This Is What Happened To Monica Keena From Dawson's Creek
Oh, Abby Morgan! "Dawson's Creek" fans either loved her or hated her ... or they loved to hate her. She was the rebellious teen who took Jen Lindley — played by the incomparable Michelle Williams — under her heavy-partying wing. The two got into some trouble, to say the least. But even if Abby wasn't the best influence on her peers at Capeside High, her exit from the series was no less than tragic. The drama of it all makes Monica Keena's essential alum status as Abby undeniable.
While it's been more than two whole decades since the WB show made its debut — time flies, huh?! — the series is gaining popularity all over again, thanks to streaming options on platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max. With the show attracting the attention of old and new fans, it's only natural to wonder what the "Dawson's Creek" cast has been up to since, especially with such a mysterious celebrity in the mix like Keena.
Monica Keena says goodbye to Dawson's Creek
"Dawson's Creek" paved a new path for teen dramas with its debut in 1998 — an odd time for young people as the Internet was beginning to take off and shows were changing perspectives, per People. The series had a cast of familiar faces, many of which would go on to become household names while others suffered from being recognized only from "Dawson's Creek." Monica Keena stood out as Abby Morgan, fueling the drama by spilling the secrets of her classmates, being an influence of underage drinking and wild partying, and scheming, scheming, scheming.
Despite fans loving to hate the character — meaning success for juicy storylines — it was Keena who decided to call it quits in Season 2. Interested in pursuing other roles, she asked to be killed off the show. According to Marie Claire, the actor also struggled with splitting her life between the show's location in Wilmington, North Carolina and Los Angeles. The solution? Abby had a horrible drunken accident by hitting her head and falling off a pier. She wasn't the only one with a quick-death exit.
John Wesley Shipp played Dawson's father, Mitch Leery, and with the natural evolution of the show following the young adults through their next chapters, he decided to leave with the assumption of less work for his character. His fate came in Season 5 via a car accident. Dropping an ice cream cone while driving is a sweetly sad way to go ... well, at least sweeter than Abby's.
Monica Keena heads to college with Undeclared
"Dawson's Creek" was not an end to Monica Keena's time with an ensemble of young, notable actors at the start of their rise to fame. In 2001, she joined the cast of "Undeclared" as Rachel Lindquist, which was created by Judd Apatow. He said in an interview about how "Freaks and Geeks" inspired the move, explaining, "I enjoyed my writing staff and production staff so much that I just wanted to try and keep everyone working." The next move followed a majority of the players to college in "Undeclared," joined by even more now-famous faces.
Keena acted alongside Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogan, Charlie Hunnam, Carla Gallo, and Jason Segel. The star power didn't stop there, however, as the small show had huge names in cameo roles like Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, and Ben Stiller, while also featuring small arcs with Kevin Hart, Amy Poehler, and too many to note.
Despite both Apatow vehicles being canceled and misunderstood by executives, they have achieved cult classic status, welcoming droves of audiences with online streaming. The popularity called for a 2011 reunion for "Undeclared" and "Freaks and Geeks" at The Paley Center for Media. While speaking to the press for the event, Keena expressed how proud she was of the show and that her role of Rachel is one she often gets recognized for. She said being on "Undeclared" was "a closer experience" to what she "always perceived as a college experience than anything" she had "actually experienced in my real life."
Monica Keena rises with Freddy vs. Jason
Monica Keena has become a face of the horror genre for a very unique role. The image of the "final girl" in popular slasher films rose to popularity after characters survived iconic franchise villains like Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and even more modern bad guys like Jigsaw. In 2003, the decision to have two of the most famous horror movie figures of all time face off against one another made a huge splash. "Freddy vs. Jason" needed a final girl to bring it all together and that is where Keena entered as Lori Campbell.
The actor spoke with the "Happy Horror Time" podcast in 2020 and admitted to never being a big scary movie fan before getting the role. Because of the crossover, Keena is an integral part in two different horror franchises, which luckily she didn't realize beforehand. "I think I'm fortunate that I wasn't aware of what a big deal it was or was going to be at the time because I think it would've just been too overwhelmingly intimidating," she shared.
Fans seemed to think Keena fit in perfectly and the entire gamble of a horror mashup was a huge success. "Freddy vs. Jason" made a killing during its debut week in theaters and hit No. 1 on the charts, according to Entertainment Weekly. Keena acted alongside Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, and Katharine Isabelle, marking another star-studded ensemble that adds to the film's memorable legacy.
Man of the House gives Monica Keena a cheerleader makeover
In 2005, Keena kicked it back to university days, this time as a cheerleader in the crime comedy "Man of the House." Her character Evie witnesses a murder with the rest of her cheer squad that includes Christina Milian, Kelli Garner, Paula Garcés, and Vanessa Ferlito. Who is the Texas Ranger tasked in protecting them? That would be none other than acting legend Tommy Lee Jones.
During an interview with Hollywood.com when the stars were asked if they had prior cheer experience, Keena responded, "not at all." The group confirmed that none of them had and Milian shared details of the rigorous training process before filming and "starving" along with strict diets.
