‘Clueless’ Cast: Then And Now, Through The Years

clueless
Image: Paramount Pictures

The year was 1995. High school kids all over the country flocked to the theaters for yet another movie about high school students. But this movie was different. This movie was campy and extra and fashionable. It was about rich kids living the good life, but kids we could somehow still relate to based on our own experiences. The clothes were to die for, the music was the soundtrack of our lives. We walked out of that theater different than when we walked in, and with a new vocabulary that we still use today. Some adults didn’t get the movie, but we did. That movie changed the way we look at life, at our teenage years, at the future. That movie? Was Clueless.

Even re-watching Clueless now, years removed from high school and those dreaded teen years, it holds up. It’s one of the most clever movies we’ve ever seen, and aside from some of the fashion, it hasn’t aged a day. Clueless introduced us to a whole different world but never made us feel like we didn’t belong. It certainly wasn’t our personal experience, but it still felt very geared toward all teens. One of the things that made it such a huge hit was the cast. From main characters to supporting roles, every single person cast was perfect. It’s been nearly 24 years, and we’ve all since grown up. But that movie and that cast will forever be our favorites. Let’s take look at where the cast of Clueless is today.

Clueless wouldn’t have been Clueless without Cher Horowitz.

clueless
Image: Instagram/@fairy_vodka

Before she was cast as Cher Horowitz in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone was relatively unknown outside of her appearances in music videos for Aerosmith. Now, we’re not downplaying that at all. Those were some of the best music videos ever made! But she was far from a household name, is all we’re saying. That all changed the minute we watched her virtually dress herself in her massive closet and career down the streets of Beverly Hills in her Jeep. She didn’t just play Cher – she seemed to become Cher. And her performance will go down in cinematic history. She also inspired an entire generation of girls to wear plaid skirt suits and carry tiny backpacks.

Funnily enough, Alicia Silverstone now is a far cry from the character who shot her into super stardom.

Image: Instagram/@aliciasilverstone

After Clueless, it seemed as though Alicia Silverstone was destined to receive top billing with a career all but locked down. And she did continue to work! She starred in Batman & Robin, Excess Baggage, and Blast from the Past. But nothing came close to the critical and commercial success of Clueless, and pretty soon the starring roles were fewer and farther between. Nowadays, Alicia still works regularly as an actress, but most of her time and attention is focused on health ventures. She wrote a book called “The Kind Diet”, and has her own line of mykind Organics vitamins.

Josh fell in love with his step-sister in Clueless, and we all fell in love with Paul Rudd.

Image: Instagram/@paulrudditalia

OK, in his defense, Cher was his EX-step-sister. Still a little weird? But not, like, Maury Povich weird. Paul Rudd played too-cool-for-school college student Josh, always around to annoy Cher or criticize her lifestyle. But we quickly realized that Josh was a good dude, right around the time Cher realized the same and caught feelings for him. Paul acted a bit before being cast in Clueless, but nothing came close to what happened after the movie. There’s a good chance Paul Rudd was your first real crush, and trust us when we say that you are in good company there.

Now we know that Paul Rudd is, in fact, a vampire.

Image: Instagram/@marvel.paulrudd

This year, Paul Rudd turned 50. Which is weird, because he still looks EXACTLY like he did when he played Josh nearly 24 years ago. Aside from not aging, like, at all, Paul has been a busy guy! Friends, Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Night at the Museum, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man – the list goes on and on (and on!). He even managed to attach himself to the incredibly successful Marvel Comic Universe with his very own franchise. Paul played Ant-Man in the Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp movies, and appeared as Ant-Man in Avengers: Endgame. Vampire or some sort of wizard, jury is still out.

Who could forget Cher’s BFF Dionne Davenport?

Image: Instagram/@stormiskieees

From the moment we were first introduced to Dionne, when Cher picked her up on their way to school, it was clear that she was the cool, mature friend. She was the first to drive on a freeway (classic scene), the first to lose her virginity, and she was sort of the Queen Bee of their social circle. Some of the funniest moments in the movie are when Dionne is fighting with her boyfriend Murray (remember when he shaved his head?!), but Dionne had a heart of gold. We loved Stacey Dash in this role, and if we’re being honest, we never saw her as anyone except Dionne.

So, uh, what’s Stacey Dash been up to these days?

