What are they up to now? 2000s celebs who fell off from Hollywood
In the ephemeral world of Hollywood, some people stick around to become household names, while others practically drop off the face of the Earth. Many stars that defined our teenage years have rendered their craft dormant either due to drugs, lack of opportunities or their own accord. Here's a list of celebrities who've abandoned the spotlight and what they’ve been up to:
Brenda Song
"Yay me!" Song, the actress who played the beloved London Tipton on “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," hasn’t engaged in any big-name projects since her time on Disney ended. She was most recently active in 2019, starring in the psychological thriller “Secret Obsession," the comedy film “Changeland” and the Hulu original series “Dollface” in its first season, alongside Kat Dennings and Shay Mitchell.
But Song has recently been in the news for announcing the birth of her first child with her partner, actor Macaulay Culkin, whom she met while filming “Changeland." London is now settling down and having kids — I feel old.
Victoria Justice
Justice is most widely known for starring as Tori Vega in the show “Victorious." Since graduating from Nickelodeon in 2013, Justice has sporadically partaken in projects from movies like “The Outcasts” in 2017 and “Summer Night” in 2019 to guest appearing in several small comedy series.
The actress is more focused on her music career, releasing her first song in seven years titled “Treat Myself” in December 2020. She revealed in an Instagram post that she has written and recorded many songs in the past few years and that there's more to come.
Amanda Bynes
Bynes defined the 2000s coming-of-age moment, starring in classics like “She’s the Man” and “What a Girl Wants." But, after relaying that she would be taking a break from her acting career, Bynes fell into a downward spiral of drug addiction and run-ins with the law, a route akin to many Hollywood stars that went off the rails.
The actress entered rehab back in 2013 after being put on a psychiatric hold, and last year, she spent two months in treatment for mental health issues after celebrating 14 months of sobriety.
Things are truly looking up for Bynes. The actor, who has dreams of working in fashion, graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in 2019 and recently celebrated her 35th birthday with her friends and family.
Jesse McCartney
I literally have “Beautiful Soul” playing in my head while typing this. To refresh your memory, McCartney is the dreamy 2000s heartthrob equipped with shaggy blonde hair that captured many of our 6-year-old hearts.
Most of us know him from guest starring on Disney shows like “Hannah Montana” and “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,” but McCartney had already been in the game for a few years. He started out joining the boy band Dream Street in 1999 and dropped his first solo album “Beautiful Soul” in 2004, going on to release five more.
Despite being active these last few years, the singer is no longer the talk of the town. He released two hit singles, “Better With You” and “Wasted," in 2018 and dropped two new singles last year, “Friends” and “Yours." I hope you enjoy your new music recommendations.
Alicia Silverstone
Silverstone is best known for playing the iconic Cher Horowitz in the cult-classic film “Clueless."
But, despite her immense success, she decided against furthering her film career and went on to become an animal rights activist, publishing a book on veganism titled “The Kind Diet” in 2009. After keeping a low profile for many years, the actress now stars in Netflix’s reboot of “The Baby-Sitters Club,” which is based on a popular book series.
While these celebrities might be, for the most part, out of the spotlight now, they'll definitely always be remembered for the brilliant work they put out and we'll continue to follow their growth outside of the world of fame.
