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Mean Girls Cast: Where Are They Now?

Mean Girls was a bona fide box office hit when it was released in 2004, sparking dozens of quotable quotes and pop culture moments that have lasted for decades.

In the years since, it's also spawned a TV movie sequel, a Broadway musical and a movie adaptation of the musical, which hits theaters on Jan. 12, 2024. We can't help that it's popular. 

Recently, 2004 stars Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Daniel Franzese and Rajiv Surendra came together to film Walmart's campaign supporting the brand’s 2023 holiday deals.

The commercial, airing on Nov. 1, shows guidance counselor Cady Heron (Lohan), weather reporter Karen Smith (Seyfried), stage mom Gretchen Wieners (Chabert), proud dad Kevin Gnapoor (Surendra) and bestie Damian (Franzese) returning to North Shore High School, where a new crew of It girls rule the halls.

"Some things never change. On Wednesdays we wear pink, but now we shop Walmart Black Friday deals," Cady says as Gretchen pulls up in a convertible filled with Walmart shopping bags.

In honor of the crew's reunion and the new movie's so fetch premiere, catch up with the full cast, then and now.

Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron

Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls and now. Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock ; Julien Hekimian/Getty

Cady Heron is the new girl from Africa at North Shore High School who breaks bad before going good again. In real life, Lindsay Lohan has had her own career and personal ups and downs with legal and substance abuse issues, but Mean Girls was what initially launched Lohan into mega-fame.

After Mean Girls, Lohan starred in films like Just My Luck (2006), Georgia Rule (2007), I Know Who Killed Me (2007), Machete (2010) and The Canyons (2013). On television, Lohan had recurring roles on Ugly Betty and the British series Sick Note and starred as Elizabeth Taylor in the 2012 Lifetime movie Liz & Dick (2012)

After an absence from the screen, Lohan returned in a 2022 Netflix holiday rom-com, Falling for Christmas, followed by another Netflix rom-com, Irish Wish (2023).

In 2022, Lohan married financier Bader Shammas. In March 2023, Lohan revealed that they were expecting their first baby; son Luai arrived that July.

Amanda Seyfried as Karen Smith

Amanda Seyfried in Mean Girls and now. Paramount/courtesy Everett ; Swan Gallet/WWD/REX/Shutterstock

As Karen Smith — she's a mouse (duh) and has ESPN or something — Amanda Seyfried made a hilarious impression in her big-screen debut as the Plastics' resident airhead.

The role paid off for Seyfried, who followed Mean Girls with a long run on Big Love, leading roles in the Mamma Mia! movies and landing the part of Cosette in Tom Hooper's big-screen adaptation of Les Misérables (2012). Seyfried received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for playing Golden Age of Hollywood actress Marion Davies in Mank (2020). In September 2022, she won an Emmy for her portrayal of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. The esteemed actress is also a Lancôme Ambassadress.

Seyfried is mom to a daughter and son with her husband Thomas Sadoski.

Lacey Chabert as Gretchen Wieners

Lacey Chabert in Mean Girls and now. Paramount/courtesy Everett ; Paul Archuleta/Getty

Gretchen is probably best known for trying to make "fetch" happen. (It's not going to happen.)

Before Mean Girls, Lacey Chabert already had a career as a child actress, primarily in voice roles in movies like Anastasia (1997) and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) and on the Nickelodeon series The Wild Thornberrys. She also was a main cast member on Party of Five, playing Claudia Salinger for all six seasons of the series. After Mean Girls, Chabert continued her TV movie and voice-over work along with appearing in a few feature films, like Black Christmas (2006) and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). However, it's clear that Chabert found her true calling when she began starring in Hallmark Channel movies, having appeared in more than 30 for the network.

She also became a mom; she and her husband, David Nehdar, had a daughter, Julia, in 2016.

Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury

Tina Fey in Mean Girls and now. Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock ; Andrew H Walker/Shutterstock

Ms. Norbury is the empathetic teacher who asks her students to "stop calling each other sluts and whores." Tina Fey not only nailed the role, but she also wrote the screenplay for Mean Girls.

Fey has continued to work both in front of and behind the camera. After concluding her groundbreaking run as a cast member and writer of Saturday Night Live in 2006, Fey created and starred on the sitcom 30 Rock. She's kept busy writing, producing and/or acting on shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Only Murders in the Building and in films like Baby Mama (2008), Date Night (2010), Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) and Soul (2020). Her critically-acclaimed work has delivered Fey lots of awards, including nine Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes and seven Writers Guild of America awards. Fey was also the youngest-ever recipient of the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

The multihypenate star also helped give Mean Girls a second life when she brought it to Broadway and scored a Tony nomination for outstanding book of a musical for her work (and cast herself as a lead in a hilarious SNL spoof). Fey will reprise her role as Ms. Norbury for the film adaptation of the Mean Girls musical.

Fey has been married to composer-producer Jeff Richmond since 2001 and they have two daughters. The couple also works together — in addition to providing original music for television and film projects Fey has worked on, Richmond received a Tony nomination for writing the score for the Mean Girls musical.

Amy Poehler as Mrs. George

Amy Poehler in Mean Girls and now. Michael Gibson/Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock ; Frederick M. Brown/Getty

Mrs. George is remembered for not being like a regular mom, but a cool mom to Regina. And it's no wonder why — though Amy Poehler played McAdams' mom in Mean Girls, she is only seven years older than her.

Poehler remained on SNL through 2010, moving on to NBC's beloved Parks and Recreation afterward and winning a Golden Globe for her performance as Leslie Knope. She appeared in films like Blades of Glory (2007) and Baby Mama (2008) and did memorable voice work for Horton Hears a Who! (2008) and Inside Out (2015). Poehler won an Emmy Award for hosting SNL and has been nominated over 20 other times for Emmys in various other categories. As if she wasn't busy enough, Poehler also hosted the reality craft competition show Making It with Parks costar Nick Offerman, hosted reality food competition show Baking It with SNL costars Andy Samberg (season 1) and Maya Rudolph (season 2) and wrote and directed the 2019 Netflix movie Wine Country. Poehler and frequent collaborator Fey are doing a live comedy tour in 2023.

Poehler was married to fellow comedian Will Arnett from 2003 to 2016. They have two sons.

Ana Gasteyer as Mrs. Heron

Ana Gasteyer in Mean Girls and now. Paramount/courtesy Everett ; JB Lacroix/WireImage

Mrs. Heron is the supportive, if not oblivious, mom to Cady, played by Fey and Poehler's fellow SNL veteran Ana Gasteyer.

After Mean Girls, Gasteyer had a few movie roles, including in That's My Boy (2012), Wine Country (2019) and Happiest Season (2020), though she has been much busier on television. Gasteyer had recurring roles on The Good Wife, The Goldbergs and Lady Dynamite and was a regular on Suburgatory. She 2021, she has starred in the lead role on the NBC sitcom American Auto. A talented musical theater actor, Gasteyer has also played Elphaba in the Chicago and Broadway productions of Wicked.

Gasteyer and husband Charlie McKittrick have two children: daughter Frances Mary and son Ulysses.

Tim Meadows as Mr. Duvall

Tim Meadows in Mean Girls and now. Michael Gibson/Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock ; Andy Kropa/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Yet another SNL veteran in the Mean Girls cast, Tim Meadows played Mr. Duvall, who mispronounces "Cady" as "Caddy" and tells Coach Carr to step away from the underage girls.

