Cast Of Now And Then: Where Are They Now?

In the 1995 movie Now and Then, four childhood friends reunite as adults and reminisce about a summer they spent together 25 years earlier. At the time, some of these young actors were toted as hot up-and-comers and went on to lead red-hot careers. In fact, the group of budding stars shared a nomination for Best Performances by a Young Ensemble that year. Now, looking back, the cast is stacked with accomplished actors, but at the time many of them were just beginning their careers. It’s been 20 years since the film was made; if they were to reunite now, what would they have to talk about?

10. Melanie Griffith

Griffith’s career cooled down after playing the grown-up version of Teeny in Now And Then. She appeared in small roles and voice parts peppered through the 2000s, with only a few larger roles in recent years. Griffith debuted on Broadway in 2003, playing the part of Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago, and performed again in 2012 in the play No Way Around but Through before returning to television. Griffith appeared on the TV drama, Nip/Tuck in 2010 and played a recurring role on the show Hawaii Five-0 in 2014, but has otherwise kept a lower profile than her Now And Then counterparts. Griffith married actor, Antonio Banderas in 1996, but the couple divorced in 2014.

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9. Rita Wilson

Wilson, who played Chrissy as an adult, has forged a successful career having performed on Broadway, television and working both, in front of and behind the camera.

In recent years, Wilson has been busy with recurring roles in TV shows, though her hallmark work has been as a producer and Broadway performer. Wilson performed the role of Roxie Hart from June to August 2006 in the Broadway musical, Chicago and performed in the funeral comedy Fish In The Dark, which closed in July 2015. The Sleepless In Seattle star produced the hits, Mama Mia! in 2008, as well the indie film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which went on to become the fifth-highest grossing film of 2002 and the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time. Nothing could slow Wilson down — even when she faced troubled waters with her health. In April 2015, Wilson announced that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had undergone a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. She went through the operations with her longtime husband Tom Hanks by her side. After taking one month off, Wilson returned to her role in Fish in the Dark until it closed. Wilson is currently producing My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, which is set to release in 2016.

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8. Rosie O’Donnell

The same year she starred in Now and Then as Roberta Martin’s adult self, O’Donnell penned a deal to host her own talk show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Nicknamed “The Queen of Nice,” O’Donnell’s show ran for six seasons from 1996 to 2002 and earned the actress and comedian two Emmy awards. In 2002, O’Donnell came out publicly as a lesbian, technically for the second time, though when asked by a reporter ten years earlier, the magazine editor cut her admission from the story. O’Donnell has continued to make occasional appearances in film and television over the last two decades and is rumored to star in an upcoming film called Forsaking All Others.

Unfortunately, O’Donnell is having her fair share of heartbreak as well. She announced she is divorcing her second wife, Michelle Rounds, and is struggling with her adopted daughter in the public eye. Seventeen-year-old Chelsea went missing earlier this past August and was discovered hiding in a 25-year-old man’s attic who she met on Tinder. This year, O’Donnell chose to leave ABC’s talk show, The View, to focus on her personal life.

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7. Demi Moore

Moore has been active both in her personal life and in the public eye, first hitting rocky waters shortly after the 1995 film. In 1997, Moore and Bruce Willis separated, and then finalized their divorce in 2000, after more than a decade together. The separation dovetailed with the passing of her mother, who had brain cancer. Moore took a step back from acting, and didn’t make her return to the big screen until 2003, when she played Madison Lee in Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle. Moore worked behind the scenes instead, producing the movie, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and its sequels, The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Goldmember (2002).

From 2003 until their divorce in 2012, Moore was paired with actor Ashton Kutcher. Together they launched The Demi and Ashton Foundation, a non-profit organization directed towards fighting child sexual slavery. The foundation is now called Thorn and has the same message. After a few quiet years, Moore will appear on-screen for the first time since 2013 in two new films this year: Forsaken and Wild Oats.

