--- title: Mean Girls Cast Then and Now description: In honor of Mean Girls Day on Oct. 3, we take a look at the careers of Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried and the rest of the famous crew. canonical: https://time.com/4956469/mean-girls-cast-then-and-now/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-03T12:30:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:24.912Z og:title: It's Mean Girls Day. Here's What the Cast Is Doing Now og:description: In honor of Mean Girls Day, take a look at what the cast's been up to og:url: https://time.com/4956469/mean-girls-cast-then-and-now/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: It's Mean Girls Day. Here's What the Cast Is Doing Now twitter:description: In honor of Mean Girls Day, take a look at what the cast's been up to twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # It's _Mean Girls_ Day. Here's Where the Cast Is Now  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 3, 2017 12:30 PM CUT  by [Raisa Bruner](/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Oct 3, 2017 12:30 PM CUT October 3 is no normal day. It’s [Mean Girls Day](http://time.com/4516776/lindsay-lohan-celebrates-mean-girls-day/ "undefined"), as any ’90s kid worth their salt knows, and it [always merits a celebration](http://time.com/3457797/mean-girls-day-october-3/ "undefined"). This year marks 13 years since the popular – and quotable Tina Fey film was first released, but it’s [still relevant](http://time.com/4530583/lindsay-lohan-mean-girls-sequel/ "undefined") in the conversation. (And some things certainly haven’t changed: “fetch” _still_ hasn’t happened.) Featuring a collection of child stars, actors on the cusp of greatness and [comic icons](http://time.com/4156286/fey-poehler-snl/ "undefined") like Amy Poehler, the Lindsay Lohan-helmed hit lives large in contemporary U.S. cultural memory: there’s even a [new _Mean Girls_ musical](http://time.com/4876937/mean-girls-musical-cast/ "undefined") debuting at the end of October with an upcoming Broadway run, and Lohan and her teen costars regularly keep up their connection with the movie through social media winks and nods. So while we wait for an official sequel to get the green light, we’ll always have Oct. 3, the day that beautiful stranger [Aaron Samuels finally spoke](http://time.com/3457797/mean-girls-day-october-3/ "undefined") to Cady Heron. In honor of this true national holiday, here’s an update on where the movie’s teen queens (and misfits) are now. ### Lindsay Lohan  Paramount Pictures; Getty Images It’s been a tumultuous 13 years since _Mean Girls_ for Lohan, the popular child star of _Parent Trap_ fame, A-list celebrity status and a complicated, much-photographed young adulthood in the harsh light of the paparazzi. Movies like _Herbie: Fully Loaded_ and the Elizabeth Taylor made-for-TV biopic _Liz & Dick_ were met with little to no critical success, while her supporting roles in _A Prairie Home Companion_ and _Bobby_ were better received. But Lohan has also dabbled beyond cinema, going on to try her hand at fashion design with Emanuel Ungaro and her own brand 6126 in the late-oughts and [stage acting](http://time.com/3461138/lindsay-lohan-speed-the-plow/ "undefined") on London’s West End in 2014\. More recently, Lohan [has been filming](https://www.instagram.com/p/BVO%5FbIngfeo/?hl=en&taken-by=lindsaylohan "undefined") for a role in the second season of the TV show _Sick Note,_ which stars _Harry Potter_‘s [Rupert Grint.](http://time.com/4709948/rupert-grint-ends-ed-sheeran/ "undefined") She’s also quite a globetrotter, spending time in hotspots like Dubai and Istanbul and sharing regular updates on social media. And oh yeah, she’s definitely still a _Mean Girls_ fan: not only has she been public about [her eagerness](http://time.com/4530583/lindsay-lohan-mean-girls-sequel/ "undefined") to work on a sequel, but just last week she [shared an Instagram snap](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/lindsay-lohan-watches-mean-girls-instagram-stories "undefined") while re-watching the classic. ### Rachel McAdams  Paramount Pictures; Getty Images 2004 was McAdams’s breakout year, with the successes of both _The Notebook_ and _Mean Girls_ launching her to immediate stardom as both a comic and dramatic actor. Ever since, she’s kept herself busy onscreen with hits like the cult favorite _Wedding Crashers_ and Woody Allen charmer _Midnight in Paris_, and a recurring role in the _Sherlock Holmes_ big-screen action franchise and her lead role on the second season of _True Detective._ Next up, McAdams will pop up in new murder mystery movie [_Game Night_](https://twitter.com/rachelmonline/status/911285442942783488 "undefined") alongside Jason Bateman. Then there’s the more sober _Disobedience,_ which [just screened](http://www.awardscircuit.com/2017/09/17/interview-disobedient-man-sebastian-lelios-female-led-dramas-defy-status-quo/ "undefined") at the Toronto International Film Festival and tells a story of forbidden love. She’s also not afraid of throwing it back to her Regina George days lately, even [giving a shout-out](https://twitter.com/rachelmonline/status/914072195843883008 "undefined") to fellow co-star Lacey Chabert for her birthday last week. ### Lacey Chabert  Paramount Pictures; Getty Images Chabert may have met her pop culture peak as Gretchen Wieners, the forever-iconic character she played in _Mean Girls_. Since then, she’s made her biggest mark as the star in a number of Hallmark channel movies from _Elevator Girl_ to _Christian Mingle_ to the more recent romance _Moonlight in Vermont_. But just because you haven’t seen Chabert’s face on marquee posters doesn’t mean she hasn’t been busy. On the contrary, she’s credited as the voice for a bunch of animated franchises, like a few Star Wars video games, a _Transformers_ cartoon series spin-off and [_Justice League Action_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5419200/?ref%5F=nm%5Fflmg%5Fact%5F6 "undefined"). Next up, though, Chabert is back in her Hallmark comfort zone with _All of My Heart: Inn Love_, [airing in October.](https://twitter.com/IamLaceyChabert/status/909531345197473793 "undefined") ### Amanda Seyfried  Paramount Pictures; Getty Images _Mean Girls_ was just the beginning for Seyfried, who got her start in soaps and modeling before debuting on the big screen as the much-loved Plastic princess Karen Smith. She went on to showcase her acting — and vocal — chops in hit movie musicals [_Mamma Mia!