Keena spoke more about the training with the New York Post: "That was really hard-core. Not only did we have to learn the moves, but we did basket tosses and we were thrown up in the air. Now I can stand on someone's hands!" The actor always had a bit of longing to try out the sport, but revealed that "growing up in New York, there's hardly any cheerleading." The film didn't do well at the box office and reviews were overall negative, but Keena got to have a new experience. "It's amazing what we learned how to do."
Monica Keena adds to her television credits
Hardcore fans of "Entourage" will recall Eric Murphy's on-again, off-again relationship with Kristen. Although only appearing in the first two seasons of the series, Monica Keena's character had quite a bit of influence over E — played by Kevin Connolly. She encouraged him to become Vince's manager by the end of the first season, but with a history of breakups and both cheating on one another, the couple called it quits for good.
This arc led Keena to pop up in several long-running series, including "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Ghost Whisperer," "Castle," "The Closer," and most notably, "Grey's Anatomy." Keena is only in two episodes of the iconic show, but her character of Bonnie Crasnoff leaves a lasting impression. In the episode "Into You Like a Train" from Season 2, a rail accident leaves Bonnie and Tom — played by Bruce A. Young — impaled and skewered on the same pole, per A.V. Club. In a big yikes situation, Meredith Grey is in the throes of an emotional break and is devastated to let Bonnie die to save Tom.
Keena returns as the ghost of Bonnie in Season 3 for "Some Kind of Miracle," where Meredith sees a return of many of her lost patients during an intense near-drowning incident. The emotional episode touches on the entire cast, making it worthy, according to Entertainment Weekly, as one of the saddest "Grey's" episodes ever. Catching a TV stride didn't stop Keena from taking on more film roles and she even returned to horror.
Monica Keena stars in a horror remake
Gaining popularity thanks to the bond between horror fans and video rental stores at the height of VHS viewing, "Night of the Demons" from 1988 combined gore and silliness. Director Kevin Tenney told Diabolique that once the film was complete, he told his agent, "You've gotta find me another job before this thing comes out because I'll be unhirable afterwards." Little did he know the flick would become a major cult classic and fall into remake territory while also getting an updated Blu-ray release in 2014. Monica Keena was cast in the 2009 version of the Halloween-party-gone-wrong alongside Shannon Elizabeth, Edward Furlong, and Linnea Quigley from the original film.
In an interview, Keena shared that she loved the original, but felt the remake was "much better." When asked why, Keena joked, "Well, I'm in it." She continued sincerely, "It's definitely a new take on it ... the special effects are much, much more amazing, well I mean they can't be any worse." She laughed while referencing the practical effects from the original. On getting to run around in a wild horror film screaming, Keena said, "it's what I do best."
She also offered a little shade at the usual slasher girl outfit — connecting her look in "Night of the Demons" to "Freddy vs. Jason" — and the potential for being typecast. Since the film, however, it doesn't appear that she has fallen back into this area of the horror genre, even if her fans would love to see it.
Monica Keena is fairly quiet about relationships and her personal life
Despite belonging to several big ensembles from well-known projects, Monica Keena has kept out of the spotlight far more than her peers. She briefly dated James DeBello, Jonathan Brandis, and Shane West in the past, per MarriedBiography. It is her relationship with Edward Furlong that was the most publicized after a domestic violence incident and the filing of a restraining order. The two met during the filming of "Night of the Demons," but in 2013, Furlong was taken into custody after allegedly shoving Keena, according to E! News. Further incidents were reported during this time.
The Daily Mail spotted Keena and Furlong together at a mall in October 2016, suggesting some kind of supposed reconciliation. Although infrequent, posts on social media since then point to the pair in a relationship. They welcomed a puppy named Dinah in 2020, according to a short video on Furlong's unverified Instagram. It is assumed Keena is filming the video as you can hear her voice, but a follow-up photo of her holding the pup a month later is seemingly more clear on the matter.
Later in 2020, Furlong reposted a photo from an unverified, fairly inactive, Instagram account of Keena's, with the snap showing the two in an Austin airport. But it's not clear where they stand today.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
What is Monica Keena up to now?
Monica Keena's last feature film credit was for the dramatic mystery thriller "The Ghost and the Whale" in 2017, where she starred alongside Tippi Hedren and Jonathan Pryce. In 2020, the actor was in a short horror-comedy film called "Klaus Eats Butterflies." The short premiered at Screamfest 2020 in Los Angeles. Keena's IMDb notes a completed pilot for a television series called "Puckheads," the film "Manson Girls" currently in pre-production, and a film titled "Karma" also in pre-production with Eddie Furlong attached as well.
Keena has frequently joined the rosters of horror conventions across the U.S., meeting fans, doing photo-ops, and speaking on panels with fellow "Nightmare on Elm Street" alums. She mentioned on a panel at Steel City Con in 2021 that she was working on producing a project for Netflix. Fans love seeing her at events and share photos on social media, one stating that Keena "is one of the kindest, most gentle and GENUINE souls I've ever met in the land of make believe!"
As for those not interested in conventions, Keena has a Cameo where fans can book a video for $60, but at the time of this writing, she is currently not accepting requests. If the actor reactivates the platform, she notes in her bio, "I love personal requests & telling you fun stories and behind the scenes scoop." It seems that despite keeping under the radar, connecting with her audience is what stands out the most.