Meadows has kept busy since Mean Girls with films like The Benchwarmers (2006), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Semi-Pro (2008) and Trainwreck (2015). He also regularly appears in Adam Sandler's projects, including Grown Ups (2010) and Hubie Halloween (2020). On TV, Meadows has appeared on dozens of series, most notably in recurring roles on Bob's Burgers, Marry Me and The Goldbergs (and its short-lived spin-off, Schooled). Notably, Meadows was the only original Mean Girls cast member to appear in the 2011 ABC Family sequel, Mean Girls 2, reprising his role as Mr. Duvall. He also appears in the 2024 musical movie.

Meadows has two sons with his former wife, Michelle Taylor.

Daniel Franzese as Damian

Daniel Franzese in Mean Girls and now. Paramount/courtesy Everett ; Paul Archuleta/Getty

Damian is memorably accused of being "too gay to function" (but it's only okay when Janis says that). It should also be noted he makes an excellent Santa Claus and is the originator of "Four for you Glen Coco! You go, Glen Coco!"

Daniel Franzese went on to star on the TV series Looking, Recovery Road and Conviction. He has also appeared on RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race and the reality series Not So Straight in Silver Lake.

Franzese split from his fiancé, Joseph Bradley Phillips, in 2018.

Lizzy Caplan as Janis Ian

Lizzy Caplan in Mean Girls and now. Paramount/courtesy Everett ; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Janis was Regina George's best friend up until eighth grade when Regina started spreading rumors that Janis was a lesbian. She is also the original choreographer for the "Jingle Bell Rock" performance, and her legacy lived on through numerous Winter Talent Shows.

Since Mean Girls, Lizzy Caplan is known for films like Cloverfield (2008), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and Now You See Me 2 (2016). Her most prominent television roles were as Casey Klein on Party Down and Virginia Johnson on Masters of Sex, though she has also appeared on shows like True Blood, New Girl, The League, Castle Rock, and Truth Be Told. She'll star as Alex Forrest opposite Joshua Jackson's Dan Gallagher in the Paramount+ series adaptation of Fatal Attraction.

Caplan married actor Tom Riley in 2017. They have a son, Alfie, who was born in 2021.

Jonathan Bennett as Aaron Samuels

Jonathan Bennett in Mean Girls and now. AF archive/Alamy ; Jason Kempin/Getty

Aaron Samuels is Regina George's man candy, who looks sexy with his hair pushed back.

Before Mean Girls, Jonathan Bennett had recurring roles on shows like All My Children and Veronica Mars. His films since have included Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005) and Van Wilder: Freshman Year (2009). Bennett also made it to week 6 on Dancing with the Stars season 19 and appeared on season 2 of Celebrity Big Brother. He was among Mean Girls' original stars who appeared in the epic tribute scene to the movie in the 2018 Ariana Grande video for "thank u, next." If that wasn't enough already, Bennett has made himself a side career as a host of shows like Cupcake Wars and Halloween Wars. In 2022, Bennett made history as one of the stars of the Hallmark Channel's first Christmas movie with a leading LGBTQ couple, The Holiday Sitter.

In 2022, he wed his longtime love, Jaymes Vaughan.

Jill Morrison as Crying Girl

Jill Morrison in Mean Girls and now. Paramount ; JC Olivera/Getty

The unnamed crying girl is very upset that her classmates can't just get along like they used to in middle school and wishes she could bake a cake made out of rainbows and smiles and we'd all eat and be happy.

Mean Girls was Jill Morrison's first of more than 100 acting credits, which also includes the films 2012 (2009) and Big Eyes (2014) and TV series like iZombie, Project Blue Book, Supergirl and The Good Doctor. Morrison also regularly appears in the Hallmark Channel's movie series Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

Daniel DeSanto as Jason

Daniel DeSanto in Mean Girls and now. Paramount ; Joey Foley/FilmMagic

Jason is a member of the varsity jock clique who attends a party at Regina's house with Gretchen Weiners, but then goes to the mall with Taylor Wedell. He also asks Cady Heron if her muffin is buttered, and ends up being told to shave his back. You know, typical high school things.

