21 Random Celebrities (That Millennials Forgot Existed)
They were everywhere.. until they weren’t.
We thought they were the next big thing, but they were really just a hollywood fling. These forgotten celebrities of the 2000s never quite became household names. Although some are still acting, these are the stars of 2000s that burnt too brightly before they burnt out.
..Where Are They Now? —Celebrities Then and Now
If you’re feeling nostalgic and you don’t know what to watch on Netflix, let me jog your millennial memory.
For inspiration, check out the random overexposed late 1990s / early 2000s celebrities that only millennials will remember..
∴∴∴∴∴∴
1. Leelee Sobieski
Years Active: 1994-2012
Known For:
Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) / Never Been Kissed (1999) / Joy Ride (2001) / The Glass House (2001)
Now:
Married. Mom. Now focused on an art career, using her married name, Leelee Kimmel.
—In a 2016 interview with Us Weekly, Sobieski confirmed her retirement from acting,
“I don’t do movie stuff anymore. I am just focused on my kids. I think that’s mainly why I stopped … Also, ninety percent of acting roles involve so much sexual stuff with other people, and I don’t want to do that.”[49]
Check out more about why she disappeared here. Or Check out her Instagram here.
2. Marley Shelton
Years Active: 1990- Present
Known For:
The Sandlot (1993) / Pleasantville (1998) / Never Been Kissed (1999) / Sugar & Spice (2001) / Bubble Boy (2001) / Sin City (2005) / Grindhouse (2007)
Now:
She was arrested for a DUI in 2010. Her career kind of slowed down since then.
Within the last decade, she’s done a few made for tv movies; and some guest-starring roles in a few tv series episodes.
She went on hiatus in 2018, but she recently started updating her Instagram again.
3. Jesse Bradford
Years Active: 1984- Present
Known For:
Romeo + Juliet (1996) / Bring It On (2000) / Clockstoppers (2002) / Swimfan (2002)
Now:
Meditating, Playing Bass, and doing shirtless handstands in quarantine. He’s still fine af.
He had a recurring role on USA’s Shooter; and he picks up a guest-starring role on a television show every now and then.
Check out his quarantine abs on Instagram here.
4. Julie Gonzalo
Years Active: 2001- Present
Known For:
Freaky Friday (2003) / DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004) / A Cinderella Story (2004) / Christmas with the Kranks (2004) / Must Love Dogs (2005)
Now:
Since 2010’s, she’s done a couple of made for tv movies, and had recurring roles in tv shows including; Dallas, Eli Stone, Veronica Mars, and Supergirl.
If you haven’t seen her lately, it’s probably because you don’t watch the Hallmark Channel. Although she’s still consistently working, like many other once-popular actresses (including Rachael Leigh Cook, Lacey Chabert, Lori Loughlin, and Danica McKellar,) she fell into an acting black hole, the Hallmark channel contract.
Still, she has an upcoming movie, A Dark Foe, co-starring Selma Blair that is completed and awaiting screening.
Check out her Instagram here.
5. Rachel Blanchard
Years Active: 1984- Present
Known For:
Are You Afraid of the Dark (tv series, 1990) / Clueless (tv series, 1996) / The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) / Road Trip (2000) / Sugar & Spice (2001) / Without a Paddle (2004) / Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Now:
She made headlines in 2014 she made headlines regarding claims of an internet stalker spreading lies about her online. According to Dailymail, she says that the rumors have lost her job opportunities and have caused her family and friends uneccesary pain.
‘My mom’s friend called in tears that she wasn’t invited to the wedding,’ she said.
‘I lost a job because I was apparently pregnant with my second child. It’s really annoying. … Help me stop that rumor!’
She’s been starring in AT&T’s original series, You Me Her since 2016.
6. Fairuza Balk
Years Active: 1983- Present
Known For:
The Craft (1996) / American History X (1998) / The Waterboy (1998) / Almost Famous (2000)
Now:
After playing the gloomy girl a little too well, Fairuza Balk was typecasted for the remainder of the ’90s. It seems she got a little jaded with portraying the goth girl typecast. Consequently, she stepped away for a little break from hollywood.
It didn’t help that rumors began to manifest of Balk practicing witchcraft. These rumors were triggered by an interview from a The Craft cast mate; and an accusation from a crew member of Celebrity Ghost Stories after Balk appeared on an episode.
Now Balk prefers to be more selective of any film script she receives, prioritizing substance before agreeing to participate.
