As we get further and further away from the ’90s, the more it seems like a fever dream. Boybands, teen heartthrobs, and blockbusters were everywhere. Pop culture from the ’90s was so impactful that it’s still relevant today. There has been a resurgence in ’90s nostalgia in the last five or so years, causing movies, music, and trends from 30 years ago to still be inescapable.

The influence that the ’90s has had over media since the decade ended is undisputed. Fashion is heavily influenced by both the grunge and pop styles of the decade, TV shows consistently make references to the ’90s, and musicians try to emulate the aesthetic of the era’s most famous pop stars.

Of course, as we do get further and further away from the ’90s, it leaves a lot of us to ponder on such an influential yet peculiar decade of pop culture. Many of us have asked ourselves “what happened to that actor from that one movie back in the ’90s?” Unfortunately, while the decade was full of pop culture phenomena, it was also a decade full of stars whose celebrity faded away with the end of the decade. Here are ten actors from the ’90s who disappeared from the spotlight:

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10 Alicia Silverstone

     Geffen Records

Alicia Silverstone was a staple of ’90s teen media. Her most iconic roles are as Cher Horowitz in Clueless and as Batgirl in Batman and Robin, and many kids idolized her. She was a core part of many ’90s kids’ childhoods. Silverstone hasn’t stopped acting since then, but she hasn’t quite been in the spotlight since then either.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

Some may remember that Silverstone appeared in a supporting role in Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Killing of a Sacred Deerback in 2017, where she plays Martin’s (Barry Keoghan) mother. She’s also had a few appearances on the small screen in shows such as American Woman and Netflix’s The Babysitter’s Club, but nothing to really keep her in the mainstream.

9 Meg Ryan

     Castle Rock Entertainment

Meg Ryan was the queen of romantic comedies in the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s. After small appearances in ’80s films such as Top Gun and The Presidio, Ryan hit the big time starring opposite Billy Crystal in 1989’s When Harry Met Sally. After that, Ryan was seen everywhere in Hollywood. She went on to follow her success into the ’90s with Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, The Doors, and French Kiss. Nothing could get in Meg Ryan’s way in the ’90s.

However, there was a steady decline in the quality of work that Ryan took in the 2000s. The 2000s were a decade of forgettable or downright bad movies that basically left her with nothing leading into the 2010s. With just a handful of TV stints in the last twelve years, Meg Ryan has essentially retired from acting.

8 Rick Moranis

     Walt Disney Pictures

By the time the 1990s rolled around, Rick Moranis was one of the most famous comedic actors working. He starred in some pretty memorable comedies, such as Spaceballs, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Ghostbusters. In the ’90s he continued with the Honey franchise and did a few shorts for the franchise with Disney.

However, Moranis’ reasons for disappearing from Hollywood were unlike other actors’ reasons. In the late ’90s, Moranis lost his partner to cancer and was forced to give up acting, so he could raise their two kids. While people would have loved to see Moranis in more movies, it’s completely understandable why he left the business, and admirable that he put his family first.

7 Phoebe Cates

Throughout the ’80s and early ’90s, Phoebe Cates was known all over America. She came to fame in the 1981 teen comedy classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as Jennifer Jason Leigh’s older, wiser best friend. In the ’90s she has roles in movies such as Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Drop Dead Fred, and Princess Caraboo. Princess Caraboo was her last film credit, aside from a role in the ensemble cast of The Anniversary Party in 2001, and she hasn’t acted since.

Cates has been married to Kevin Kline since 1989, who is 16 years older than her, and has two children with him. Unlike her husband, Cates has completely disappeared from Hollywood and abandoned acting with no sign of returning.

6 Macaulay Culkin

     Hughes Entertainment

In the ’90s, Macaulay Culkin was the poster boy for child actors. He instantly became famous after starring as Kevin McCallister in the hit Christmas movie, Home Alone, and its sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Other notable movies include My Girl, The Good Son, and Getting Even with Dad. Culkin even hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live in 1991 where he did a spoof of Home Alone with Lorne Michaels when he was only 11 years old.

