'90s Sitcom Stars Who Disappeared From Hollywood

Sitcoms are a major thread in the fabric of the television industry. They've provided millions with joy and entertainment since their inception, and they've had an indelible impact on culture in America and across the globe. They've also been responsible for jump-starting the careers of many actors. John Krasinski became famous because of "The Office." Quinta Brunson is now a household name thanks to "Abbott Elementary." Even a little-known 1980s sitcom gave Juliette Lewis her big showbiz break. Sitcoms are a powerful piece of the entertainment industry.

But not everyone who's been on a sitcom has had the same path as the Krasinskis and the Brunsons and Lewises of the world. While some sitcoms have propelled entire casts into superstardom (take "Friends" and "Seinfeld," for instance), others have birthed stars that, for various reasons, shone bright for a bit but ultimately fizzled out. Every decade of television history has left us with TV stars that we haven't seen since their sitcoms ended. Take a closer look at the '90s sitcom stars who disappeared from Hollywood.

If you ask a certain cohort of millennial women, they'll tell you that Jonathan Taylor Thomas was a total babe in the '90s. Then a child actor, Thomas starred opposite Tim Allen in the hit sitcom "Home Improvement" for nearly 180 episodes. Thomas kept busy with other projects, too, voicing Young Simba in "The Lion King," for example. "I didn't expect, ever in a million years, to be doing television and movies," Thomas said in an interview with People at the time. I had to kind of go, 'Oops! Time to be Randy' ... 'Oops! Time to be Simba' ... You have to prepare yourself to become this totally different person. I mean, we're not lions, right?" the actor said of managing both projects at the same time.

After ABC canceled "Home Improvement," Thomas kept acting for a few years, finding one-off roles in TV series like "Ally McBeal," "Smallville," and "Veronica Mars." However, aside from a few sporadic credits (including a reunion with Allen for four episodes of his 2010s sitcom "Last Man Standing"), Thomas quit acting in the mid-2000s. After leaving Hollywood, Thomas pursued an education, studying at Harvard, Columbia, and St. Andrew's University in Scotland. "I'd been going nonstop since I was 8 years old. I wanted to go to school, to travel, and have a bit of a break. To sit in a big library amongst books and students, that was pretty cool. It was a novel experience for me," Thomas told People in a 2013 interview. These days, Thomas is back in Los Angeles, and while he does have aspirations of writing and directing (he did direct a few episodes of "Last Man Standing"), he has no intention of getting in front of the camera again.

What has Heidi Swedberg been doing since playing Susan on "Seinfeld?" The '90s star made a name for herself by popping up in episodes throughout nearly the entirety of one of the most popular sitcoms of the decade, but those more familiar with 2000s television may recognize her from her appearances in "Gilmore Girls," "ER," and even "Wizards of Waverly Place." But after playing a role in one episode of "Hawthorne" in 2010, Swedberg left Hollywood. As the former actor shared in an essay she wrote for Ukulele, a combination of things led to her exit. "Gradually, over time, I found myself succeeding against all odds — at being miserable. Plus, I had made the mistake of turning 30. Few actresses' careers survive this unpardonable gaffe," Swedberg wrote.

After Swedberg left Hollywood, she became a mother, and she eventually reacquainted herself with the ukulele, an instrument she first learned to play as a child. Since rediscovering her passion for music, Swedberg has devoted her life to sharing her talent. She teaches others how to play the ukulele, and she entertains at parties, schools, museums, and other places and events. And the artist doesn't seem to miss her Hollywood days at all. "The damn ukulele came back into my life, and after that it was all over. I no longer cared about being important or impressive. I didn't even care that I wasn't the best. I began to have fun," Swedberg said.

Karyn Parsons made a name for herself in the '90s as one of the stars of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Parsons played Hilary Banks, the daughter of a wealthy attorney and the ultimate fashionista. Parsons found roles in some other successful projects in the '90s, too, including the movie "Major Payne" and the shows "Blossom" and "Melrose Place." After "Fresh Prince" ended, though, Parsons struggled to find work in Hollywood. The actor co-created and starred in the sitcom "Lush Life," but the series only lasted seven episodes before getting canceled.

