What Your Favorite Stars Of The '90s Look Like Today

No need to adjust your Peacock settings. It really is Zack Morris, now governor of California, in his late forties. NBC's streaming service brought "Saved By the Bell" back for a reboot in 2020, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, the actor behind the illustrious Bayside High alum, is just as shocked as you are. "We thought we were cancelled every season," he told Variety in 2020. "We thought no one was watching the show."

For more than 30 years, fans have kept the flame alive for one of their favorite Saturday morning series. They've also stayed nostalgic for many other shows, movies, and stars of their youth. The "Saved by the Bell" reboot joined a long list of '90s sitcoms seeing a 21st-century resurgence. From TGIF classics and movie remakes to slip dresses and scrunchies, the '90s came back in a big way.

Some stars of that golden era are still active in the entertainment industry, and others seem to enjoy life away from the spotlight. Wondering what your faves are up to these days? Grab your Beanie Babies and *NSYNC CDs as we check in on some of the biggest '90s stars.

With her self-titled debut album in 1994, Brandy Norwood arrived on the music scene in a big way and quickly became a first-name-only star. TV and movies soon followed, from her headlining role on the long-running UPN sitcom "Moesha" beginning in 1996 to Disney's adaptation of "Cinderella" with Whitney Houston in 1997 for "The Wonderful World of Disney." She closed out the decade with a duet anthem with Monica, "The Boy Is Mine," which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for 13 straight weeks.

Brandy continued acting after her smash success in the '90s, with roles on shows including The CW's "90210" remake, "The Game," and "Zoe Ever After." Her music career hit a snag after her 2012 release "Two Eleven," when, according to Rolling Stone, her record label sued her over claims that she was putting out music without their permission. Following a countersuit for production costs and then a 2017 settlement, the artist formed her own label, Brand Nu, and released her "B7" album in 2020.

"I really don't like that it took me this long, but I'm glad that I didn't rush it," the "Never Say Never" singer told Rolling Stone. She added, "When you've been absent from music for so long, you want to make sure that it's your best work." Brandy sings with her daughter, Sy'Rai, on the album. The mom celebrates her daughter's talent and "want[s] to continue to do music with her." 

Tiffani Thiessen has an easy way of finding out when her latest project is a hit. "I always know when I've got a new show that has kind of made it," Thiessen told "Access Live" in 2018, "because then [interviewers will] start talking about that one and not about the past ones."

Those "past ones" happen to be some of the most iconic series of the 1990s, like "Saved By the Bell" and "Beverly Hills, 90210." Since her days as the ever-sunny cheerleader, Kelly Kapowski, and the ever-scheming Valerie Malone, Thiessen has continued to act in high-profile programs, from USA's "White Collar" to Netflix's "Alexa & Katie" and Peacock's "Saved By the Bell" reboot. She became the host of MTV's "Deliciousness," too.

In 2015, Thiessen joined the celeb cooking and lifestyle space with her Cooking Channel series, "Dinner at Tiffani's," which showcased her culinary and entertaining skills as she hosted famous friends at her home. On the show's 2016 holiday episode, the author of the "Pull Up a Chair" cookbook welcomed her fellow '90s co-stars, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Jason Priestley. She shared that some of her cooking inspiration came while she was playing Kelly Kapowski.

"My love of food kind of started a little bit with you [Mark-Paul], traveling through Europe," the married mom of two said on her show (via Entertainment Tonight), "like we did when we were teenagers [on a promotional trip for 'Saved By the Bell']."

Aww, you see? Zack and Kelly forever!

Jonathan Taylor Thomas broke teenage hearts everywhere when he left ABC's "Home Improvement" in 1998 before its eighth and final season. Thomas had played wise-cracking middle son Randy Taylor since the beginning, but he felt it was time to focus on school.

In a 1999 interview for the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, Thomas said he'd made the right call: "It's been a very demanding year, and, you know, looking back, I made such a good decision, because had I stayed at the show and tried to do academically what I'm doing now, I would've, you know, put myself in an early grave." By the way, Jonathan Taylor Thomas attended Harvard and St. Andrews University in Scotland; he graduated from Columbia.

Thomas starred in a string of hit movies in the '90s and voiced Young Simba in Disney's "The Lion King." His picture was taped to millions of walls thanks to his teen magazine omnipresence. But since movies like "Man of the House" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas," JTT has largely stepped back from his once very public persona, besides appearances on "Smallville," "8 Simple Rules," and "Veronica Mars" in the 2000s. In 2013, he reunited with his TV dad, Tim Allen, for his first of four guest spots (plus a directing gig) on Allen's sitcom "Last Man Standing." (In the fourth, he played Randy!)