Image: Instagram/@gordeinanma

Well, hmmmm. Where … do we start? After Clueless came out in 1995, Stacey Dash starred in the TV series of the same name. She did some other TV work and also hosted her own (short-lived) talk show. But somewhere along the line, she became more well-known for her politics and absurd beliefs. Dash is a conservative Republican, which is rare in Hollywood, and even rarer for a woman of color. She claims to have been blacklisted by Hollywood because of her views. But, when you say stuff like transgender people should pee in bushes and Black History Month should be abolished, it’s not surprising. In 2018, she announced plans to run for Congress in California, but withdrew her campaign a short time later.

Tai was Cher’s “project” in Clueless.

Image: Instagram/@cruel_expectations

“She could be a farmer in those clothes!” Oh man, Tai was the best. Her accent, her hair, her clothes! She started out as Cher’s pet project, someone she could mold into another Beverly Hills fashionista. But Tai ended up teaching Cher more than Cher could ever teach her. Brittany Murphy played Tai with absolute perfection, and the world fell in love with her curls and her giggle after seeing her in Clueless. She was an IMMENSELY talented actress, and Clueless was just the tip of the iceberg for her. “You’re just a virgin who can’t drive” will go down in history as one of the best and most wicked burns ever.

Sadly, Brittany Murphy passed away in 2009 at the age of 32.

Image: Instagram/@brittanymurphybr

It’s still hard to believe we lost such a huge talent at such a young age. Besides her role as Tai in Clueless, Brittany Murphy wowed audiences in films like 8 Mile, Riding in Cars with Boys, and Girl, Interrupted. She had an amazing range, able to perform deftly in comedies and dramas. In 2009, she died unexpectedly from pneumonia complicated by anemia and multiple drug intoxication. Tragically, her husband Simon Monjack died of the same causes just five months after her death. Brittany’s death is still one of Hollywood’s great mysteries; people just can’t understand how a healthy young woman could die so suddenly. Such a tragic set of circumstances.

Before Scrubs, Donald Faison made us laugh as Murray in Clueless.

Image: Instagram/@backyardcinema

OK, we know that Murray was technically a supporting character in Clueless. But we’ll be damned if he didn’t steal nearly every single scene he was in! From trying to coach Dionne off the freeway to spouting some real knowledge about calling Dee “Woman”, Donald Faison delivered lines with a comedic timing and expression you don’t see very often. Murray was quite the interesting character, too. Hard and street with his boys, but a total softie and super supportive and kind with his girlfriend. And let’s not forget, it was Murray who clued Cher into the, uh, preferences of the boy she was planning on losing her virginity to.

We didn’t think we could love him more than we did in Clueless, but Donald Faison keeps bringing it.

Image: Instagram/@palasgalway

After Clueless came out in 1995, Donald Faison went on to star in the TV series of the same name. He also worked on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Felicity, in addition to film roles and voice-over work. But he’s probably best known as Dr. Christopher Turk on the hit show Scrubs. That show was the perfect vehicle for Donald’s brand of wacky comedy, and he was absolutely perfect on it. Since it went off the air in 2010, Donald has continued to work regularly with acting and voice-over roles in TV and movies.

Breckin Meyer played lovable stoner Travis in Clueless.

Image: Instagram/@nicola_lastra

Travis was the kid we all knew in high school, who always had the good weed and knew where all the parties were, but somehow took the same math class three years in a row. Connected? Possibly. But stoners were a class unto themselves in high school, so you couldn’t possibly have a movie about high school without them! Even the ritzy rich schools have stoners. Breckin Meyer had been working steadily for about 10 years before he landed the role of Travis, everyone’s favorite stoner and Tai’s eventual love interest. We have no idea what he’s like in real life, but we imagine he’s at least a little bit like Travis? At least we hope so.

Breckin Meyer went from rollin’ with the homies to hanging with a fat orange cat.

Image: Instagram/@eamonc21

After Clueless, Breckin Meyer capitalized on the high school movie craze with roles in The Craft and Can’t Hardly Wait. But you can’t play a high school student forever, you know? Breckin landed roles in a bunch of films that showcased his talent and range, such as Prefontaine, 54, and Road Trip. But these days, he’s probably most known for playing Jon Arbuckle in the Garfield movies. It’s a long way from his stoner days, but he seemed to have fun with it! And it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the next year or so – he has several projects in post-production this year.