_](http://time.com/3987014/meryls-bad-movie-moms-are-a-flash-of-inspiration/ "undefined") and [_Les Miserables_](http://time.com/4574972/eddie-redmayne-taylor-swift/ "undefined") over the ensuing decade, while also popping up on the small screen for series like _Veronica Mars_, _Big Love_ and the recent [_Twin Peaks_ revival](http://time.com/4759458/twin-peaks-return-showtime/ "undefined"). We’ll get to see her again soon in the [new _Mamma Mia_ sequel](http://people.com/movies/first-photos-mamma-mia-sequel/ "undefined"), too, where she’ll reprise her role as Meryl Streep’s character’s daughter. In other news, she got hitched with fellow actor [Thomas Sadoski](http://motto.time.com/4585953/amanda-seyfried-pregnant/ "undefined"), and they welcomed their first child this spring. She’s also recently been fostering[ a litter of kittens](http://people.com/pets/amanda-seyfried-on-fostering-kittens-comparison-daughter/ "undefined"). Too kind, Karen. ### Jonathan Bennett  Paramount Pictures; Getty Images Bennett kicked things off like many of his costars with a spot in the soaps — _All My Children_ in his case — before winning the prime role of Aaron Samuels, high school heartthrob and the reason for Mean Girls Day’s existence in the first place. He [subsequently popped up](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1057932/ "undefined") on _Veronica Mars_, like Amanda Seyfried. And that’s not all of his history with the Plastics; he was in the Hallmark movie [_Elevator Girl_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1492820/?ref%5F=nm%5Fflmg%5Fact%5F42 "undefined") with Lacey Chabert in 2010, too, with whom [he’s said](http://www.refinery29.com/2017/09/171569/jonathan-bennett-linsdsay-lohan-i-dont-know-her "undefined") he remains close. While he’s racked up plenty of acting credits in the last few years and even got a chance on _Dancing with the Stars_ in 2014, his main gig in front of the camera is pretty sweet at the moment: he’s [a host on the Food Network](http://www.foodnetwork.com/profiles/talent/jonathan-bennett "undefined") for _Cake Wars._ But lately, he’s also mentioned that he’s very much up for a _Mean Girls_ sequel. Is the world ready to see a grown-up Aaron Samuels, though? “I think, well obviously, my character would probably still be in college,” he [predicted recently](http://toofab.com/2017/09/07/mean-girls-jonathan-bennett-talks-sequel-and-puts-cast-mates-buzzy-stars-in-the-burn-book-at-screening-exclusive/ "undefined") of his status in a potential sequel. “I think my character would be the Van Wilder of Aaron Samuels. He would just be the perpetual college student.” ### Lizzy Caplan  Paramount Pictures; Getty Images The former _Freaks and Geeks_ actor has kept up a steady stream of acting roles after _Mean Girls_, appearing on everything from _Smallville_ to _True Blood_ to _New Girl_ over the intervening years after she made her big splash as the inimitable Janis. Perhaps her most notable starring role, however, has been as Virginia Johnson on [_Masters of Sex_](http://time.com/4487585/miss-america-2016-masters-of-sex-1968-pageant/ "undefined") for four seasons opposite Michael Sheen, a part for which she was nominated for an Emmy in 2014\. As Johnson, Caplan made the switch from her prior comedy roles to a much more dramatic character — and had to get [comfortable with](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/masters-sexs-lizzy-caplan-nudity-801687 "undefined") on-camera nudity in the period drama exploring the roots of the sexual revolution. And just this September, [she tied the knot](http://people.com/tv/lizzy-caplan-tom-riley-married/ "undefined") with British actor Tom Riley at a wedding ceremony in Italy. ### Daniel Franzese  Paramount Pictures; Getty Images After playing the delightful Damian on _Mean Girls_, Franzese went on to nab smaller roles in a number of TV and movie comedies, eventually grabbing a recurring role in HBO’s two-season show [_Looking_](http://time.com/888/tv-weekend-hbos-looking/ "undefined") and ABC’s short-lived drama [_Conviction_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5396572/?ref%5F=nm%5Fflmg%5Fact%5F3 "undefined"). In 2014, he [came out](http://www.indiewire.com/2014/04/exclusive-actor-daniel-franzese-writes-a-touching-coming-out-letter-to-his-iconic-mean-girls-character-damian-214326/ "undefined") publicly — and just this past summer, [he proposed](http://people.com/tv/mean-girls-actor-daniel-franzese-is-engaged/ "undefined") to boyfriend Joseph Bradley Phillips at the same Starbucks where the two first met over a year ago, sneakily hiding the ring in a cup that the barista then served up to his soon-fiancé. He’s also keeping up his comedy chops, performing standup at Burbank’s Flappers Comedy Club for a run this fall, according to his Instagram. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4956469/mean-girls-cast-then-and-now/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4956469/mean-girls-cast-then-and-now/"},"headline":"It's Mean Girls Day. 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