11 '80s Actresses You Definitely Won't Recognize Today

While the decade definitely had its dark corners — and things like Ronald Reagan's America, shoulder pads, neon colors, and new wave music maybe weren't for everybody — the 1980s were nonetheless a magical time in Hollywood. The decade of excess yielded two-thirds of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, the first/best three "Indiana Jones" movies, "Top Gun" and a myriad of other Tom Cruise star vehicles, the expansion of the Hollywood blockbuster with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," which amassed a $797 million take at the worldwide box office over time, the explosion of home video and VHS, the 1981 arrival of MTV, Madonna's ascent to musical stardom, and more. All the while, and perhaps more than ever before, women played a large role in pushing pop culture forward.

In the cinematic realm, actresses like Kathleen Turner, Meryl Streep, Meg Ryan, and many others rose to prominence as media coverage of the entertainment industry and the stars who populated it ballooned to previously unseen levels. Fast-forward several decades, though, and many of the women who helped make the '80s' show business landscape and pop culture zeitgeist what they were bear only a passing resemblance to the A-listers they once were. Here are 11 '80s actresses you definitely won't recognize today.

After gaining notice in the Bill Murray-Harold Ramis war comedy "Stripes" at the beginning of the 1980s, actress Sean Young appeared in two of the most memorable sci-fi films of all time over the next few years. Most notably, she played Rachael in the 1982 Ridley Scott-directed dystopian masterpiece "Blade Runner." Then, in 1984, she appeared in David Lynch's adaptation of the seminal novel "Dune." She continued to raise her profile over the ensuing years, and was even cast as Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's iconic 1989 take on "Batman," however, she had to pull out of the project when she broke her arm after falling off a horse during rehearsals. She later unsuccessfully campaigned for the role of Catwoman in "Batman Returns."

Fast-forward to the 2020s, and Young has evolved from being the noir beauty that threw Harrison Ford's Deckard for a loop all those years ago, aging gracefully into a more mature elegance. At a 2025 fan event, the one-time brunette bombshell stunned with pinned-up blonde locks. She's still working as hard as ever, even as she was seemingly shunned by Hollywood in her acting prime. Among her later gigs is a lead role in the 2025 comedy-mystery "The Dummy Detective." Looking back, Young is just happy to have survived show business, telling People in 2023, "I'm really glad that I survived whatever I was going through as a famous actress in my 20s and early 30s. I'm really grateful that I got to have a family."

Kelly McGillis made major waves in Hollywood during the mid-to-late 1980s, appearing in multiple memorable films in rapid succession. Her big run began in 1985 when she played opposite Harrison Ford in the thriller "Witness." The very next year, she took on what would become her best-remembered role, playing Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood in the Tom Cruise classic "Top Gun." Her chemistry with Cruise in the role and their characters' torrid affair will remain forever etched into the annals of movie lore. McGillis didn't stop there, though, appearing alongside Jodie Foster in "The Accused" in 1988.

In the years since her 1980s heyday, McGillis continued to take on roles in films and on television, although her on-screen appearances became increasingly sporadic over the years. All the while, she also prioritized her sobriety journey, coming to terms with past trauma, being secure with herself and her sexuality, and leading a quiet life away from the hustle and bustle of the entertainment industry. McGillis wasn't asked to reprise her role as Charlie in 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick," as the filmmakers sought to tell new stories within that universe. Said McGillis of the development in an Entertainment Tonight interview, "I look age appropriate for what my age is, and that is not what that whole scene is about. To me, I'd much rather feel absolutely secure in my skin and who and what I am at my age as opposed to placing a value on all that other stuff."

After appearing in the drama "Reckless" and the action-drama "Red Dawn" — the latter of which saw her share the screen briefly with an up-and-coming star by the name of Patrick Swayze — in 1984, Jennifer Grey broke out as an actress as Jeanie in the 1986 John Hughes classic "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." And while her police station scene with a young Charlie Sheen in the film is well-remembered, it doesn't hold a candle to her pairing with Swayze in 1987's "Dirty Dancing." Their electrifying chemistry in the film has made an impact across multiple generations, even as the two weren't a great match off-camera. "Normally, when someone's not a natural [match] ... both people move on, but we were forced to be together," she told People in 2022. "And our being forced to be together created a kind of a synergy, or like a friction."

Grey is no longer the Baby who got put in the corner, and for years she has grappled with people's opinions of her changing appearance; most notably her instantly recognizable nose. "In the world's eyes, I was no longer me," she wrote of the reaction to a nose surgery in her book "Out of the Corner: A Memoir" (via The Independent). Still bold and beautiful as a 60-something woman, Grey bounced back from the hubbub about her appearance to stuff her IMDb page with credits. In 2024, she starred alongside Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg in the buddy dramedy "A Real Pain."

