Celeb Nerds Of The 2000s That Grew Up To Be Gorgeous

Oh, the 2000s! The decade saw the rise of Juicy Couture tracksuits, reality television, and 2000s Hollywood royalty celebrity couples, like Brangelina. It also yielded a whole lot of celebrities with massive staying power. Ironically, many of today's big names today got their start playing some pretty nerdy characters in pop culture history.

The nerd trope was alive and well in the aughts, giving us hilarious flicks about underdogs like "Superbad," and shows centered around geeky pals like "The Big Bang Theory." But every now and then, it was tough to suspend belief and believe one of these supposed dweebs would have been anything but one of the beautiful, popular kids (cough, Rory Gilmore, cough). We're taking a look at the famous '00s nerds who grew up to be insanely good-looking, like present-day hunk Adam Brody. Bring on the glow-ups!

The 2000s started off strong with the debut of "Gilmore Girls" in October 2000, starring Lauren Graham and newcomer Alexis Bledel. The show's casting director, Jill Anthony, reminisced about the casting choice with Vanity Fair in 2016, explaining that Bledel was sick during a major network screen test, but was so mesmerizing in an earlier taped audition that she still got the role. "They saw her on camera and she just jumped off the screen, you know. Those blue eyes," Anthony explained.

Bledel's gorgeous blue eyes made it tough to think of her character, Rory Gilmore, as more of a nerd than one of the popular girls. The brilliant bookworm had Harvard ambitions and was obsessed with keeping her grades up. She also worked for her school newspaper, loved to follow the rules, and counted journalist Christiane Amanpour as her idol.

It's no surprise that Bledel grew up to be even more beautiful and continued to make a name for herself in Hollywood. She starred in the critically-acclaimed series, "The Handmaid's Tale," even bringing home the Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding guest actress in a drama series for her work in the role in 2017. She married actor Vincent Kartheiser in June 2014, with whom she welcomed her first child, a son, in the fall of 2015. Bledel and Kartheiser divorced in 2022.

Our screens became acquainted with Joseph Gordon-Levitt back in the '90s, but he entered the 2000s starring as a teenage alien down on earth on the popular sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun." The role had him rocking longer hair, which became such a signature part of his character, Tommy, that he had to ask the network before cutting it. Gordon-Levitt once recalled on a 1998 episode of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "I'd had it long for a long time, and I'd been asking them, 'Hey can I cut my hair soon? Because it's hot when you sleep, and it's summer, and I'd like to cut my hair."

That role — coupled with his nerdy character, Cameron James, in the 1999 teen flick, "10 Things I Hate About You" — put him on the map for fellow teenagers, making him a mainstay in teen magazines. But he started making the transition to hunky leading man by the end of the decade. 2009's "500 Days of Summer" wasn't your typical romantic comedy and was popular with critics and audiences alike, showing Hollywood that Gordon-Levitt was a solid male lead.

These days, he continues to act, as well as direct and produce. Unfortunately for the ladies who've been crushing on him for decades, he's married to Tasha McCauley, the founder and CEO of a NASA-based robotics company called Fellow Robots. The couple has three children together.

The first film in the Harry Potter franchise, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," debuted in 2001, kicking off one of the biggest pop culture phenomena of the decade. Emma Watson was responsible for bringing the whip-smart Hermione Granger to life. That breakout role made her a household name, and life seemed to imitate art when it came to the bright, determined Watson and her similarities to Hermione. She told The Sunday Times in 2008, "When I got the part, people were like, 'Why you?' And I just remember seeing a L'Oréal advert, and coming out with an American accent, 'Because I'm worth it.' That was my answer then. My answer now is ... I don't know, I just really got her."

Just like her onscreen persona, Watson prioritized education and eventually attended Brown University, one of America's esteemed Ivy League colleges. But Watson's trajectory didn't match the usual Ivy Leaguer who ends up with an impressive corporate job. She continued to make waves in the entertainment industry and became a fashion darling, focusing on sustainable choices. Watson's dating life has included speculations of bouts with beaus ranging from singer George Craig to actor Chord Overstreet, but she's yet to find the one. 

In a move that would surely make Hermione proud, the actor recently stepped away from Hollywood to head back to school, choosing to pursue an MA in creative writing at the University of Oxford. Of the decision, Watson told British Vogue in 2023 about the decision, "I'm just so glad that I did [step away from acting] because I have this feeling of having my own voice and creative space and sovereignty in some way that I don't think I did before — more autonomy."

One of the most iconic teen dramas of the 2000s, "The O.C.," introduced us all to our nerdiest crush of the decade, the one and only Seth Cohen. Adam Brody played the quirky cutie, who famously fell for the uber-popular Summer Roberts (played by '00s it girl Rachel Bilson).

