The Real Reasons You Don't Hear Much From These '00s Teen Show Actors Anymore

In the 2000s, there were countless teen shows all over our televisions, but the really memorable ones sure still felt special. From action-packed classics like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Smallville" to dramatic teen soaps like "One Tree Hill" and "The O.C.," a slew of stars made names for themselves every weeknight during the aughts. The decade-plus of TV fodder also made way for its fair share of scandals, with some of these young actors moving away from Hollywood altogether afterward.

But even the more than occasional off-set drama couldn't stop a wave of 2000s shows from becoming iconic in the eyes of millions. "[T]here is something about how — as outlandish it got at times — there was also a lot that felt honest [about our show]," Hillarie Burton, who portrayed Peyton Sawyer on "One Tree Hill," once told Interview Magazine. "People write to us about how they feel seen, how they feel represented, how they see their own struggles in our show. When I meet new people who are just discovering it and I think, 'You could be watching anything! Why? Thank you?'"

2000s comedy darling Amanda Bynes had a considerable fall from grace throughout the 2010s and 2020s. But in her heyday, she was a beloved presence on Nickelodeon shows like "All That" and "The Amanda Show." She also starred in iconic teen rom-coms including "She's the Man." Bynes was a top teen actors of her time and was even featured in the now legendary 2003 Vanity Fair "It's Totally Raining Teens" issue alongside Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore, and Lindsay Lohan. Her popularity at a young age kick-started a fame-fueled ride that has lasted for two decades, until her last credited role in 2010's "Easy A." "The first time [paparazzi caught me] I was like, 'They're calling my name!'" she told E! News. "They do it to whoever once they find out your name."

Public scrutiny has played a large role in Bynes' life amid several well-publicized mental health crises and a contentious relationship with her parents, who had been her conservators. "In the last several years, I have been working hard to improve my health so that I can live and work independently, and I will continue to prioritize my well-being in this next chapter," Bynes said to People in 2022 after filing to end the conservatorship. "I am excited about my upcoming endeavors ... and look forward to sharing more when I can." In July 2023, Bynes checked herself into a California mental health facility to focus on her health.

Danneel Ackles (née Harris) starred as sultry (and scheming) Rachel Gatina on "One Tree Hill." After she made her last appearance on the show in 2009, the actor married "Supernatural" star Jensen Ackles and changed her stage name. She later guest starred on her husband's show as Sister Jo. "I didn't want to go on 'Supernatural' and be a love interest of the week or have the guys kill me in some horrific way," the actor shared with Entertainment Weekly. "But [my] character, she's just a badass. And where else can you go and bring your kids to work and hand them off to A camera while you're shooting? So it was a no-brainer for me."

Other than a few recurring roles and the occasional Lifetime film (which reunited her with her "One Tree Hill" co-stars Hillarie Burton and Robert Buckley), Ackles has stayed behind the scenes as of late. In 2020, she and her husband formed their own production company, Chaos Machine Productions, and signed an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. Television Group. In 2023, it was announced that their company exited the Warner Bros. agreement and moved to Amazon. "We are thrilled to begin this journey with the incredibly smart and creative team at Amazon," they said to Variety. "We loved being part of the Amazon family with 'The Boys' [which Jensen starred in] and look forward to our continued relationship as we develop exciting and interesting projects together."

On Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place," Jennifer Stone played Harper Finkle, the best friend of Selena Gomez's character Alex Russo, until the show's finale in 2012. Stone also appeared in the 2009 "Wizards of Waverly Place" TV movie, along with a number of other films like "Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars" and "The In-Between," which she co-wrote.

But in between the end of "Wizards" and her foray back into the entertainment business, Stone pursued a different career path altogether. In 2013, the actor went to college and eventually got a nursing degree. "I didn't want to be the only one [in my family] who hadn't gotten a degree," she told Beyond Type 1, a non-profit platform founded by Nick Jonas aimed at "changing what it means to live with diabetes" (Stone has diabetes). "I also wanted to know if acting was something I really wanted to keep doing because it's all I've known." By 2020, Stone had become a resident nurse and was actively fighting the COVID-19 pandemic on the front lines. But the draw of performing kept calling her back; Stone has continued to appear in features and shorts, all while balancing her nursing career. "Leaving acting reaffirmed my love for it, and I decided to return," she told Beyond Type 1.

In 2023, Stone reunited with her "Wizards" co-star David DeLuise to host the "Wizards of Waverly Pod," which featured a number of its stars stopping by to wax nostalgic.

