IT’S been 30 years since Clueless first graced our screens, turning plaid skirts, knee-high socks, and the phrase “Ugh, as if!” into pop culture gold.
Now, the beloved teen classic has had a glow-up of its own – landing on the West End as a brand new musical and bringing Cher, Dionne, and Tai to life all over again.
Clueless came out in 1995 and was known for the characters’ iconic Nineties outfits[/caption]
The film put stars Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy and Stacey Dash on the map[/caption]
It has now opened as a musical with Emma Flynn taking on the iconic lead role[/caption]
But while fans are getting a fresh take on the story, don’t expect Hollywood to follow suit.
Director Amy Heckerling has shut down any hopes of a reboot, insisting that she would never reboot the film at this time.
Speaking to Metro, she said: “Well, now is not my favourite time. I wouldn’t want it to be updated to this world.
“I would love a sweet character like that figuring out what to do about these times, but I don’t know what that is at the moment. I don’t see the humour in [the present day] yet.”
In the years since its release, the cast’s real-life stories have been just as dramatic as the film itself.
The most heartbreaking of all has been the tragic death of Brittany Murphy at just 32, leaving fans devastated.
Meanwhile, Alicia Silverstone has made headlines for her parenting skills while one hunky actor now looks shockingly unrecognisable.
So, three decades later, we go for a totally buggin’ trip down memory lane to find out what happened to the Clueless cast.
Alicia Silverstone – Cher
Decked in her iconic yellow plaid outfit, Alicia Silverstone, 48, solidified herself as one of Hollywood’s leading ladies after the movie.
She played the main character of Cher Horowitz, the queen bee of Bronson Alcott High School. Although the character was a spoilt brat with her designer wardrobe and white Jeep, her heart was always in the right place.
After Clueless, she found success in both films and the small screen and played the role of Batgirl in 1997’s Batman and Robin. She even earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role in the series Miss Match.
In 2011 she wrote her own vegan cookbook called The Kind Diet, and she has posed naked for animal rights group Peta to campaign against animal cruelty.
The star shares son Bear Blu, 13, with musician ex-husband Christopher Jarecki, who she split from in 2018 after nearly 13 years of marriage.
She has raised eyebrows with her parenting methods in the past – revealing in 2012 she “bird fed” infant Bear, chewing food in her own mouth before giving it to him to eat.
In 2014, she sparked furious controversy when she revealed she is anti-vaccination and relies on a vegan diet to keep her son healthy, claiming he’s “never been sick”.
She caused a stir again in 2020 when she revealed that she takes baths with her son, then nine.
Defending the act, she said: “My son and I take baths together and when he’s not with me, I take a bath and that really feels nourishing and comforting.”
And in 2022, during an appearance on The Ellen Fisher Podcast, she said she still sleeps in the same bed as her son, saying she was simply “following nature.”
“If you were in any kind of wild setting where there are animals … if you put your baby over there, your baby is going to get eaten,” she said. “It’s not ideal for the baby to be over there.”
She took fans down memory lane in 2023 when she slid back in to Cher’s plaid outfit to pay tribute to the film that made her a global star.
Stacey Dash – Dionne Davenport
Stacey, now 58, was actually 28 when she played high schooler Dionne, but has barely aged in the years since.
Her first cousin is Damon Dash, the former CEO of Roc-A-Fella Records and she starred in Kanye’s All Falls Down video in 2004.
The actress posed naked for Playboy in 2006 and became a Fox News contributor from 2014 to 2017, and once planned to run for office.
She has received huge backlash for some very controversial views over the years, including suggesting Black History Month should be cancelled, and making anti-trans remarks.
After the Oscar nominations were widely criticised for their lack of diversity, Stacey spoke out on Fox News, claiming it was “ludicrous” that people were upset.
She then left the 2016 Oscars audience cringing and baffled when she entered the stage and sarcastically announced “I can’t wait to help my people out. Happy Black History Month!”
In 2019, Stacey was arrested on a domestic battery charge, after allegedly slapping her husband in the face – a charge she denied and was later dropped.
Two years later the mum-of-two opened up about her battle with prescription painkillers which saw her taking up to 20 pills a day, at her lowest.
The daughter of two drug addicts, she revealed she first tried drugs when she was eight years old and when she was 16, she was given her first line of cocaine – by her mother.
She quit drugs after she ‘almost died’ from a kidney infection.
“My kidneys were so infected that my blood was septic, and my organs were shutting down…so, I got rushed to the hospital and I had to have a full blood transfusion and I was in there for three weeks,” she said.
In 2021, she apologised for her comments on race and other societal issues and said she was hired by news organisations to be the “angry black woman.”
Brittany Murphy – Tai Frasier
Brittany played ‘tragically unhip’ school newbie Tai, who Cher and Dionne take under their wing.
They give her that all-important teen rom-com makeover, and at one point when she falls out with Cher, utters the savage put-down “You’re a virgin, who can’t drive”.
Following this breakthrough role, it seemed like the sky was the limit for Brittany, who went on to star in films including 8 Mile, Just Married and Girl, Interrupted.
However, in December 2009 aged just 32, she tragically passed away in Los Angeles. Mystery surrounds the circumstances as her life unravelled in the months leading up to her death.
According to the coroner’s report, Brittany died of pneumonia with contributing factors of iron deficiency anaemia and multiple drug intoxication.
Her husband Simon Monjack – whom she’d married in 2007 – died six months later, again of pneumonia and anaemia.
In the months before her death, her character had been axed from the film The Expendables and Disney had also dropped her from 2008’s Tinker Bell.
Commenting on her passing before his own death, Simon said she would have still been alive had she stayed in her hometown.