For Entertainment Weekly's 2011 "Home Improvement" reunion, the elusive Thomas shared that he was interested in directing but also open to acting: "I still have a passion for TV and film [and] could see myself working in it."

All that talk of "Blossom" and big hats has probably got you reciting the show's catchphrase — catchword, rather. Right?? "Whoa!"

"It's so weird [how] that word has transcended 20 years," Joey Lawrence, who played big brother Joey Russo, said on HuffPost Live in 2013. Lawrence said it was originally written in the script to be said like a surfer dude would say it, but the line wasn't landing with the live audience. So the "Dancing With the Stars" alum gave it his own spin: "I just tried it once and did this weird thing and people laughed. ... We did a second take, and they laughed again." And, as he told Bustle in 2017, everyone loves saying it to him, even his pastor!

Lawrence got his first big break on the aptly titled sitcom "Gimme a Break!" in 1983. After "Blossom," he starred with his brothers, Matthew and Andrew, on the comedy "Brotherly Love" on NBC from 1995 to 1997 — and let's not forget their Disney Channel Original Movies, "Horse Sense" and "Jumping Ship." Lawrence's pairing with fellow '90s star Melissa Joan Hart in ABC Family's TV movie, "My Fake Fiance," led to their successful 2010–2015 show, "Melissa & Joey," on the same network.

Some of his more recent roles have been influenced by his politics, but the actor is on board with going back in time. In summer 2021, he told Us Weekly that he's hopeful a "Blossom" reboot will soon be in the works.

Sisters who TGIF together stay together. Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Tamera Mowry-Housley starred in ABC's "Sister, Sister" as separated-at-birth twins who have a chance encounter as teens at the mall, bringing them back into each other's lives. The hit sitcom debuted in 1994 during the network's coveted Friday night lineup. (Two years later, it moved to The WB.)

Despite the show's instant popularity, Mowry-Hardrict told Entertainment Tonight in 2020 that she and her sister faced racism as their sitcom success was booming. They were denied the cover of a major magazine, Mowry-Hardrict said, "because we were Black, and we would not sell. ... I will never forget that."

Mowry-Hardrict and Mowry-Housley have maintained their close bond as they've navigated the industry post-"Sister Sister." They appeared together in the Style Network reality show "Tia & Tamera" from 2011 to 2013, and both of the married stars had their children around the same time. Mowry-Hardrict has acted in shows like "The Game," "Instant Mom," and Netflix's "Family Reunion," while Mowry-Housley was an original co-host of the talk show "The Real" for seven years until 2020.

About the prospects of a "Sister Sister" reboot, Mowry-Housley has it all worked out. "I would like to see something unexpected of the girls," she told PopSugar in 2021. "I always had this vision of them like the 'Sex [and] the City' girls: sexy, smart, witty, [but] obviously still having an amazing sisterhood."

When they make you into a doll, you know you've made it.

"Do I have a Brandon Walsh doll? I do!" Jason Priestley told Entertainment Weekly in 2019. "I have a complete, pristine set of all of our dolls." On October 4, 1990, teen twins Brandon and Brenda Walsh moved from Minnesota to the toniest zip code in America when "Beverly Hills, 90210" premiered on Fox. The prime-time soap, produced by the legendary Aaron Spelling, focused on a group of friends at the fictional West Beverly High. It was an instant hit and would go on to follow the kids to college and beyond, until May 2000.

Priestley played the dutiful and civic-minded Brandon until 1998, when he left after feeling the character had run its course (something he told CNN he regretted). Before his departure, the actor started making a turn toward directing and helmed 15 episodes of the series. After "90210," the Vancouver native and dad of two continued acting on shows like "Psych" and "Hot in Cleveland," in addition to directing and acting on a number of Canadian TV series.

When the original "90210" cast reunited for the 2019 Fox reboot, "BH90210," Priestley, who directed an episode, also told Entertainment Weekly that he was glad to be back: "Since I've worked on that show, I've worked on 100 other projects, and working on all those other projects gives you an appreciation for how special that time was."

Brian Austin Green was all sorts of everywhere in the '90s. Though his first big role was on the '80s soap "Knots Landing," in the next decade he popped up on everything from "Growing Pains" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" to "MADtv." He also played himself in an episode of "Saved By the Bell: The College Years" and even dated one of that show's stars, Tiffani Thiessen! But by far, his most notable gig was playing David Silver on "Beverly Hills, 90210" for the show's 10-year run.