The role would go down in pop culture history, so much so that, nearly two decades later, Brody told GQ that fans still associate him with the character. "I don't get recognized all the time, but of people that do, [being noticed as Seth is] 80%," the actor explained. "I'm about to be 40, it's a high school show, and it doesn't really interest me at an adult even though I'm very happy with the legacy and I was happy at the time and I'm proud of the work I did, and I'm proud we got to be a part of pop culture."

In the 2020s, Brody's glow-up from nerdy teen to hunky leading man was solidified on the breakout Netflix series, "Nobody Wants This." The series put Brody back in the romantic lead category, starring as the handsome Rabbi Noah Roklov. The Daily Beast went so far as to proclaim Brody as the "Ultimate TV Crush" with this resurgence. As of February 2014, Brody has been married to "Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester. The '00s super couple share two kids together, one daughter born in 2015 and one son born in 2020.

One of the most popular films of the 2000s, "Mean Girls," continues to be a pop culture juggernaut. The teen comedy, penned by "Saturday Night Live" star Tina Fey, seemed to include it all — a nerd-turned-popular girl transformation, a love story, frenemies, and an iconic scene at a school dance. The right-hand woman of Lindsay Lohan's geek-to-chic Cady Heron's plans to take down queen bee Regina George was Janis Ian, played by actor Lizzy Caplan. When asked by BuzzFeed News in 2019, Caplan confirmed what most of us always knew — Janis Ian was secretly a mean girl. "She was way craftier than the other mean girls. She was a mean girl with spy plans — with purpose!" Caplan explained, defending her misunderstood character.

Prior to landing the role in "Mean Girls," Caplan had appeared on popular '00s shows like "Freaks and Geeks" and "Smallville." After the success of the flick, it seemed only natural that the star's career would take off. Unfortunately, at first it was quite the opposite. She told Business Insider (via Yahoo) in 2025 that she didn't work for a year after the film, explaining, "My phone was not ringing off the hook." The actor worried she'd be typecast as the "goth best friend," and explained, "I completely changed my look so that I wouldn't get pigeonholed."

That change-up led to a successful career in Hollywood. Caplan has starred on Showtime's "Master of Sex" and Hulu's "Fleishman's In Trouble," both of which earned her Primetime Emmy nominations. She married British actor Tom Riley in 2017, with whom she shares a son, Alfie.

When you think of Disney stars of the '00s, Shia LaBeouf might not immediately come to mind. But LaBeouf starred on the network's series "Even Stevens" from 2000 until 2003, and even earned a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on the show in 2003. As Louis Stevens, the mischievous little brother of the family, LaBeouf was anything but a heartthrob. But the things happening behind the scenes were seemingly anything but a Hollywood fairy tale. The actor would later write and star in a film called "Honey Boy" in 2019, based on his tragic, traumatic experiences as a child actor.

Despite the rough upbringing, LaBeouf went on to parlay his childhood stardom into a massive career in Hollywood. He finished out the 2000s starring in Michael Bay's massive blockbuster franchise, "Transformers." His character, Sam Witwicky, was last seen in the third film, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," before LaBeouf left the franchise. After getting a taste of A-list fame and cementing himself as a handsome leading man, LaBeouf seemingly retreated to more indie territory. Films like his creation "Honey Boy" and that same year's "The Peanut Butter Falcon" both earned the actor major critical acclaim.

LaBeouf's personal life hasn't been a walk in the park, as he's been arrested multiple times, accused of assault, and involved in multiple high-profile feuds (major reasons Hollywood doesn't often cast LaBeouf anymore). In 2016, he married actor Mia Goth in Las Vegas, complete with an Elvis impersonator, only to file for divorce two years later. He went on to date musician FKA Twigs, who would sue him over an alleged abusive relationship, and also dated actor Margaret Qualley for a time before reconciling with Goth. The couple's daughter, Isabel, was born in 2022.

In the 2000s, a young Emma Roberts starred on the Nickelodeon series, "Unfabulous," as awkward middle schooler Addie Singer. In 2024, Roberts reminisced about the role with Pop Culture Planet, crediting it to the power of manifestation. "The reason I wanted to become an actress as a kid was because I loved watching all the shows on Nickelodeon. All I wanted was my own show on Nickelodeon. I would just say that all the time and that ended up happening ... I just remember being so single-minded about it that I think a lot of times drive can get you further sometimes than talent," Roberts explained. (It also probably didn't hurt that her aunt is the one and only Julia Roberts.)

Despite playing the titular unfabulous tween, Roberts would go on to have a fabulous career in Hollywood after her Nickelodeon days. She first starred in family-friendly flicks like 2006's "Aquamarine," 2007's "Nancy Drew," and 2009's "Hotel for Dogs," before making the transition to more adult roles on "American Horror Story" and "Scream Queens." That transition ultimately led her to become a big name in the fashion world, sitting front row during Paris Fashion Week and rocking couture on red carpets.