For a period of time during the early 1980s, Phoebe Cates was the it girl in Hollywood, at least in the minds of a legion of teenage boys and girls. Her swimming pool/fantasy sequence in 1982's classic teen comedy "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" was probably responsible for more worn-out video tapes throughout the decade than just about anything else to come out at the time. Cates later turned heads in the 1983 teen comedy "Private School," the 1984 horror "Gremlins," and the 1988 teen movie "Shag," which isn't about carpet. She continued to work into the '90s, but started to take a step back in 1989 when she married A-lister Kevin Kline.

Cates stepped away from the business in 1994, focusing instead on raising her and her husband's two children, Owen and Greta Kline. She has kept an exceedingly low profile in recent decades, but the camera still loves her when she does show up somewhere. Her son, Owen, has followed in the footsteps of his parents, acting and also serving as director and editor on his own projects. Greta, meanwhile, is a singer and musician performing as Frankie Cosmos. As for Cates, her last acting gig at the time of this writing was voicing a character in the 2015 video game "Lego Dimensions."

Ally Sheedy was one of the more ubiquitous actresses working in show business during the 1980s, having appeared in multiple films that attracted large audiences. She's perhaps best-known for her portrayal of Allison, a.k.a. the "basket case" from the 1985 John Hughes classic "The Breakfast Club." In the film, Allison famously found herself in Saturday detention with the titular club simply because she had nothing better to do, and ends up getting a full-on glow-up courtesy of Molly Ringwald's Claire. However, Sheedy also had memorable roles in the 1983 teen thriller "WarGames," the 1985 coming-of-age drama "St. Elmo's Fire," and both "Short Circuit" films. 

As a member of the fabled Brat Pack, chances are she was one of your favorite stars of the '80s if you were around back then. However, she's no longer a poster child for young Hollywood, having long since transitioned to more mature roles. In 2022-23, she starred as Carol Fink — the mother of lead character Samantha Fink (Sofia Black-D'Elia) — in the Freeform comedy series "Single Drunk Female." In December 2022, she and Ringwald nearly broke the internet with an Instagram snap of the former costars hugging it out after a lunch date. While both women give off distinct mom vibes these days, they still have that '80s star shine, according to fans. "You two look amazing! One of my favorite movies growing up was 'Breakfast Club.' I love that you two are still good friends!" read one comment.

Bridget Fonda was veritable acting royalty before she ever even set foot onto a movie set. She's the daughter of legendary actor and filmmaker Peter Fonda, who was the son of legendary actor and filmmaker Henry Fonda. She's also the niece of "Barbarella" star Jane Fonda. However, she paved her own way during the late 1980s, into the '90s, and beyond with her performances in films like the 1988 rom-com "You Can't Hurry Love" and the teen movie "Shag," which saw her share the screen with the likes of Phoebe Cates and Annabeth Gish. In the early 2000s, she married another star of the '80s, former Oingo Boingo frontman and film composer Danny Elfman. The two later welcomed a son, Oliver, into the world.

In her heyday, Fonda bore the look of a blond California girl; her mid-'90s casting as the beachy stoner Melanie in Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown" was spot-on. However, her public sightings have been few and far between since pairing off with Elfman and seriously injuring her back in a car accident, and she hasn't appeared in a feature film since the early 2000s. As such, it made headlines when she was spotted on her 58th birthday looking completely unrecognizable. More recently, she appeared noticeably slimmer during a rare public outing in 2025. Given her shockingly low profile, fans can't help but wonder what happened to Fonda.

Kim Basinger first entered the public consciousness as a model, appearing on the cover of the rock band Survivor's eponymous debut album, which charted on the Billboard 200 in 1980. However, acting was her true passion, and in 1983, she captured the imagination of a worldwide audience as Domino in "Never Say Never Again," the unofficial James Bond release that saw Sean Connery return to the role he made famous. In 1986, Basinger won acclaim for her efforts in the erotic drama "9½ Weeks," opposite Mickey Rourke. Three years later, she played Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's "Batman." Off-screen, Basinger suffered a financial setback in the 1990s when she dropped out of the film "Boxing Helena" and was successfully sued by its producers.

Basinger continued to work steadily into the mid-2010s, but slowed after the decade ended; as of this writing, she hasn't appeared on camera in a feature film since playing Elena Lincoln in the "Fifty Shades" series. However, she insists that she's not retired, telling Variety in 2025 that she's just "very picky" and is pitched "a lot of bad material." That October, headlines were made when she was snapped out on a sushi date with her daughter, Ireland Baldwin, and granddaughter. Although Basinger is no longer a bombshell on the rise in Hollywood, she continues to project the same vibes that made her an A-lister in the '80s.