For the reality-esque reboot, "BH90210," Green was lured in by the chance to do a different spin on Mr. Donna Martin. "I played David Silver for 10 years, and that was enough for me," he told AP News in 2019. "I liked the fact that I could go back and play David, sort of."

After "90210" ended in 2000, Green continued his prolific streak with roles on shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "Anger Management." His higher profile in later years came from his marriage to actress Megan Fox in 2010. The parents of three split in 2020. (Green also has another child from a previous relationship.)

With "BH90210," Green was glad to get revisit his old friends, as he also shared with AP News: "We have sort of a new chemistry and a new bond that forms because we have so much more in common now than we did before."

Tatyana Ali was young daughter Ashley Banks on NBC's African-American-led "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and learned a lot from her older co-stars, especially the late James Avery, who played patriarch Philip Banks. "He introduced me to Black art in ways that I wouldn't have gotten that education anywhere else," she said on HBO Max's "Fresh Prince" reunion special in 2020 (via NBC News). "His thing was, 'I am in such a unique position, and that responsibility ... you must elevate your craft. You have to represent, and you are paving a way.'"

After "Fresh Prince," Ali embarked on a music career. Her single "Daydreamin" was a Top 20 hit in 1998, and Ali collaborated with her former co-star, Will Smith, on another song. In the late '90s, she dated another star of the decade, Jonathan Brandis, who passed away in 2003.

Ali's part as Ashley could've gone another way, as "Sister, Sister" stars Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Tamera Mowry-Housley both auditioned for the role (via People). Twenty-five years later, Tatyana Ali is still thrilled to be a part of "Fresh Prince," as she told Allure in 2021: "Something that meant so much to us personally for all those years still means something to people? It's a gift of a lifetime."

Ben Savage isn't the only '90s fave Danielle Fishel's been linked to. In the late '90s, she dated (and went to prom with!) *NSYNC singer Lance Bass.

But her most memorable pairing was her character Topanga Lawrence's relationship with Savage's Cory Matthews on "Boy Meets World." Fishel and Savage made many a fan's dreams come true in 2014 when they reteamed for "Girl Meets World." Fishel, who's acted and done voiceover work through the years, co-starred on the show but has turned more to directing, including a handful of "Girl" episodes and other Disney Channel series.

The icon that is Topanga, though, will always be closest to her heart. "She was so absolutely sure of who she was and who her friends were," she told HelloGiggles in 2019. "She never let the people around her decide that it was okay to be less than the best that they could be."

"Girl Meets World" ended its run in 2017, and though Fishel says "never say never" to returning to the character, she also told HelloGiggles that she and her former co-stars are ready to, lovingly, move on: "I'm really happy moving into the second phase of my career as a director, and I know all of the guys are really happy moving into the next phase of their careers as well. So I think we're ready to honor and love 'Boy Meets World,' but maybe leave it in the past."

Unlike her former onscreen younger sibling(s), Candace Cameron Bure relished the opportunity to step back into her big-sister shoes.

"It was such a gift in my life to be able to reprise the show and do a whole new show based on the same characters," Cameron Bure, who played DJ Tanner, told the The Washington Post in 2020. "It really was an amazing gift."

Cameron Bure led Netflix's reboot of her classic series and also directed three episodes. Before her biggest role, though, she was all over '90s TV, with spots on shows like "St. Elsewhere," "TJ Hooker," and her big brother Kirk's "Growing Pains." After DJ, Cameron Bure acted steadily and found great success with TV movies on the Hallmark Channel, including "Aurora Teagarden Mysteries." She also co-hosted "The View" for many years.

The author and mom of three, who married right after "Full House" ended, has been open about working in Hollywood with her strong Christian faith. "I'm very happy that I've been able to navigate both being very open about my faith and ... still have all of these different jobs in the entertainment industry and be able to incorporate some of that into them — not all of them, because that's also not my goal," she told The Washington Post.

In 2021, she joined Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in the fashion world, with a "West Coast lifestyle"-inspired line for QVC.

Many celebs have embraced the cooking and lifestyle space, but not so many have traded culinary school for acting.

"I did an interview with Howard Stern when Sarah [Michelle Gellar] and I first started dating, like 15 years ago, and he said, 'What would you be doing if you weren't doing this?'" Freddie Prinze Jr. told People in 2016 when his first cookbook launched. "I said, 'I'd probably open a restaurant or write cookbooks because that's what I love.'"

With Gellar, Prinze Jr. was one of the big young stars of the '90s, starring in movies like "She's All That" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (which co-starred Gellar). He worked with his wife again in 2002's live-action "Scooby-Doo" movie and its 2004 sequel. Prinze Jr., son of the late comedian and actor Freddie Prinze, headlined his own ABC sitcom, "Freddie," in 2005, but the show lasted just a year. He has continued acting and was featured in 2021's "Punky Brewster" reboot.