He said: “The nature of this town is exploitative.
“Brittany would be alive today if she was a housewife in Edison, N.J or a successful person in another business.”
Although she was worth £7.34million at the time of her death, she is said to have been surrounded by filth in the mansion she shared with her husband and mother.
According to Bryn Curt James, author of the Brittany Murphy Files, where she died was surrounded by a “mountain of clothes, make-up, perfumes, an oxygen machine and medical supplies…It was a ready-made drug store”.
He went on to write: “The large bed was stained and the sheets twisted and drenched in sweat.
“Flanking each side of the bed were nightstands covered in…half-drunk bottles of water, prescription medication bottles, some open and some empty, and used tissues.”
Paul Rudd – Josh Lucas
Paul Rudd has barely aged in the decades since starring in Clueless[/caption]
Paul played Cher’s ex-stepbrother Josh Lucas, who she regards as a complete nerd before realising she is actually in love with him.
Since then Paul’s career has soared and the 55-year-old is arguably still one of today’s biggest names in Hollywood – in fact, he was voted People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2021.
He went on to star in Friends as Phoebe’s husband Mike, but it was his roles in Anchorman, Knocked Up and I Love You Man that made him one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars, earning him an estimated £55.3million.
Paul has also starred in the 2023 Marvel film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
He has been married to screenwriter wife Julie Yaeger since 2003, and they share two kids.
Donald Faison – Murray Duvall
Donald went on to become best known for his role in Scrubs[/caption]
Following Clueless, Donald’s biggest role was starring alongside Zach Braff as Turk on Scrubs for nearly a decade.
Donald has been married twice – first to Lisa Askey, with whom he had three children, Dade, Kobe and Kaya, but they divorced in 2005 after four years. Tragically Lisa died suddenly in 2017.
The 50-year-old has been married to Jessica Simpson’s best friend Cacee Cobb since 2012, and the pair have two children.
Donald has six children in total, including son Shawn, whose mum is his ex-girlfriend Audrey Ince.
In 2013, Donald was sued by United Talent Agency which claimed they got him his role on Scrubs.
TMZ reported that according to the lawsuit, he stopped paying the agency after the third episode of season nine.
In the claim, UTA wrote: “Faison has not only turned his back on the people that helped slingshot his career, but on his contractual obligations to those people.”
Elisa Donovan – Amber Mariens
Elisa played Amber, who rival Cher referred to as being “like a Monet” because “from far away, it’s okay, but up close it’s a big old mess”.
The actress, now 54, went on to star in TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 and a number of teen favourites including the 1996-1999 TV series of Clueless and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
In 2021 she wrote a memoir about losing her job, her relationship, and her father to cancer, all over a very short period of time.
That year she also revealed she had been “suffering greatly from anorexia” while filming Clueless and “had been in denial about it”.
She said she “almost had a heart attack” during three days off from shooting, and subsequently decided to seek medical help.
Elisa has also been open about her mental health and her struggles with grief following the death of her father.
Jeremy Sisto – Elton Tiscia
Jeremy played arrogant Elton, who struggles to understand why Cher won’t date him[/caption]
Elton was the obnoxious, arrogant rich kid who inadvertently leaves Cher to fend for herself when she gets held at gun point at a gas station.
The role was played by Jeremy, now 50, who went on to star in TV shows including Six Feet Under, Law and Order, Suburgatory and FBI.
He shares daughter Charlie, 13, and son Bastian, 10, with wife Addie Lane.
Jeremy revealed in 2021 that one of his daughter’s friends refuses to call him anything but Elton.
Breckin Meyer – Travis Birkenstock
Breckin owns his own production company[/caption]
Breckin, now 50, played Tai’s love interest and the skateboarding stoner, Travis Birkenstock – who was always late for class.
Since then the actor has starred in a string of hits, including Road Trip and Garfield, and he is also a drummer.
He started his own production company with showbiz pals Ryan Phillippe and Seth Green, and was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on Robot Chicken.
Breckin was married to screenwriter Deborah Kaplan for 13 years and they share a daughter.
Dan Hedaya – Melvin Horowitz
Dan Hedaya played Cher’s dad[/caption]
Cher’s tough-talking lawyer father was played by Dan Hedaya, now 84.
The star was already a big name before Clueless, starring in shows including Cheers, spin-off The Tortellis and Miami Vice.
He continues to work in film, most recently starring in American drama film The God Committee in 2021.
Dan is famous for playing villainous characters throughout his time in Hollywood.
He is married to fashion model Lauren Tom and they have three children.
Justin Walker – Christian Stovitz
Justin quit the spotlight a few years later to open a restaurant[/caption]
Justin played Cher’s love interest Christian, who attracted her with his smooth moves and excellent fashion sense – before the penny dropped and she realised he was gay.
Justin turned his back on acting a few years later and instead opted for a career change, opening a restaurant called Teddy Teadle’s Grill in California.
He also launched fantasy sports betting website.
Now the 90s hunk looks totally unrecognisable – his iconic brown curly locks have now been replaced by a salt-and-pepper colour.
Twink Caplan – Miss Toby Geist
Miss Geist was seen as a lonely spinster by her pupils[/caption]
Twink played Cher’s loveable, lipstick-wearing teacher Miss Geist, who the teen takes it upon herself to find love.
Now 77, Twink was also a producer on the film, and reprised her role in the TV series version of the show.
She has also had parts in Look Who’s Talking, A Night at the Roxbury, and in 2010 she played the role of a dance teacher in sitcom Community.
Materialistic Cher had a real passion for fashion and designer accessories – but also had a heart of gold[/caption]
