Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Vicki Newman

Where Hollywood's glamorous 90s leading ladies are now as Bridget Fonda breaks cover

The glitz and glamour of Hollywood isn't for everybody.

While some thrive in the industry, some decide to turn their backs on it after realising fame isn't all they thought it would be.

Bridget Fonda, 58, was recently spotted for the first time in 12 years after giving up fame for a quieter life with her husband Danny Elfman and their son Oliver, 17.

But what happened to the other glamorous leading ladies who ruled Hollywood at the height of their careers?

Winona Ryder

Edward Scissorhands star Winona Ryder landed her first credited role in film Lucas at the age of 15.

But it was her portrayal of Lydia in 1988's Beetlejuice that really propelled her to huge fame.

The 50-year-old went on to make some seriously big movies, including Heathers, Little Women and Girl, Interrupted.

Winona in 1989 (Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Winona in 2020 (Getty Images)

Winona has been a staple in the industry for decades and has had some famous relationships too.

The actress dated Johnny Depp after they met on the set of Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands, and they remain close despite their split years ago with her recently speaking out to support him in his failed libel case against The Sun.

Winona is still as big a star as ever, most recently starring in Netflix smash hit Stranger Things as Joyce Byers, the mum of young Will Byers who goes mysteriously missing from his small town.

She also has one upcoming credit in a mystery thriller called The Cow, which is currently in post-production.

Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman has been acting since 1984 when she provided a voice for the English version of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Before long, she was making multiple movies a year and became one of the biggest stars of her generation.

The 51-year-old has been in some pretty iconic movie roles and worked with the biggest directors around.

She was Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and returned to work with the director years later to portray The Bride in Kill Bill.

Uma in the early 90s (Sygma via Getty Images)
Uma in 2021 (Getty Images)

She's also well known for being Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin.

Just like Winona, Uma is still incredibly active in the industry and actually has two movies and two TV series on the go right now.

She plays Katherine in upcoming series Suspicion and is set to star in movie Hollywood Stargirl this year.

She's also currently filming TV series Super Pumped and is due to begin work on movie Tau Ceti Four, which is currently in pre-production.

Uma also recently celebrated her daughter Maya Hawke, who she shares with ex-husband Ethan Hawke, as she posed for the cover of Elle magazine.

Sharing a picture of the cover on Instagram, Uma wrote: "Beloved Baby Maya, all grown up! Brava sweetness!"

Liv Tyler

Liv Tyler was perhaps destined to be famous, being born into showbiz thanks to her dad, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.

The father and daughter even teamed up when he provided the soundtrack I Don't Want To Miss A Thing for her movie Armageddon, which she starred in alongside Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis.

Liv in 1997 (Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Liv in 2020 (ABC via Getty Images)

The 44-year-old actually broke into the industry by appearing in her dad's music video for song Amazing in 1993.

She also showed up in the music videos for Crazy and Big Ones You Can Look At.

Her first credited acting job came in 1994's Silent Fall and she went on to become a regular on the big screen.

Liv is known for playing Arwen in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Bruce Banner's love interest Betty in The Incredible Hulk.

The actress hasn't worked in a couple of years, with her last starring as Michelle in TV series 9-1-1: Lone Star in 2020.

Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore started acting in 1978 when she was just three years old, and she landed her first major role just a couple years later in 1982's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Playing Elliott's adorable little sister Gertie, she quickly became a regular on Hollywood movie sets.

The 46-year-old was also credited with the success of Scream in 1996.

Drew in ET (NBC via Getty Images)
Drew in 2021 (FilmMagic,)

She was originally lined up to play main character Sidney Prescott in the horror flick, but it was her idea to play Casey Becker instead.

Casey famously dies in the opening sequence of the movie, which caused a huge stir in Hollywood, with fans shocked to see such a huge star killed off so early in a movie.

We also know her from Adam Sandler movies The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates, romcom Never Been Kissed and Netflix zombie show Santa Clarita Diet.

