman, then Spider-Man, then Batman).

This pissed off Hollywood director, Christopher Nolan, leading to Christian Bale being cast as Batman.

As a result, Hartnett was blacklisted from most of Hollywood. He wanted a break. He took a break.

Directors began to turn on him. He was eventually dropped by his agents. This caused a rift with his manager, and they eventually could not work together.

He has been dating actress Tamsin Egerton since 2013. They have two children together. They live a private life in England.

Hartnett has been making tentative return to Hollywood. His Showtime series Penny Dreadful has now come to an end after 3 seasons. He has two movies in post production to be released in 2020 and 2021.

Check out more on What Happened to Josh Hartnett Here.

…Or Watch the Video Below:

 

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5. Lucy Liu

Years Active: 1990- Present

Known For:

• Charlie’s Angels (2000)
• Chicago (2003)
• Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Now:

As you’ll see further down the list, Lucy Liu often felt like a “black sheep” of Hollywood due to her race. In 2019, she spoke about having to battle against the lack of Diversity in Hollywood.

Still, she managed to snag an iconic sexpot role at a contentious time. Plus she has a shoutout on an iconic song (@ me if you don’t know Independent Woman.)

Still, she managed to come out on top. She appeared in 2020’s Stage Mom. She also has a TV movie that is currently in pre-production.

I’m ready for O-ren or Alex to return tbh.

Check out the trailer to Stage Mom below:

 

 

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6. Seann William Scott

Years Active: 1996- Present

Known For:

• American Pie (1999)
• Final Destination (2000)
• Road Trip (2000)
• Dude Where’s My Car (2001)
• The Rundown (2003)
• Old School (2003)
• Bulletproof Monk (2003)
• The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) 
• Mr. Woodcock (2007)
• Role Models (2008)

Now:

Seann William Scott got typecasted as a goofball. This didn’t translate as well after he got older.

He then transitioned primarily into voice-over roles, and audiences inevitably forgot about him.

He got married in 2019. He hasn’t done much in a while in terms of acting. He did a movie, Already Gone, in 2019. He also has a TV movie, This Country, in pre-production.

Find out More on Why Hollywood Won’t Cast Seann William Scott anymore Here. 

 

…Or watch the video below:

 

 

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7. Arielle Kebbel

Years Active: 2003- Present

Known For:

• Gilmore Girls (2003)
• American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005)
• Be Cool (2005)
• Aquamarine (2006)
• John Tucker Must Die (2006)
• The Vampire Diaries (2009)
• The Uninvited (2009)

Now:

Arielle is a Mustang lover. Particularly, the horses. (Cool if she loves the Fords too.) She spends her time serving as a board member to Skydog Sanctuary. According to their Instagram, their mission is to “rescue, rehab, reunite and release wild mustangs with love and compassion.”

She lent her voice to Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken between 2015-2019. Although she was a heavy hitter on the silver screen during the 2000s, she can be seen only mainly on the small screen nowadays.

Arielle briefly returned to theaters for 2018’s Fifty Shades Freed. It was around this time that her sister, Julia, went missing; but she was safely found 2 weeks later.

Although she doesn’t have any upcoming projects at the moment; you can catch her regularly on the Hallmark channel, which is now home to many forgotten celebrities who are also held hostage by contracts (more on that later.)

Check out Her Sis’ Video below:

 

 

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8. Kate Bosworth

Years Active: 1997- Present

Known For:

• The Horse Whisperer (1998)
• Remember the Titans (2000)
• Blue Crush (2002) 
• Wonderland (2003)
• Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (2006)
• Superman Returns (2006)
• 21 (2008) 
• Straw Dogs (2011)

Now:

Bosworth initially disappeared because her movies weren’t making the return that film investors were hoping for.

Her film career was also upstaged by a string of high profile relationships.

Kate is also way more famous on the fashion front than on the movie screen. Bosworth is clearly in high demand as a campaign model for many fashion brands. She doesn’t need the extra income. I guess she figured, why bother when you don’t have to put up with so much.