After Mean Girls, DeSanto made his biggest splash in animation and has had notable voice roles on The Magic School Bus, Arthur, the Beyblade series, Totally Spies and PAW Patrol. DeSanto has also appeared on TV series like Schitt's Creek, Star Trek: Discovery and Titans and films like The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009) and Little Italy (2018).

Stefanie Drummond as Bethany Byrd

Stefanie Drummond in Mean Girls and now. CBS/Getty ; Fox Searchlight

Bethany is best known for that one time Regina punched her in the face (and it was awesome). She also saw Cady wearing army pants and flip-flops, so she bought army pants and flip-flops.

Stefanie Drummond, who played Bethany, made her big-screen debut in Mean Girls. She has since appeared in various TV series, including Fuller House, Blindspot, Bosch and Dollface. Her film work includes Spotlight (2015). Hopefully she still wears her army pants and flip-flops.

Rajiv Surendra as Kevin Gnapoor

Rajiv Surendra in Mean Girls and now. Paramount Pictures ; Rajiv Surendra Instagram

Kevin G, Bad-Ass M.C, may be a mathlete, so nerd is inferred, but forget what you heard, he's like James Bond the third.

Rajiv Surendra, who played Kevin G, has shifted his focus from acting to art. He now has a calligraphy and graphic design company called Letters in Ink and a pretty cool career as a chalkboard artist. The actor/artist also dabbles in cooking, launching a YouTube channel to share how to make Sri Lankan Tamil cuisine.

Alisha Morrison as Lea Edwards

Alisha Morrison in Mean Girls and now. Paramount ; Alisha Morrison Instagram

Lea was impressed that Regina has two Fendi purses and a silver Lexus, as well as for wearing a skirt that was her mom's in the '80s — it's vintage and so adorable, but in reality, the "ugliest f------ skirt" that Regina has ever seen. She also gets her hair soaked by a sprinkler and it's the worst thing to ever happen to her.

Alisha Morrison had just three television roles after appearing in Mean Girls — Instant Star, 'Da Kink in My Hair and The Listener. Her Instagram bio says she now works in human resources.

Diego Klattenhoff as Shane Oman

Diego Klattenhoff in Mean Girls and now. Paramount ; Michael Kovac/WireImage

Shane was secretly hooking up with Regina while she was dating Aaron — and then becomes her rebound after they break up. He's the Spring Fling King and also a Kälteen Bar truther.

Mean Girls was only the beginning for Klattenhoff, who had roles on Homeland and Mercy, but he is likely best known now for starring as FBI Agent Donald Ressler on The Blacklist. He has appeared in a few films, including Lucky Number Slevin (2006), After Earth (2013) and Pacific Rim (2013).

Jan Caruana as Emma Gerber

Jan Caruana in Mean Girls and now. CBS/Getty ; Jan Caruana Instagram

Emma is memorable for saying that Regina George is flawless, and later, being awarded a small chunk of the Spring Fling Queen crown (her hairdo must have taken hours and she looked really pretty). At lunch, she sits with "girls who eat their feelings."

Actress and comedian Jan Caruana later reunited with Rachel McAdams when both were in the 2009 film The Time Traveler's Wife, in which Caruana played a nurse. In addition to her award-winning comedy performances, Caruana was a writer of the Canadian sketch show Sunnyside and the teen dance series The Next Step, among other projects.

Julia Chantrey as Amber D'Alessio

Julia Chantrey in Mean Girls and now. Paramount ; Julia Chantrey Instagram

You may remember Amber as the student who made out with a hot dog, but it was only one time! She also heard that Regina does car commercials in Japan.

No longer sitting at the "burnouts" table in the cafeteria anymore, Julia Chantrey voiced Eva on the Canadian animated series Total Drama, appeared in Guillermo del Toro's 2013 horror film Mama and has made guest appearances in several notable television series, including Flashpoint, The Handmaid's Tale and The Umbrella Academy.

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Aldo Pusey

Update: 2024-08-05