Since the 2000s, Culkin has not acted much. He has some appearances on a few TV shows such as Will & Grace and American Horror Story, but more or less abandoned the profession. While he remains a figure in pop culture because of his time spent as Kevin McCallister, he largely remains out of the Hollywood spotlight.

5 Geena Davis

     The Geffen Company

Geena Davis was a household name in the ’80s and ’90s. In the ’80s she starred in films such as Beetlejuice opposite Michael Keaton and Alec Baldwin, The Fly opposite Jeff Goldblum, and Earth Girls Are Easy (once again with Jeff Goldblum). She continued her run in the Hollywood spotlight into the ’90s with the classics Thelma & Louise and A League of Their Own. She was even nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Thelma & Louise in 1992.

Into the 2000s, she starred in the sequel to Stuart Little, guest starred in an episode of Will & Grace, and was in a TV movie called Exit 19. She has acted here and there since then but has dedicated most of her time trying to change the film industry for the better. She founded her own research institute in 2004, The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, where she analyzes data depicting the disparities between roles for men and roles for women.

4 Ryan Phillippe

     Columbia Pictures

Ryan Phillippe is most well known for his character Sebastian Valmont in 1999’s Cruel Intentions. Though he caught his big break in 1997 in the slasher movie I Know What You Did Last Summer. He was a heartthrob of the late ’90s and even married his co-star Reese Witherspoon (although they later divorced in 2006). With his good looks and natural charm, Phillippe seemed like he was on his way to earning leading man status.

However, in the 2000s he had a string of box office flops with films such as The Way of The Gun that negatively impacted his stardom. His only real success was being part of the ensemble cast of the Oscar-winning Crash in 2004. He didn’t stop acting though, he just transitioned to the small screen where he has found success with shows like Shooter and Secrets and Lies. Despite his transition to TV, he still does not remain a prolific figure in the public eye.

3 Brandy

     Disney

An actress, singer, and songwriter, Brandy was seen everywhere in the ’90s. She signed with Atlantic Records in 1993 and landed her own sitcom, Moesha, on UPN. She continued to release music throughout the ’90s and had a decently successful movie career. In 1997, she starred in ABC’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, which premiered with very high ratings.

Since then, she has been seen on Dancing with the Stars and has made her debut on Broadway in the hit musical Chicago. Although, she hasn’t done much to bring her back into the mainstream, and she hardly acts in movies or TV anymore.

2 Freddie Prinze Jr.

     Miramax

Freddie Prinze Jr. was another young star that was seen all over the ’90s teen movie scene. Much like co-star Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze Jr. got his breakthrough moment in I Know What You Did Last Summer. He followed that up with the sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. He ended the decade by starring in the teen comedy She’s All That, which was spoofed in the 2001 movie Not Another Teen Movie and inspired the Netflix remake He’s All That.

Going into the next decade, he had some flops at the start. He did find some success with the two live-action Scooby-Doo movies and guest appearances on shows like Friends and George Lopez. He even had his own short-lived sitcom, Freddie. When that was canceled after only one season, he did not act in many projects. However, he has done extensive voice-over work in the last decade or so for video games and the animated show Robot Chicken. He did, however, just release a new Netflix Christmas movie with Aimee Garcia that you can watch.

1 Skeet Ulrich

     Dimension Films

Younger audiences may recognize him from Riverdale, but older audiences remember him best as Billy Loomis from Scream. He got his break in 1996 when he starred opposite Winona Ryder in Boys, which he then followed up with The Craft and Wes Craven’s Scream. He was also in As Good as It Gets which starred Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, and Greg Kinnear.

Skeet Ulrich hasn’t disappeared from the spotlight totally as he still acts. He was in Riverdale as mentioned above, he recently reprised his role as Billy Loomis in last year’s fifth Scream film, and frequently lends his voice to Robot Chicken. Nevertheless, he is not in the public eye nearly as much as he was in his ’90s heartthrob days.