In August 2013, she married film director, Michael Polish, in a country-style wedding in Montana.

She’s still acting, but like many others on this list, she has spent this decade mostly on television. Bosworth also says she would still be down to do a sequel to Blue Crush, teasing during her Aug. 7 video chat with her co-stars.

“I’ll put my life on the line again. I don’t mind.

In 2020, both she and Mel Gibson returned with the movie, Force of Nature. She also has a current project, Wild Indian, in post-production.

You can Check out more on Why Hollywood won’t cast Kate Bosworth anymore Here.

…Or Check out the trailer to Force of Nature Below:

…Or Check out her position on being Jaded in Hollywood:

 

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9. Victoria Justice

Years Active: 2003- Present

Known For:

• Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101 (2005)
• Nickelodeon’s Victorious (2010)
• Fun Size (2012)

Now:

Victoria Justice was the tween It-girl when she starred in 2010’s Victorious, overshadowing even Ariana Grande.

Following the show’s run, Justice released several singles as a solo artist; and starred in MTV’s short-lived thriller Eye Candy in 2015.

That same year, the 27-year-old starred in the buzzy indie Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List as the titular Naomi. She also landed the role of Janet Weiss in Fox’s musical event, The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again, which aired in 2016.

Yet, all of these efforts were largely ignored.

Her first tv show since Victorious, her first role on the big screen, and her first full-length album and her first high profile shot on the big stage were all flops. This caused Justice’s career momentum to slow down a bit.

She has picked up a hand full of guest starring roles on a few episodes of television sitcoms, but nothing recurring. At the moment, she has one upcoming project in post-production, Push.

Check out more on Why Hollywood won’t cast Victoria Justice anymore Here. 

 

…Or Check Out the Video Below:

 

 

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10. Dane Cook

Years Active: 1990- Present

Known For:

• Employee of the month (2006)
• Good Luck Chuck (2007)
• Dan in Real Life (2007)
• My Best Friend’s Girl (2008)

Now:

His career started to fizzle out when he began to have a reputation for his controversial comedy style. His sense of humor hasn’t seemed to age well since his heyday in the 2000s.

Nowadays, he’s mainly stuck to voice-over roles now, including video games, shorts, and television series; such as Robot Chicken.

He returned to a live action movie role in 2019’s American Exit; but he has no upcoming projects in the works at the moment.

11. Kirsten Dunst

Years Active: 1988- Present

Known For:

• Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• Little Women (1994)
• Jumanji (1996)
• Small Soldiers (1998)
• The Virgin Suicides (1999)
• Dick (1999)
• Bring It On (2000)
• Crazy/Beautiful (2001)
• Spider-man (2002) 
• Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
• Wimbledon (2004)
• Marie Antoinette (2006)

Now:

On May 3, 2018, she welcomed her first child, son Ennis, with Fargo co-star turned real-life love Jesse Plemons.

In 2019, she caused gossip when she claimed that Hollywood ignores her during awards season; and that she didn’t feel pretty compared to her peers.

More recently she’s been tearing it up with the dark humor on TV, finally earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Fargo and another Globe nomination in 2020 for On Becoming a God in Central Florida.

She has an upcoming film,The Power of the Dog, in post production that is slated for 2021.

Check out more about How Hollywood “ignores” Kirsten Dunst Here.

 

…Or Check out the Video Below:

 

 

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12. Freddie Prinze Jr.

Years Active: 1995- Present

Known For:

• I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
• She’s All That (1999)
• Summer Catch (2001)
• Scooby-Doo (2002)

Now:

Freddie Prinze Jr. married fellow celebrity, Sarah Michelle Gellar, in 2002. The couple share two children.

He also went on star in the short-lived television series “Freddie” and roles on “24” and “Robot Chicken.” However, his personal life got in the way of auditioning in 2014 when he underwent spinal surgery.

Since then, he has mainly stuck to voice-over roles in this past decade. But there’s still hope! He recently filmed a pilot episode in post production to a reboot of 80’s television show, Punky Brewster. If the show gets picked up, we may be seeing him again soon.