Offscreen, the beauty has been linked to her "American Horror Story" co-star Evan Peters and actor Garrett Hedlund, and she welcomed a son named Rhodes with the latter in 2020. Roberts announced her engagement to actor Cody John on Instagram in July 2024.

Dev Patel starred as Anwar in the popular, and sometimes controversial, U.K. teen drama "Skins" in 2007. The actor told People in 2024, "I didn't have a clue what I was doing when I was plucked off of the street to be in that thing." Despite the show memorializing the very beginning of his acting career as a teen, Patel is still grateful for the experience, telling the outlet, "Without it, there would be no me in 'Slumdog [Millionaire],' without Danny Boyle's daughter being a fan of 'Skins.'"

Patel can truly credit his awkward teenage years to the role of a lifetime, as "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle decided to cast him in the lead role in the critically acclaimed 2008 film after seeing his performance in "Skins." The film went on to win eight Academy Awards and turn the young actor into a major Hollywood player. Patel would go on to star on esteemed series, like HBO's "The Newsroom" in the 2010s, and scored his first Academy Award nomination for his work in the 2016 film "The Lion."

Along with his ascent into Hollywood stardom, Patel also experienced a rise in heartthrob status. Sadly for his fans, he's taken. The actor has been dating Australian actor Tilda Cobham Hervey since 2017.

Future A-lister Zendaya had some surprisingly humble beginnings. You may have first seen her in the Kidz Bop rendition of Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold," or modeling in ads for Macy's in the 2000s. But Zendaya really broke through in Hollywood after auditioning for the Disney show, "Shake It Up," in 2009. She got the gig and played Rocky Blue from 2010 until 2013, becoming a Disney darling who also starred in Disney Channel original movies like "Frenemies" and "Zapped." But these days, she's such a superstar, you likely forgot she also tried her hand at a music career and competed on "Dancing With the Stars" in 2013.

Like many of the child stars on this list, it was transitioning to more adult roles that took Zendaya's career to the next level. She starred on HBO's critically acclaimed "Euphoria" in 2019, which earned her the Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding actress in a drama series. At 24, she set a record as the youngest recipient of that award. She also made waves on the big screen, starring in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" in 2017 and subsequent sequels "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

If dominating the acting world wasn't enough, Zendaya also wowed the fashion world, working alongside celebrity stylist Law Roach to create impeccable red carpet moments. She's also thriving in her personal life, getting engaged to her "Spider-Man" co-star Tom Holland in December 2024.

Josh Peck endlessly entertained kids in the 2000s on Nickelodeon, first landing a role on "The Amanda Show" before parlaying his success into his own sitcom, "Drake and Josh." The hilarious youngster certainly had the comedic chops, but didn't quite yet have the cool factor, a fact he later lamented to MTV News. "I'm so glad that my awkward years are well-documented on television forever," Peck joked in 2017, adding there's one feature in particular he'd like to block out, "There have definitely been seasons of 'Drake and Josh' that I would buy back my hairstyle if I could."

Peck struggled with his weight during his time on the show as a child actor, and even into adulthood. But these days, the former Nickelodeon star is nearly unrecognizable. During a 2022 interview on "Mark Bell's Power Project," Peck opened up about his 100 pound weight loss, revealing he had to find a balance. "It was slowly starting to make those smart choices. I'm eyeballing calories every day ... I need 2,500 calories to sustain life, and then if I can work out and, you know, burn an extra 500, I'm playing with 3,000, and if I can come in at a deficit, I'm in good shape," Peck explained.

The actor, who now has his own podcast, "The Good Guys," married Paige O'Brien in June 2017. The couple have three children together; sons Max, Shai, and Meyer.

The 2000s were a great time for teen movies, and in 2001 we met a young Anne Hathaway in "The Princess Diaries." The film saw her go from nerdy high school student to a glamorous princess, launching a career that would lead her to A-list status. While sitting down with Vanity Fair in March 2024, Hathaway watched some clips from her iconic roles and got emotional when it came to this early flick. "This was the film that changed my life," Hathaway exclaimed, adding, "I was 17 years old when we made this and so, I hadn't met as many people yet in my life, so I knew [director] Garry Marshall was really special and I knew Julie Andrews was really special, but now sitting here watching this from this point of view, they are two of the most magical people I've ever me."

The Disney film wasn't the only one that saw her go from geek-to-chic. She also starred in the 2006 film "The Devil Wears Prada," where her character, Andy Sachs, goes from an aspiring journalist to fashion dynamo. So it's no surprise that life imitated art, as Hathaway is now quite the fashionista. She's also a household name, with an esteemed acting career under her belt that includes an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe.

Hathaway married Adam Shulman in September 2012. The couple shares two sons, Johnathan and Jack.