TV | Pop Culture | 90s
Whatever Happened To The Cast Of 'My So-Called Life' And Are Their Lives Still Divided Into Kissing, And Not Kissing?
Do you remember getting home from school and flipping on My So-Called Life and relating to everything Carrie and her friends were up to?
The show ran for 19 episodes in 1994 and 1995 and had a cult following of teenagers that could relate to the boy trouble, friendship woes, drugs, sex, and everything that was basically the normal 1990s teenage drama.
So where did they all end up after the 90s?
Claire Danes
If you're a fan of Homeland you will recognize Danes as Carrie Mathison. Before she was channeling her inner bipolar CIA agent, she was on the hit 90s show My So-Called Life as a angst-ridden teen, Angela Chase.
"It was a seminal experience for me, both professionally and personally ... I was the same age as the character, and there was an incredible symmetry between us — unlike Carrie Mathison, who in no way resembles me," the star, who scored her first Golden Globe for her leading role in the '90s drama, told Interview. "I would be the worst case officer on the planet. I am so ill suited to Carrie's vocation. But Angela Chase was just another high school student."
A.J. Langer
Over a decade after starring as Danes's rebellious onscreen BFF, Rayanne Graff on the cult show, she has now taken on a different role in her life.
In 2005, she married Charles Courtenay, who is the 19th Earl of Devon, which makes her a Countess!
They have two children, Joscelyn who is 10, and Jack who is 8 and they live in Powderham Castle in the English countryside.
Wilson Cruz
Cruz still continues to act and is most recently known for his work in Star Trek: Discovery and 13 Reasons Why.
He was the first openly gay actor to portray an openly gay teen on TV as Rickie Vasquez. He credits the show for helping his father come to terms with his sexuality.
"The show changed my life. When I tell you that I am just as grateful for Rickie Vasquez as much as anyone else?" Cruz said. "I mean that."
Devon Odessa
Before Angela Chase became close with Rayanne and Rickie, she considered Odessa's straight-edge Sharon Cherski to be her best friend. Angela quickly outgrew the relationship, however.
Since starring in the show Odessa has continued to act in show like Private Practice and the 2017 short, Blink.
"[Creator] Winnie [Holzman] married my husband and me in 2008," Odessa told ELLE, adding that the show's cast and crew were a tight-knit group. "Claire [Danes] and I were both in each other's weddings."
Jared Leto
You can make the argument that Jared Leto was one of the most notable cast members of My So-Called Life. Playing the object of Angela Chase's desire and later becoming her actual boyfriend, he played the high school heartthrob, Jordan Catalano.
As much as we appreciated the bad boy nature of his character, the actor said that the show didn't leave much of an impact on him.
"I feel like it was such a short period of my life," he recalled. "Let's face it, I barely spoke! I have a lot of gratitude for starting there, but they made such a big deal of the character in the show."
Since the 90s drama, Leto has shown off his talents in music, leading the band Thirty Seconds to Mars and film including an Oscar winning performance in 2014 for Dallas Buyers Club.
Devon Gummersall
Everyone loves the nerdy next-door neighbor, but watching Brian Krakow crush over Angela Chase was grueling to witness.
"Even though we were all devastated when it ended, I do think we are grateful for it being such a short-lived and kind of perfect thing that happened under glass, in a way," Gummersall shared with ELLE. "It was over before it became huge, so it had a purity to it that was kind of unique and rare."
Lisa Wilhoit
As the youngest star of the show, Lisa Wilhoit played Danielle Chase, who was Danes's little sister.
Wilhoit has been keeping busy since the show ended by doing voice-over work on Family Guy since 2000.
Tom Irwin
Tom Irwin was better known as Angela and Danielle's down-to-earth dad. The character was married to Patty Chase, who was played by Bess Armstrong.
"Usually Bess and my scenes would be toward the end of the day because they wanted to get the kids out earlier," Irwin recalled to ELLE of his experience on the set of My So-Called Life. "And oftentimes we would be in a scene where we were in bed discussing the day's activities and what's going on with the kids and all of that." He added: "There were several times when we would finish the scene and then Bess and I would just sit there in bed and talk for another hour or two, and just hang out on the set. I loved working with her."
Bess Armstrong
Before the term 'helicopter mom' was coined to describe Millennial parents, Bess Armstrong played just that role.
It wasn't until the show's season finale that had Armstrong's on-screen husband kissing another woman, that it brought out a legion of Mrs. Chase supporters.
"[Creator Winnie Holzman] had told me that, because Graham was beginning that affair, I know I was going to go into a major depression," Armstrong recounted. "I know that she told me that the thing which was going to force Angela to become more of the adult in the household. I swear on a stack of Bibles, she did tell me this. And Angela was going to be forced to become more of the adult."
Since the show, Armstrong has taken role in House of Lies and Mad Men.
Do you remember the show? You can now watch it online on ABC.