Check out More on Why Hollywood Won’t Cast Freddie Prinze Jr. anymore Here.

 

…Or Watch the Video below:

 

 

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13. Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Years Active: 1997- Present

Known For:

• Sky High (2005)
• Final Destination 3 (2006)
• Black Christmas (2006)
• Grindhouse (2007)
• Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
• 10 Cloverlane (2016)

Now:

She was pretty busy for a while. In 2018, she and fellow celebrity, Ewan McGregor, had a pretty bitter divorce.

During this time, McGregor’s daughter called Winstead “trash.” McGregor’s daughter said she now regrets insulting the actress.

Winstead’s hiatus may be over. She returned to the big screen in 2020’s Birds of Prey. She also has an upcoming film, Kate in post production.

Check her out Promoting Birds of Prey w/ Margot Robbie below:

 

 

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14. Jessica Alba

Years Active: 1992- Present

Known For:

• Never Been Kissed (1999)
• Idle Hands (1999)
• Dark Angel (2000) 
• Honey (2003)
• Sin City (2005)
• Fantastic Four (2005)
• Into the Blue (2005)
• Good Luck Chuck (2007)
• The Eye (2008)
• The Love Guru (2008)
• Valentine’s Day (2010)
• Machete (2010)
• Little Fockers (2010)

Now:

In Hollywood, Jessica often felt type-casted, as she was not caucasian enough or latina enough for either role that called for someone of her background.

Then, the experience of Fantastic Four made Alba reconsider her acting career altogether. Alba’s director, Tim Story berated her for acting “too well.”

Discussing the situation in an interview with Elle magazine, the actress stated..

“It all got me thinking. Am I not good enough? Are my instincts not good enough? Are my emotions not good enough? Do people hate them so much that they don’t want me to be a person? Am I not allowed to be a person in my work? And so I just said ‘f**k it’ I don’t care about this business anymore.’”

She’s now a married mom of two. She’s been pretty busy with her Youtube Channel. Not to mention, her company, Honest, which she founded in 2011. By 2015, it was valued at nearly $2 billion. Honest makes affordable, environmentally friendly, non-toxic household goods. Still, the company has faced multiple lawsuits over the years.

No worries just yet. She’s only semi-retired. Alba now finally has a new movie, Trigger Warning. It was recently announced in pre-production stages..

Find out Why Hollywood Stopped Casting Jessica Alba Here.

 

…Or Check out her Instagram Here.

 

…Or Check out the Video Below:

 

 

…Or Check out one of her Recent Youtube Video below:

 

 

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15. Johnny Knoxville

Years Active: 1992- Present

 

Known For:

• MTV’s Jackass (2000)
• Men in Black 2 (2002)
• Walking Tall (2004)
• Lords of Dogtown (2005)
• The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
• The Ringer (2005)
• Bad Grandpa (2013)

Now:

Johnny may be a celebrity, but he was not much of an actor. He was type-casted early as a, well.. Jackass.  For a celebrity like him and his Dukes of Hazzard co-star, Seann William Scott, this isn’t beneficial once they started aging.

The roles dried up for a while, but he did just complete Mainstream, to be released this year. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for him.

Find out more on Why We don’t Hear from Johnny Knoxville anymore Here.

 

…Or Check out his Instagram Here.

 

…Or Check out the Video Below:

 

 

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16. Rachel Leigh Cook

Years Active: 1995- Present

Known For:

• The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)
• Tom and Huck (1995)
• She’s All That (1999)
• Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

Now:

After becoming a breakout star, Cook made a string of bad films, including Josie and the Pussycats and Antitrust.

She modeled her career after her idol, edgy-indie Parker Posey. The problem was, Rachel doesn’t fit the billing.

Although she’s stayed away from mainstream roles, Cook has been working consistently. She appeared in a multitude of straight-to-DVD films and has starred on shows like Robot Chicken, Psych, and Perception.

After many awkward portrayals of Parker Posey-emulations, Rachel returned to her roots. Like Arielle Kebbel, Rachel Leigh Cook was picked up by the Hallmark channel in 2016.