—Instead she creates art, writes music, runs her own blog, and she is a notable advocate for marijuana law reformation (despite not being a consumer herself.)
Find out why you don’t hear about Fairuza Balk anymore here.
Or check out her Instagram here.
..Or check out here appearance on Celebrity Ghost Stories below.
7. Christina Vidal
Years Active: 1993- Present
Known For:
Brink! (1998) / Taina (tv series, 2001) / Freaky Friday (2003)
Now:
She’s a self proclaimed dance class “helicopter-mom.”
Lately she’s been sharing an abundance of pregnant TikToks; and spreading the word of the Lord on social media.
To keep up with what’s up with ‘Taina’ click here. ..Or check it out on her instagram here.
8. Mena Suvari
Years Active: 1995- Present
Known For:
American Beauty (1999) / American Pie (1999) / Loser (2000) / Sugar & Spice (2001) / Rumor Has It (2005)
Now:
After successfully portraying the sexpot role in American Beauty, Mena Suvari wanted to play interesting characters with more depth. Preferring the best friend over the stereotypical pretty-girl lead role; Mena believes she became pigeonholed into the limited “weird girl” roles.
Despite this, she has been consistently taking roles in indie movies, voice-over roles, and recurring/guest starring roles in tv shows, such as her role as Elizabeth “the Black Dahlia” Short in FX’s American Horror Story.
In 2018, she was shocked by sexual allegations against her American Beauty costar, Kevin Spacey. Also in 2018, she was also married to Michael Hope. In 2020, she’s still serving looks.
Check out her Instagram here.
..Or check out why she ditched Hollywood.
9. Shane West
Years Active: 1995- Present
Known For:
Get Over It (2001) / A Walk to Remember (2002) / The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (2003)
Now:
Like many other successful actors, Shane West took his shot behind the camera. Unfortunately the films he produced flopped
Most recently, you might have seen him on the tv shows, Gotham and/or Salem. He has two upcoming films, No Running and Gossamer Folds.
Find out more about why Shane West can’t get another break in hollywood here. ..Or check out his Instagram here.
10. Gregory Smith
Years Active: 1991- Present
Known For:
Harriet the Spy (1995) / Small Soldiers (1995) / Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999) / The Patriot (2000)
Now:
He got engaged to model Taylor McKay in July 2017. According to his instagram, he’s currently “home with his girls.”
11. Alexz Johnson
Years Active: 1997- Present
Known For:
So Weird (tv series, 2001) / Instant Star (tv series, 2004) / Final Destination 3 (2006)
Now:
She’s been pretty busy in the past year. As reported in her instagram, she renovated her house, wrapped an album, and had a baby in 2019.
Since the beginning of 2020, It seems she’s quarantining and helping with her physical album’s shipment process?
You can also get her new album from Spotify here.
12. Riley Smith
Years Active: 1998- Present
Known For:
Bring It On (2000) / Motocrossed (2001) / Not Another Teen Movie (2001) / New York Minute (2004)
Now:
He dated Pretty Little Liars star, Lucy Hale until 2018. But he’s a married man w/ a fam now! You can still catch him on CW’s Nancy Drew.
..Or check out his Instagram here.
13. Erik Von Detten
Years Active: 1991- 2010
Known For:
Escape to Witch Mountain (1995) / Toy Story (1995) / Brink! (1998) / So Weird (tv series, 2001) / Princess Diaries (2001)
Now:
His fame took a shot when he appeared on ABC’s Celebrity Mole (2003.) In an interview, his co-star, Kathy Griffin, stated that Von Detten’s show Dinotopia was “not very popular,” that Von Detten was “possibly retarded.” and that he was “basically just high and drugged” for the first few days of filming.
She also added, “I’ve had beer bashes with bigger celebrities. And …I’m a proud member of the D list.”
Now, he’s a father of two. He officially quit the biz in 2010. As he’s stated in an interview with E News, he values his privacy over fame. Although his own Instagram may be private, his wife’s Instagram isn’t.
Check out why he checked out of hollywood here.
14. Eliza Dushka
Years Active: 1992- Present
Known For:
Bring It On (2000) / The New Guy (2001) / Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) / Wrong Turn (2003) / Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) / Tru Calling (tv series, 2003)
Now:
In the 2010’s, she spent a lot of time being politically active and working with charity. She also had a busy 2019. In November, she had a baby. By december, she still made time to raise funds with Harvard’s Albanian Students Association.
Like many people in 2020, she’s now in quarantine with her new baby.