She last appeared - playing herself - in Netflix festive movie A Castle for Christmas last year.

And she's also been busy hosting her own CBS talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show.

Christina Ricci

Christina Ricci was another of Hollywood's leading ladies who entered the industry at a very young age.

She of course played Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Kat in Casper, but she'd actually made her debut in 1990 in TV series H.E.L.P.

The 41-year-old, who recently married beau Mark Hampton and welcomed her second child - daughter Cleopatra - with him, was a prolific film star in the 90s, regularly appearing in multiple movies a year.

Christina in 2001 (PA)

She earned credits for big films like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Sleepy Hollow and No Vacancy.

And she's as busy right now as she ever was!

Christina was recently seen in The Matrix Resurrections and in TV series Yellowjackets, and has a string of releases coming soon.

Her film Monstrous is in post-production, while she's also filming Unplugged and The Dresden Sun at the same time.

She also has a film called Can't Stop the Dawn in pre-production.

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Jennifer Love Hewitt is another huge star of the 90s who is still going strong today.

Now 42, she began her career as a child star in 1990, working as both an actress and a singer.

Jennifer in 1997 (Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Jennifer in 2018 (Splash)

She quickly became a household name thanks to her roles in horror I Know What You Did Last Summer, TV show Party of Five and comedy flick Heartbreakers. Her show Ghost Whisperer ran for five years too.

Jennifer is still acting, most recently appearing in TV series 9-1-1.

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Jennifer's I Know What You Did Last Summer co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar is best known for playing Buffy Summers in long-running TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Now 44 and married to her Scooby-Doo co-strar Freddie Prinze Jr, Sarah first entered showbiz in 1981 when she starred in a Burger King commercial.

After a string of appearances in ads for the fast food chain, Sarah started landing TV movies and small uncredited roles in films before soon becoming a regular face on the television.

Sarah in Buffy (Publicity Picture)
Sarah in 2021 (Getty Images)

She proved a big hit in films like Scream 2, Cruel Intentions and The Grudge.

Sarah appeared as herself in an episode of The Big Bang Theory in 2019, and last year provided the voice for Teela in TV series Masters of the Universe: Revelation.

It's also been announced that she'll star in upcoming series Hot Pink.

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz took Hollywood by storm when she starred as Jim Carrey's sexy love interest Tina in 1994's The Mask.

It was her first ever acting role, but far from her last one.

Cameron in 1994 (Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Cameron in 2020 (Getty Images for World of Wonder)

Cameron, now 49, landed a string of major roles in the likes of My Best Friend's Wedding, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, There's Something About Mary, and Charlie's Angels.

Throughout the nineties and noughties, Cameron seemed to be everywhere you looked, from providing the voice of Princess Fiona in Shrek to becoming part of people's festive celebrations in movie The Holiday.

She flexed her comedy muscles in the likes of The Sweetest Thing, Bad Teacher and Sex Tape, and has a whopping 57 credits to her name, although she seems to have taken a step back from the limelight more recently.

Her last movie role was 2014's Annie when she played Miss Hannigan, and she also appeared in video short Boss Bitch Fight Challenge in 2020.

Jennifer Connelly

Jennifer Connelly 's first acting role was actually in Duran Duran's Union of the Snake music video when she was 13-years-old.

And it was just one year later that she landed her first big role, playing Young Deborah in Once Upon a Time in America.

Jennifer in Labyrinth (Henson Associates, Inc / Lucasfilm Ltd.)
Jennifer in 2019 (AFP/Getty Images)

She famously starred opposite David Bowie in 1986's Labyrinth, and went on to make dozens of movies, including Hulk, The Day the Earth Stood Still and He's Just Not That Into You.

Like many leading ladies of the era, Jennifer is also still acting today.

She most recently appeared in TV show Snowpiercer, playing Melanie from 2020 to 2021.

And this year, she'll be seen in long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick as Penny.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.