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6. Christina Ricci

Ricci, who played the group’s tomboy, Roberta Martin as a youngster, has gone on to lead a star-studded career in both film and television, collecting accolades along the way. Ricci has performed recurring roles in the shows Ally McBeal, Pan Am and The Good wife, and leading roles in movies such as Alice In Wonderland and Monster. Ricci won an Emmy for her appearance on Grey’s Anatomy, and a Golden Globe for her work in The Opposite Sex. Ricci will appear in a new film called Mother’s Day, scheduled to release in 2016 as well as the TV movie, Zelda.

Ricci also leads a fulfilling personal life as a wife, mother and advocate. Ricci married James Heerdegen in 2013 and gave birth to their son the following summer. She is also the national spokesperson for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).

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5. Thora Birch

In Now and Then, Birch played rich girl, childhood version of Teeny, and was considered one of the most promising actresses of the ensemble. Birch starred in American Beauty (which won five Oscars) and Ghost World, which pointed Birch toward the stars by 2001. Birch’s career was hot, but short-lived. She was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2001, then was fired from the set of Dracula in 2010, went quiet for two years, and then made her last acting performance in 2012.

Birch claims she was partly wiped off the map for her refusal to conform to Hollywood’s beauty ideals for young actresses of the time. She told The Guardian in 2014: “I tried to walk a fine line between being alluring and somewhat glamorous but maintain a strong identity and pursue things that were a little more thoughtful, and I guess nobody really wanted women to do that at that time,” she said. Though, the politically aware and opinionated actress admits that she “pissed a lot of people off” during her career.

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4. Gaby Hoffman

Gaby Hoffmann played Samantha Albertson, who grew up to be Demi Moore’s character. After Now And Then, Hoffman returned to her roots, building a career in theatre before making her way back into television in 2007. She has appeared in Homeland and The Good Wife. This year Hoffman is nominated for two Emmy Awards for her roles in the television series, Transparent and Girls.

Hoffmann and her longtime boyfriend Chris Dapkins welcomed the birth of their baby in November 2014 — and famously ate the placenta.

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3. Ashleigh Aston Moore

Ashleigh Aston Moore played the sheltered and naïve Chrissy as a child. After Now and Then, Moore appeared in a few other movies, but quit acting professionally in 1997. Her last role was a part in a 1997 episode of Touched by an Angel. In 2007, Ashleigh passed away at age 26. Her death has been reported by different sources as the result of “complications from pneumonia and bronchitis,” and as a heroine overdose.

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2. Devon Sawa

Sawa played Scott Wormer, who kisses Roberta Martin in her driveway. Sawa has had a consistent and successful career since his role in Now and Then. He played the character of Stan in the Eminem music video for the song by the same name, played the lead role in the feature film Final Destination, as well as having a recurring role as Owen Elliot on the TV show Nikita. The 35-year-old actor and his wife gave birth to their first boy in January 2014. Despite becoming a new parent, Sawa hasn’t lost steam. We can expect lots of new releases over the next year, including the movies, Life on the Line, Punk’s Dead: SLC Punk 2, The Exorcism of Molly Hartley and the TV movie, Broad Squad.

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1. Rumer Willis

Rumer Willis debuted in the film Now And Then at six years old. Her Hollywood powerhouse parents, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, agreed that she could act with them until she was 18 years old, and that’s exactly what she did before forging her own career. She performed in the movie Hostage with her father, and with her mother in both Now and Then and Striptease. Since then, what hasn’t Rumer done? Her career has been peppered with movie parts, as well as recurring roles in the shows, CSI: New York, Pretty Little Liars and 90210. In 2008 she was named on People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People List. In 2011, Willis was the season’s star model in a high fashion ad campaign for Badgley Mishka. This year, Willis returns to the big screen, playing the part of Dana in the movie The Escort, about a sex-addicted journalist who begins following a Stanford-educated prostitute.