Elisa Donovan played Amber, the rude redhead in Clueless.

Image: Instagram/@2002princess

Amber was always good for a snarky comment, a well-timed eye-roll, and an outrageous outfit. She was definitely a frenemy! Elisa Donovan played Amber with an absolutely gleeful meanness, and she was perfect in the role. We’re not sure if Amber was written as a redhead, but she really needed to be a redhead, right? Nothing against red hair, it’s gorgeous! But gingers are a bit more … fiery, lol. Amber tried to compete with Cher for the entire movie, but could never quite keep up. However, we owe her for delivering one of the best exchanges of the movie: “Ms. Stoeger, my plastic surgeon doesn’t want me doing any activity where balls fly at my nose”. “Well, there goes your social life”.

Elisa Donovan stayed busy with TV work after Clueless.

Image: Instagram/@sabrina_spellman_vk

Listen, when you find something you do well, you might as well keep doing it! After the success of Clueless, Elisa Donovan took her red hair and made her mark on several TV shows. She worked on Beverly Hills, 90210, Clueless the TV series, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. She worked steadily as an actress from 1995 through 2017, but doesn’t have any credited work in the last couple of years. In May 2012, she welcomed daughter Scarlett Avery, and married Charlie Bigelow later that same year. We miss seeing Elisa onscreen, but at least we’ll always have Clueless to revisit and get our Amber fix!

Elton was the super rich and arrogant guy you knew you shouldn’t like, but couldn’t help falling for.

Image: Instagram/@snacc__central

Ugh, Elton. Sooooooo dreamy and sophisticated, but such a cad. Being cast as Elton in Clueless was pretty much Jeremy Sisto’s big break, and we can see why! He played the aloof rich kid with such arrogance and detachment, but made him lovable and detestable at the same time. Cher was clueless (heh) about Elton’s intentions, tried to set him up with Tai, and when he rejected her because she wasn’t as rich as him, we definitely saw his true colors. But before that he asked to a picture of Tai to hang in his locker and helped her when she got knocked out by a shoe! That “Rollin’ with the Homies” scene is adorable. In the end, he ended up with Amber, which seems fitting.

Nowadays, Jeremy Sisto is one of the hardest working guys in show biz.

Image: Instagram/@sistosistosisto

He’s one of those guys you see in something and think to yourself, “Where do I know that guy from?” The answer is everything! Jeremy Sisto has worked consistently and steadily since he starred in Clueless in 1995. Movies, TV movies, TV shows – you name it, he’s done it. And he’s been on some pretty big shows, like Law & Order and Six Feet Under. He’s currently starring in the TV show FBI, and we’re sure when that wraps up, we’ll see him in some other incarnation on some other show. He’s a super talented actor, even if we do still hate him a little for what he did to Tai.

Oh, Christian. Every girl who ever fell for a gay guy felt his story line very deeply.

Image: Instagram/@_classic_60s_70s_80s_90s_

When Christian strolled into the classroom in Clueless, every girl in the class (and theater!) took notice. He was cool. He was suave. Christian wore a pork pie hat and hat a Brat Pack air about him. He listened to Sinatra and watched classic films and was sooooooo above the typical high school experience. He also happened to be gay, which Cher did not realize before she decided to pursue him. We don’t blame her, tbh. Justin Walker was completely unknown when he was cast as Christian in Clueless. Like literally, it was his first featured role of any kind. And he totally owned it and made us all fall in love with him.

After Clueless, Justin Walker acted a bit, but eventually left the profession.

Image: Nova 969

When Clueless came out, it seemed as though Justine walker was destined to become The Next Big Thing. He was super cute, really talented, and had just been a part of one of the most popular movies of the year. And Justin did continue to act for bit following the success of Clueless. He had roles in mostly B-movies or short-lived TV shows, but nothing came remotely close to matching the fever of his debut. He hasn’t worked in the industry since 2010, and most recently owned and managed a restaurant in Rancho Mirage, California called Teddy Teadle’s Grill. Seems as though Justin cared as much about acting as Christian did about high school parties.

Clueless will forever be one of our favorite movies, and we loved checking in on what the cast has been up to! Fingers crossed for a reunion at some point.

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