What The Cast Of Moesha Looks Like Today

While the '80s took a massive step toward making Black-centric sitcoms a part of prime-time television, the '90s became its well-known successor, introducing us to several cult classics we all still adore. With shows like "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Martin" making their exit, UPN — a network formerly built around white viewership — devised a plan to expand its audience. Though UPN later became home to black sitcoms, one comedy, in particular, led the pack and allowed other shows to follow suit. In 1996, "Moesha" premiered on the network and quickly became its most popular franchise.

Its success was primarily due to Brandy Norwood's portrayal of a black teenager navigating life in Los Angeles, California. According to co-creator Vida Spears, there wasn't enough representation of young black women on television. Although Brandy was a successful music artist at the time, she told People that she was grateful to have been a pillar of what young black women modeled themselves after. "It was such a fun and cool experience," she revealed. "And to play such a character that touched so many black girls ... when I look back, it's like, 'Whoa' — you know — 'What a great feeling. I could share this with my daughter.'" Throughout its five-year run, "Moesha" gave us several memorable characters alongside a successful spinoff. What's more notable, however, is what each cast member did following the show's demise. From overcoming depression to becoming well-known humanitarians, here is what the cast of "Moesha" looks like today!

In "Moesha," Countess Vaughn portrayed the bright-eyed Kim Parker. As Moesha's best friend, we saw Vaughn successfully bring life to the well-needed secondary character. So much so that it caused the network to launch a spinoff titled "The Parkers," which was heavily based around Kim and her mother, Nikki Parker. From starring in over 100 episodes, Vaughn went on to find work in several projects ranging from "Cuts" to "According to Him + Her."

Like some of her acting counterparts, Vaughn found herself on reality television. During her time on "Hollywood Divas," it was revealed that despite her success, she had several issues she was dealing with behind closed doors. In an episode of "Hollywood Divas," Vaughn shared that she had an abortion during her run on "The Parkers" (via BET). This, coupled with an ongoing battle with vitiligo, a thyroid disorder, and a severe scalp infection, led Vaughn to struggle with her self-image. Luckily, Vaughn appeared to have overcome those challenges. In addition to becoming a dedicated mother, Vaughn underwent a weight loss procedure in 2015. "I've always been honest about everything. I wanted to do a mommy makeover. I had done it after my oldest child," she told People (via In Touch Weekly). "I really needed to just treat myself, and I'm happy about it!" In 2023, Vaughn made her acting return, starring alongside Shoniqua Shandai in an episode of "Harlem."

Sheryl Lee Ralph's success as an actor spans far before playing Dee Mitchell in "Moesha." From starring in "Search for Tomorrow," Ralph's career as an actor only continued to flourish as she was able to book roles in "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" and "White Man's Burden." After "Moesha," Ralph kept herself busy each year, starring in shows like "Hannah Montana" and "House of Payne," while also picking up voice acting credits in a range of DC animated cartoons like "Static Shock" and "Young Justice."

Although Ralph was able to find consistent work over the years, it wouldn't be until 2021 that she would, yet again, strike sitcom gold. As of 2023, Ralph is widely known as Barbara Howard in Quinta Brunson's "Abbott Elementary." Aside from "Moesha," her performance as the stern kindergarten teacher was recognized by several organizations like the Critics Choice and Black Reel Awards. Most notable, however, was Ralph's Primetime Emmy win in 2022, where she gave a tear-jerking speech regarding her journey as an actor. When speaking about her career with Access Hollywood, she expressed those similar feelings. "A young person looked at me and they said, 'Ms. Ralph. Do you realize that you have had a beautiful crescendo in your career?'" she recalled. "And I said, 'Yes, child! Yes, I do!'"

Despite having an interest in dancing and music, Marcus T. Paulk became a well-known child actor in the '90s. From dancing on the streets of Venice Beach, Paulk used his passion for performing to land roles in sitcoms like "The Sinbad Show" and "Martin." Although Paulk is best known for playing the immature Myles Mitchell in "Moesha," he didn't allow that to remain his identity after the show's demise. 

From starring alongside Bow Wow in "Roll Bounce" to reprising his role as Myron in "The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder" in 2022, it seemed that Paulk showed no signs of slowing down his acting pursuits. Similar to Ray J, however, Paulk's focus shifted to entrepreneurship. In 2017, he announced that his modeling agency, VVS Models, is open for business. Despite the lack of success during the first year, Paulk posted to Facebook a year later to announce the agency's return. "All Models go follow @vvsmodels. I will be relaunching my modeling company in the beginning of the year," he wrote. "Turn on the notifications. I will be posting castings and new gigs there. ... Let's get it, ladies." As of 2023, Paulk has been able to keep his company afloat and garner some credible feats in the process. According to the company's promotional Instagram post, VVS models have worked with several artists ranging from Omarion and Snoop Dogg to newer acts such as Wiz Khalifa and Future.

From getting his start in the rap collective Onyx, Fredro Starr — or Fred Lee Scruggs Jr. — slowly became a notable acting figure partly due to his portrayal of Quinton 'Q' Brooks in "Moesha." After introducing his character, fans quickly fell in love with his bad-boy mystique. So much so that his popularity on the show eventually propelled him into other projects such as "Show Stoppers," "A Day in the Life," "The Eddie Black Story," and "Save the Last Dance." According to an interview with "The OG Hour," his interest in acting was shaped by the freedom directors gave him to fuse his love of hip-hop into his fictional characters. "Think about it. I was on prime-time television saying, 'What up, son? What up, shordy?'" he stated. "That had to get the clearance from the higher-ups ... it was the corporate decision for me to say those words and bring Hip-Hop to the TV."

Though Fredro Starr continued to pursue his acting career, the New York native never forgot about his first love. As a solo act, Fredro Starr released numerous full-length albums ranging from "Firestarr" to "Jazz" since his departure from "Moesha." Under his rap collective, he and long-time member Sticky Fingaz have continued to keep their name alive through live performances and appearances. As of 2023, you can find the R&B legend updating his dedicated followers on upcoming shows, singles, and other collaborative ventures.

Although most fans remember Shar Jackson's portrayal of Monique in the "Good Burger" movie, her role as serial dater Niecy Jackson in "Moesha" is rarely ignored as it proved to be her breakout gig. The success of the show, alongside her character, allowed her to reprise her role in the spinoff, "The Parkers," as well as crossover into other sitcoms like "Clueless" and "Girlfriends." After "Moesha," Jackson continued to rack up acting credits year by year for projects such as "The Bernie Mac Show" and "According to Him + Her."

As a mother of four, her career wasn't always free from public drama. While a strenuous relationship with Kevin Federline ultimately left her personal life in shambles, Jackson appears to be in a better place. In 2020, Tracy Clayton had the opportunity to sit with the actor to reflect on her illustrious career for Netflix's "Strong Black Legends." In doing so, Jackson reminisced on the success of "Moesha" and its impact. "I'm so proud of that show," she stated. "Everything we did was so groundbreaking, and I didn't realize it until I became an adult." The acting veteran continued to find work as an actor for "Shameless" and "A Polished Soul." As of 2023, you can find Jackson updating her Instagram followers on her latest ventures ranging from business seminars to attending the Cirque Du Soleil.