Cast Of A Cinderella Story: Where Are They Now?

Published on March 24, 2016. Updated July 13, 2020

The tale of “Cinderella” has been told time and time again, but it got one of its best teen romantic comedy re-tellings back in 2004 with Mark Rosman’s A Cinderella Story. The film was an instant hit with young audiences thanks to excellent casting which included Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray, as well as hilarious veterans stars such as Regina King and Jennifer Coolidge. While it got negative reviews from critics, it ended up making almost $71 million worldwide, well above the $20 million budget, and garnering three sequels, none of which lived up to the first. Since it has incredibly been 14 years since the movie premiered, now is a great time to take a look at how far the cast has come since.

9. Simon Helberg

Back in 2004, Simon Helberg was still up and coming and trying to find his way in acting and following roles in Van Wilder: Party Liason and Old School. He showed up in A Cinderella Story as Terry, a high school friend in love with Sam Montgomery (Hilary Duff). Now, however, many forget everything that came in Helberg’s career before as he stole the show as one of the stars of the hit series The Big Bang Theory, playing Howard Wolowitz since the series began in 2007. Thanks to the success of the show, Helberg has only had a few acting credits along with it, including lending his voice to the animated series Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. In 2007 he married his wife Jocelyn Towne with whom he shares children, Adeline and Wilder.

Photo by Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock

8. Andrea Avery

For A Cinderella Story, Andrea Avery starred as one of he mean stepsisters, Gabriella. Along with appearing in the short film Soul to Take, two episodes of The Division, and The First Daughter and Muse, that is all there is to Avery’s acting career. She seemingly stepped back to focus on activism and also published a children’s book The Feathers of Vaceilia in order to raise awareness of modern day slavery for youth. She married her husband on March 17, 2012 and the pair have welcomed two children together.

7. Madeline Zima

Actress Madeline Zima took on the role of the other mean stepsister Brianna, and has had more success with her acting since. Prior to starring in A Cinderella Story, Zima was well known for her role in The Nanny from 1993-1999, and afterwards landed roles in the film The Collector and in two major series, Californication as Mia Lewis and Heroes as Gretchen Berg. She has appeared in an episode of The Vampire Diaries as well as Grimm, and in 2014 won the Rising Star Award at the LA Femme International Film Festival.

Photo by Eric Charbonneau/REX

6. Regina King

Regina King is a very well known actress and a great addition to the cast of A Cinderella Story as Sam’s “fairy godmother” Rhonda. She has had tons of success in her career following the role, including parts in Ray, Miss Congeniality 2, 24, Southland, Shameless, The Leftovers, American Crime and a recurring role on The Big Bang Theory as Janine Davis. In 2007 she and her husband of ten years, Ian Alexander Sr., divorced and she went on to date The Cosby Show star Malcolm Jamal-Warner for two years before they split in 2013.

Photo By: Dee Cercone/Everett Collection

5. Julie Gonzalo

Julie Gonzalo got a break in her acting career with some of her first roles in Freaky Friday opposite Lindsay Lohan and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, before she landed a starring role A Cinderella Story as Shelby. She went on to land parts in films like Christmas with the Kranks and Must Love Dogs, and her big break came as Parker Lee in Veronica Mars. Gonzalo has recently starred on the new series Dallas and appeared opposite former One Tree Hill star James Lafferty in the indie film Waffle Street. Most recently she appeared in episodes of popular series including Grey’s Anatomy and Lucifer.

Photo by REX/Rob Latour

4. Dan Byrd

Dan Byrd’s first major movie role came as Carter Farrell, best friend to Duff’s Sam in A Cinderella Story. He has gone on to appear in many more notable projects such as The Hills Have Eyes, Aliens in America and Heroes. Byrd is also widely known for starring in 2010’s hilarious teen romantic-comedy Easy A alongside Emma Stone. He also starred in Cougar Town from 2009-2015 as Travis Cobb, and Sisters alongside Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. He has more recently turned to television acting, appearing in shows such as Scandal, The Good Doctor, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Photo By: Gregorio T. Binuya/Everett Collection

3. Jennifer Coolidge

Jennifer Coolidge never backs down from a good role and always gives it her all which has led to a fantastic career including the part of the “evil stepmother” Fiona in A Cinderella Story. Her big break of course came as Stifler’s mom in American Pie in 1999 followed by several other big name roles in films like Legally Blonde and the American Pie sequels. Since A Cinderella Story, she went on to star in the short lived series Joey as well as The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Gravity Falls. She has had a recurring role on the comedy 2 Broke Girls, and as always keeps her private life private, but did admit in 2012 she was dating someone much younger than her.

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2. Chad Michael Murray

Chad Michael Murray took on the starring role of Austin Ames in A Cinderella Story, just as his hit series One Tree Hill was also taking off. Following the film, he only appeared in a few films such as House of Wax and Home of the Brave while focusing on his OTH role as Lucas Scott. After achieving heartthrob status thanks to the show, his fame faded for a bit after he exited the series in 2012, but has recently picked back up thanks to roles in Chosen, Texas Rising, Marvel’s Agent Carter and Sun Records, and most recently made a major teen drama comeback as Edgar Evernever in the hit series Riverdale. After his failed marriage to co-star Sophia Bush, Murray went on to date Kenzie Dalton for eight years, seven of which they were engaged. In late 2014 Murray began dating Chosen co-star Sarah Roemer and in January 2015 it was confirmed the two had quietly married and were expecting their first child. They welcomed a son on May 31, 2015 and in March 2017 welcomed their second child, a daughter.

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1. Hilary Duff

Perhaps in 12 years the most has changed for A Cinderella Story‘s star Hilary Duff who played “Cinderella” Sam Montgomery. The role came right on the heels of the last episode of her show Lizzie McGuire and was followed by roles in similar movies such as The Perfect Man and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Duff continued acting and in 2009 appeared on the hit series Gossip Girl for nine episodes, but for the most part she stepped back from the spotlight after marrying Mike Comrie in August 2010 and welcoming their son Luca in 2012. Duff and Comrie then announced their split in January 2014. Later that same year, Duff experienced a career resurgence as she released new music and signed on to star in Younger, her first starring television role since Lizzie McGuire ten years earlier. Younger has had a great reception, and Duff is back to balancing her work and home life, which has included welcoming daughter Banks in October 2018 with her fiance Matthew Koma.

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