Prinze Jr. and Gellar have been together for more than 20 years, but the dad of two can still bring the "Aww" factor. "Sarah and I still make each other laugh, which is really important," he told InStyle in 2017. "When I say certain things to Sarah, and I see the look on her face, I know she loves me. And I live for that look, you know?"

It's a real-life "Party of Five" for Scott Wolf! The actor, who starred as the rebellious but good-hearted Bailey Salinger on the 1994–2000 Fox hit, became a dad of three in 2014 with his wife, "The Real World" alum Kelley Limp. Wolf told ABC News that he knew he'd never outgrow his '90s stardom. "I'll be 88 years old and have somebody come up to me and talk about Bailey from 'Party of Five,'" he said.

Wolf, who appeared in eight episodes of "Saved By the Bell" in uncredited parts, also starred in the popular 1996 movie "White Squall." After his time as Bailey on "Party of Five" came to an end, the actor worked on shows like "Everwood" and 2019's "Nancy Drew." Despite that, it's Bailey that everyone wants to talk about — and Wolf is fine with it.

"I had so much fun doing it, and I'm still so proud to have been a part of it." he told People in 2017. "It just struck an emotional chord in such a way that when I would encounter somebody — and it could be eight years after the show had aired — they would talk about it as though they'd just watched it last week."

Joey Lauren Adams starred in a roster of movies worthy of a true '90s star, but by 2007, she'd left Los Angeles in her rearview mirror. "Hollywood is so business-oriented, the movie business. Everyone there seems to either be in it or wanting to be in it," she told the Jackson Free Press that year. "You lose touch with reality, and what is important in life. ... I'm just not cut out for L.A. I'm older now, I guess, and want different things."

The Arkansas native expressed that she wanted to continue acting and pursuing worthy projects, but she didn't "really have a desire to go play the girlfriend. ... I don't feel like that [acting] is my only source of income and creative outlet," she said.

The star of "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," and "Big Daddy" has pivoted to writing and directing, but she's continued acting in several series, including "Veronica Mars," "United States of Tara," and "Still the King." Adams seems to split her time between work and home. She wrote on Instagram in 2016, "I go back a lot to Oxford Mississippi where I have a house, and watch the high school performances there because it makes me remember why you get into [acting] in the first place, which is just the love of doing it, and it's not about getting an agent or a job."

Andrew Keegan was all over big and small screens in the '90s, popping up on "Party of Five," "Baywatch," "Full House," "Moesha," and "Boy Meets World." He also had parts in hit movies, including "10 Things I Hate About You" and "Independence Day." "It was like total mayhem," Keegan recalled to ABC News in 2015 about getting swarmed by fans wherever he went. "It was malls, malls and any gathering place where you had a, really what you would call mob mentality."

After his recurring role as Mary Camden's (Jessica Biel) boyfriend on The WB's "7th Heaven" ended, Keegan turned to the real estate market and also the spiritual side of life. In 2014, he founded the group Full Circle but insisted to ABC News that he didn't see himself as its leader or a guru of any kind. The group disbanded in 2017. Keegan told OK! in 2021, "I wouldn't call it a religion. I would call it a creative community in a temple. ... [It] was about building community."

With a production company and projects in development, Keegan seems to be alright with moving on from his '90s heartthrob days.

James Van Der Beek has worked in TV regularly since "Dawson's Creek" debuted in 1998, but his days as aspiring filmmaker Dawson Leery are still close at hand. On the U.K.'s "This Morning" in 2017, he reminded one interviewer that he hadn't gone away. "I have been on television the last 20 years. I just wanna let you know," Van Der Beek said after the host set up their segment by comparing his post-"Dawson's" success to that of his former co-stars, Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, and Joshua Jackson.

Van Der Beek's work after the drama (and following the hit 1999 film "Varsity Blues") has been varied and steady, encompassing "One Tree Hill," "CSI: Cyber," "Modern Family," and "Don't Trust the B— in Apartment 23," in which he played a fictionalized version of himself as a send-up to being pigeon-holed as nice guy Dawson Leery. In 2012, ahead of the show's premiere, he told Huffpost TV that he was glad to be doing a lighthearted role: "It's so much more fun to not take yourself so seriously. This is the kind of sense of humor I've always had."

The happily married dad of five flexed his acting chops again with a role on FX's "Pose" and is focused on doing more writing, as he shared with News.com.au in 2018: "I'm just looking to tell stories that resonate."