AnnaLynne McCord is known for portraying vixen Naomi Clark on the reboot of "90210." The actor also appeared in films like "Fired Up" and "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" during her run on the show and guested on several shows including "The Night Shift" and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow" after "90210" ended in 2013. McCord has since been public about her dissociative identity disorder (DID) diagnosis, which stemmed from years of sexual abuse. "You think that you'll be shamed and there will be even more degradation, humiliation. And the opposite has been apparent," McCord said to People about fans' reactions. "But what's even more important than that to me has been the outreach from survivors who are telling me their stories."

McCord has also experienced public image setbacks in the years since "90210." In 2022, McCord went viral for performing a poem addressed to Russian leader Vladimir Putin. "I'm so sorry that I was not your mother," she stated in a Twitter video. "If I was your mother, you would have been so loved, held in the arms of joyous light. Never would this story's plight. The world unfurled before our eyes. A pure demise." The internet didn't take kindly to the piece, which some likened to Gal Gadot's misguided "Imagine" sing-along video. As one Twitter user wrote, "[McCord] binge-watched every Karen video before declaring — 'Hold My Kombucha!' A true white woman masterpiece."

Fans of "Smallville" will recognize CW staple Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang, one of Clark's love interests. The actor and former Neutrogena spokesperson was a fixture of teen magazines in the early aughts and also starred in the 2004 comedy "Eurotrip" (remember "Scotty Doesn't Know?"). She's starred in other WB (now CW) shows including "Beauty and the Beast" from 2012 to 2016 and "Burden of Truth" in the late 2010s.

During her time on "Smallville," Kreuk was reportedly involved with NXIVM, which was later revealed to be a sex-trafficking cult alongside her co-star (and future NXIVM leader) Allison Mack. When the cult (and Mack) were eventually arrested in 2018, Kreuk took to Twitter to clarify her role in the scandal (thereof). "When I was about 23, I took an Executive Success Programs/NXIVM 'intensive,' what I understood to be a self-help/personal growth course that helped me handle my previous shyness, which is why I continued with the program," she explained. "I [have since] left ... and had minimal contact with those who were still involved. The accusations that I was in the 'inner circle' or recruited women as 'sex slaves' are blatantly false. During my time, I never experienced any illegal or nefarious activity. I am horrified and disgusted by what has come out about [NXIVM]." 

Kreuk has since played a couple of TV guest star roles and even started her own production company, Parvati Creative Inc.

Kay Panabaker, the younger sister of Danielle Panabaker ("The Flash"), made a splash in the 2000s as Nikki Westerly on "Summerland." On the show, she played Jesse McCartney's character's little sister, and even shared her first on-screen kiss with Zac Efron! She also appeared in the Disney Channel's "Phil of the Future" and featured in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Read It and Weep" alongside her sister.

But after a while, Panabaker lost interest in Hollywood. "I no longer had that love, that passion," she told Naperville Magazine. "With 'Summerland,' I loved going to work. I guess my discontentment started several years later on another TV show I was on. By contrast, it wasn't a good experience." Her last appearance before she made a career change was a voice-over role in 2012's "Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva La Fiesta!"

After that, she pursued a different side of the Disney platform: zoology. She attended an 18-month program on the subject at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, before accepting an internship at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park. "Looking back, finding my true passion was worth all of the extra time," she told Naperville Magazine. "I work with some of the most incredible people, who inspire me to work harder and make a bigger difference in the world. That aspect was missing in my previous career ... I don't earn a fraction of what I used to, and yet, I couldn't be happier."

To many, Eliza Dushku is synonymous with some of the 2000s' most beloved series, including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Tru Calling." "[Being on 'Buffy'] was fun to come in and be the one that shakes things up," the actor told Marc Andrew in an interview. "When I got 'Buffy,' I was just out of high school. I learned so much and I learned a lot from Sarah [Michelle Gellar, who played Buffy herself]." In her post-vampire-slayer years, she also appeared on "Dollhouse," as well as in various films and other TV guest spots.

Dushku has been open about her struggles with addiction and alcoholism, but this hasn't stopped her from charity work, going back to school, and standing up for herself and other women. In 2018, Dushku called out two instances of harassment that she experienced in Hollywood. 

The first was on the set of 1994's "True Lies," where a stunt coordinator molested her. The second was on the set of "Bull," where her co-star and lead actor Michael Weatherly verbally harassed her. For the latter, she was awarded a $9.5 million settlement almost equal to what she would have been paid had she remained a series regular on the show (she had been written off early in the first season). "It's liberating, and it shows that when we speak our truths — as terrifying as that might be — we afford ourselves a chance to heal," she told Boston magazine.