She’s now a mom of 2; and moved to Atlanta with her husband, Daniel Giles, while he was shooting The Originals.

Check out more on Why Rachel Leigh Cook disappeared here.

 

…Or Check out the video Below:

 

 

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17. Steve Zahn

Years Active: 1987- Present

Known For:

• You’ve Got Mail (1998)
• Joy Ride (2001) 
• Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) /
• Daddy Day Care (2003) /
• Employee of the Month (2004)
• Sahara (2005)
• A Perfect Getaway (2009)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)
• Dallas Buyer’s Club (2013)

Now:

It’s hard to stay relevant in Hollywood when you live as far away as possible. For the past 15 years, Steve has been and has family have been running an operating a quiet farm in the rural area of Lexington, Kentucky.

He keeps himself entertained with Instagram, set up by his daughter. He only takes videos though. Here’s a screenshot of one of his latest videos, celebrating his friend’s wife’s 50th birthday. He enjoys social media.

He’s still acting sporadically; although you may not have recognized him. Most recently, he played the Bad Ape in 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. Don’t count him out yet though. He has 2 movies and  1 TV series role in the post-production stages.

Check out more on Where Steve Zahn’s Been Here.

 

Or check out his Instagram Here.

 

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18. Shannon Elizabeth

Years Active: 1996- Present

Known For:

• American Pie (1999) 
• Love, Actually (2003)
• Scary Movie (2005)
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
• Johnson Family Vacation (2004)
• Cursed (2005)
• That ’70s Show (tv series, 2003-2005)

Now:

When Shannon Elizabeth started in Hollywood, she never seemed to be able to break the mold of the “lusty foreign exchange student, Nadia,” from American Pie. Even her role in Love, Actually is billed as, ‘Harriet – The Sexy One’

But as Jane Fonda can attest, (despite Shannon Elizabeth hardly aging a day,) at her mid 40’s, she has aged out of her typical roles. This is particularly detrimental if you served as a set decoration in a “bro” movie, like American Pie.

It also didn’t help that the movie is associated with outdated themes. Discussing her famous American Pie scene, Shannon Elizabeth said to PageSix,

“If this had come out after the #MeToo movement, there would have definitely have been a problem.”

She still picks up a reprisal role here and there, but her heart is no longer in the game.

Now, Elizabeth has focused more on her activism than acting. Elizabeth started Animal Avengers, an animal rescue organization, and is an outspoken advocate for animal rights.

Check out More on Why Hollywood Won’t Cast Shannon Elizabeth Anymore Here.

 

…Or Check out her Instagram Here.

 

…Or Check out the Video below:

 

 

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19. Collin Farell

Years Active: 1997- Present

Known For:

• Minority Report (2002)
• Phone Booth (2002)
• Daredevil (2003)
• S.W.A.T (2003)
• Miami Vice (2006)

Now:

Colin Farrell was somewhat of the bad-boy Irish version, to your American woman Tara Reid. Their late-night partying and inappropriate behavioral antics earned them both a reputation for being a liability on set.

Eventually Collin became jaded with the fame altogether and began lashing out.

He once stated,

“The greatest thing about fame is that you can strike it off the list as something that doesn’t give you happiness”

He seemed to disappear for a while, but work started to pick back up again on the last half of the 2010’s. He was in 2019’s live action version of Dumbo.

You can also see him as “Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin” in 2021’s The Batman.

Check out his 2020 Movie w/ Jessica Chastain below:

 

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Honorable Mention

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• Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen
• Camila Bella
• Shannyn Sossamon
• Elisha Cuthbert
• Mischa Barton
• Rachel Bilson
• Hayden Christensen
• Rebecca Gayheart
  

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Thanks for reading! 

Did we miss anyone? Who’s your favorite ’90s/’00s AWOL celebrity?

Sound off in the comments.

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• Where Are They Now | 21 Random ’00s Celebrities (That You Forgot)

• 13 Celebs Who Look Unrecognizable Today

• Trivia Quiz | Can You Guess This Celebrity’s Original Name?