Check out Eliza’s instagram here. ..Or find out more where she’s been here.
..or check out the video below.
15. Sara Paxton
Years Active: 1996- Present
Known For:
Aquamarine (2006) / The Last House on the Left (2009) /Sydney White (2007) / Return to Halloweentown (2006) / Sleepover (2004) / Shark Night (2011) / Summerland (tv series, 2004)
Now:
She’s done a few shorts and guest spots in tv episodes here and there in the past decade. In 2018, she had a bit part on the movie, The Front Runner. She’s still actively promoting it on her Instagram. She got married in 2019.
More recently, she has affiliated with FabFitFun to create sponsored ads on Instagram.
In January 2020, she was also featured on an episode of Christy Carlson Romano’s (Ren from Disney’s Even Stevens) Youtube channel.
16. Sam Horrigan
Years Active: 1992- Present
Known For:
Brink! (1998) / Little Giants (1994) / Escape to Witch Mountain (1995)
Now:
He filed for divorce in June 2019 after, four years of marriage.Consequently, he lost custody of his two kids after a court ordered him to seek treatment for alcohol issues and to “eliminate homicidal ideations.”
He was keeping track of his 2010’s tv appearances in a Youtube channel reel. You can check it out here.
17. Jimmy Bennet
Years Active: 2002– Present
Known For:
The Amityville Horror (2005) / Hostage (2005) / Poseidon (2006) / Evan Almighty (2007) / Orphan (2009)
Now:
He began releasing music in 2011.
After actor, Asia Argento accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, Bennet became very vocal with claims that Argento herself was a predator. Jimmy claims he has experienced a lot of trauma after having sex with Argento when he was underage. Things got more heated when the underage photos in bed surfaced. For more on that, check out the video below.
..Or Check out his music on Spotify here. ..Or check out his instagram here.
18. Larissa Oleynik
Years Active: 1989- Present
Known For:
The Secret World of Alex Mack (tv series, 1994) / The Baby-Sitters Club (1995) / 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Now:
Like many other stars, she had issues with a stalker in 2010.
Since then, she’s backed out of the spotlight; and seems content with guest starring roles. She’s also spent much of her time under contract making Lifetime movies.
She’s still cute as a button; and now she’s starring in a Netflix’s The Healing Powers of Dude.
Check out more about where Larissa’s been here. ..Or check out her Instagram here.
19. Devon Sawa
Years Active: 1992- Present
Known For:
Little Giants (1994) / Casper (1995) / Now and Then (1995) / Wild America (1997) / SLC Punk! (1998) / Idle Hands (1999) / Final Destination (2000) / Stan (music video, 2000)
Now:
After struggling to breakout of the heartthrob role, Devon Sawa got burnt out and went traveling. It wasn’t until he receivied the script for Max Payne (2008), costarring Mark Wahlberg, that he even considered returning to acting.
He moved to TV in 2010, playing Sam Matthews on three seasons of Nikita.
Following that, his roles included the (presumed canceled) Somewhere Between on ABC, along with a string of projects that were tied up in post-production. After a few years in movie limbo, Disturbing the Peace (2020) was finally released to disappointing reviews.
For more about why Devon Sawa disappeared click here.
20. Cam Gigandet
Years Active: 2003- Present
Known For:
Never Back Down (2008) / Twilight (2008) / The Unborn (2009) / Easy A (2010) / Burlesque (2010) / The Roommate (2011)
Now:
He became a father in 2009, and a father of two in 2015. His most well-known movie in the second half of the last decade was The Magnificent Seven in (2016.)
He has an instagram, but he doesn’t have any posts. His twitter also hasn’t been updated since 2014.
21. Marla Sokoloff
Years Active: 1993- Present
Known For:
The Baby-Sitters Club (1995) / Full House (tv series, 1987) / Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000) / Sugar & Spice (2001)
Now:
She’s married with two little girls now, but she’s still acting. You may have seen her pop up on Fuller House, reprising her role as Stephanie’s friend, Gia.
Check out her Instagram here.
Did we miss anyone? Who’s your favorite ’90s/’00s AWOL star? Sound off in the comments.
Thanks for reading!
Please subscribe and follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook
Check out more from Viva La Vibes:
- 15 Facts About Weed (You Never Knew)
- 13 Celebs Who Look Like Completely Different People Now
- Quiz ❘ How Would You Die in “Saw?”
- Concealer Mistakes you Didn’t Know you Were Making