After appearing in smaller roles in films and on television during the early 1980s, Jami Gertz ascended to new heights during the latter half of the decade. The Chicago native parlayed her work on the 1982-83 sitcom "Square Pegs" and the 1984 John Hughes classic "Sixteen Candles" into darker, more memorable roles in films like the tear-jerking, Marek Kanievska-directed drama "Less Than Zero" and Joel Schumacher's iconic vampire horror-dramedy "The Lost Boys," both of which were released in 1987. But it was her performance as Star, Kiefer Sutherland's half-vampire girlfriend, in the latter film that altered her show business trajectory. At a 2025 Cinespia screening of the film, Gertz opined that playing Star "changed everything" for her and referred to "The Lost Boys" crew as "the OG vampires." 

At the time of this writing, it has been a hot minute since Gertz logged a new screen credit, having last appeared in the 2022 Amazon comedy "I Want You Back," which bridged a gap dating back to a 2017 guest appearance on the Hulu sitcom "Difficult People." That's not to say, though, that Gertz — who's firmly entrenched in her big boss era — has stopped making waves. Now, she and businessman Tony Ressler are a bona fide billionaire couple and co-owners of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks franchise, of which Gertz serves as the public face; they're also part-owners of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers. The couple's massive fortune, which was largely built after they wed, makes Gertz one of the richest female celebs in the world.

Lea Thompson has been gracing screens consistently for more than four decades now, but she was at the top of her game during the 1980s. She famously lied her way into her debut role as Kelly Ann Bukowski in 1983's "Jaws 3-D," claiming she had film acting experience and that she knew how to swim and water ski (which she didn't). The move paid off for her, though, as two years later, she would land her best-remembered role as Lorraine Baines McFly in "Back to the Future." She would return for the film's popular sequels and also starred in the '80s gems "Red Dawn," "Some Kind of Wonderful," and "Howard the Duck."

Fast-forward to now, and Thompson has aged gracefully; she has also transitioned into playing more mature roles. Since 2024, she has starred in the Hallmark family drama "The Chicken Sisters," alongside Schuyler Fisk and fellow '80s star Wendie Malick. However, younger audiences may know her better as the mother of actresses Zoey Deutch and Madelyn Deutch, whom she shares with director Howard Deutch. Thompson directed her girls in her first-ever feature in the director's chair, 2017's "The Year of Spectacular Men." Said Thompson of the experience in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, "Through this process, I learned more about them as people and as artists. I'm sure they learned a lot about me! I was surprised by how sharp their comedy skills are, and what mensches they are to their fellow crew members."

After acting on Broadway during the late 1970s and landing a regular role on the NBC soap opera "The Doctors" in 1978, Kathleen Turner rose to prominence during the 1980s with a series of memorable roles. Her performance as Matty Walker in the Lawrence Kasdan-directed, erotic neo-noir film "Body Heat" in 1981 launched her into a whole new stratosphere, though, and made her a sex symbol. However, her incredible decade also included iconic performances as Joan Wilder in the 1984 comedy smash "Romancing the Stone" and its 1985 follow-up, "Jewel of the Nile" (alongside frequent collaborator Michael Douglas), as the titular character in the 1986 Francis Ford Coppola comedy, "Peggy Sue Got Married," and as Barbara Rose in the 1989 black comedy "The War of the Roses." She also provided her signature sultry voice for the role of Jessica Rabbit in the 1988 Disney classic "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"

Turner celebrated her 70th birthday in 2024. She now looks the part of a sophisticated grandmother, and she continues to act both on-screen and as a voice actress in a variety of projects. In 2025, she provided the voice of Benjamin the Donkey in Andy Serkis' adaptation of the George Orwell novella "Animal Farm." That same year, she turned heads with a rare red-carpet appearance in support of "The Roses," a "War of the Roses" reboot starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman. In 2018, Turner made headlines with a depressing claim about Burt Reynolds.

At one time, during the late 1980s, Meg Ryan was practically America's sweetheart, having charmed audiences with her efforts in films including the 1986 classic "Top Gun," the 1987 rom-com "Innerspace," and — perhaps most famously — the 1989 Rob Reiner-directed rom-com classic "When Harry Met Sally," which saw her star alongside Billy Crystal as the decade's ultimate star-crossed lovers. As high as she rose during the '80s, though, Ryan arguably found even greater success during the decade that followed with films like "Sleepless in Seattle," "French Kiss," "City of Angels," and more. Alas, as she aged out of the roles that made her a household name and a safe box office bet for studios, Ryan underwent a radical physical transformation, including some cosmetic changes that some feel went too far.

Nevertheless, Ryan continued to appear on the big screen, albeit more and more sporadically as the years have gone on. As of this writing, her only feature performance of the 2020s came in 2023 when she starred with David Duchovny in the rom-com "What Happens Later." That same year, she gushed about her children, Jack Quaid (whom she had with actor Dennis Quaid) and Daisy True Ryan, telling People, "I feel like both of them make the world a little better, and I just feel so proud of them ... I'm so proud of both."