As time went on, it became harder and harder for Parsons to find work. "Not that I expected people to know who I was, but even when I'd try to tell casting directors what I'd done before, they would have no idea. I started feeling really stupid trying to get them to know what 'Fresh Prince' was and who I was on it. It was embarrassing. I'd feel like a moron, like, 'Oh, it was this show in the '90s,'" Parsons told Vice. 

Eventually, Parsons left Hollywood for New York. She continued acting for a few years, but after getting married and having children, she turned her attention to writing. Parsons wrote some books, including the novel "How High the Moon," and she started a nonprofit organization called Sweet Blackberry, which educates children about unsung Black heroes. Though she's not a Hollywood star anymore, Parsons has still acted some since the early 2000s, most notably in the 2020 film "Sweet Thing." She's also still in touch with her "Fresh Prince" co-stars, and she's open to a reunion project of some sort.

Vonda Shepard's acting career was brief but iconic. Her first professional acting credit was "Ally McBeal," the '90s sitcom she starred in alongside Calista Flockhart. Shepard was on nearly every episode of the series, and the only other bit of professional acting she did after that was about seven years later when she had a role on two episodes of "State of the Union." Before, between, and after her acting gigs, Shepard focused on music, which is her true passion. "I have a need to write and express myself through music," Shepard, who wrote the "Ally McBeal" theme song, said in an interview with The Guide.

Shepard has been quite successful as a musician. She's written and recorded multiple albums and gone on several tours around the world. And the musician doesn't want to stop. "I had an epiphany during the pandemic: I am not ready to retire. You know, my guitar player is 73. My bass player is a cancer survivor, and he's 60-something. And we're just going to go out there and kick some ass," Shepard said in an interview with Variety. Although music is her primary focus, Shepard still has love for her time spent on TV. "['Ally McBeal'] was a really fun experience and opened the door for me in so many ways." She still performs the "Ally McBeal" theme song at her concerts, too. "It's pretty much the last song in my set all the time, and I'm happy to do it, because I wrote it, and because people just jump out of their seats," Shepard told Yahoo! Entertainment.

For some people, acting is just a fun adventure they had when they were young. Josh Saviano is one such person. As a teenager, Saviano starred as Paul Pfeiffer in "The Wonder Years," a popular sitcom that began in the late '80s and finished airing in the early '90s. Saviano racked up three other professional screen acting credits during that time period (excluding commercials) — "The Wrong Guys," an episode of "The Ray Bradbury Theater," and "Camp Cucamonga" — and briefly acted on Broadway. After wrapping "The Wonder Years," Saviano left Hollywood and pursued a career as an attorney. "I loved performing. I still do. Get me in a room full of people and I just want to connect with them, and I want to join them on their daily journey. That to me is performing, and I love that. But the [entertainment] industry is a tough industry, particularly as a kid," Saviano said of his exit from Hollywood on an episode of the podcast "Hsu United."

These days, Saviano uses both his background in law and in entertainment to help others. The former actor co-founded Spotlight Advisory Group, a business that provides a variety of services, including personal branding and social media management. Saviano has been instrumental in the business of influencer marketing, too. And although Saviano left Hollywood after "The Wonder Years," he did make a return in the 2010s when he played, fittingly, an attorney on a few episodes of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

Jason Zimbler had a career that most actors dream of before he had even become an adult. The child star worked on two successful TV series, the soap opera "The Edge of Night" and the sitcom "Clarissa Explains It All," the latter of which made him a recognizable figure in the '90s. After the series ended, Zimbler continued acting, focusing on the stage, but he also pursued an education, eventually earning degrees from Columbia SIPA, Brooklyn College, and the University of Notre Dame. The former actor eventually found his way back to Hollywood, though in a completely different fashion — he got a job as a software designer for HBO. "I don't know that I'd want to be doing acting now; I wouldn't want to ride that audition roller coaster," Zimbler said in an interview with Mashable.

In recent years, Zimbler has found a totally different passion. The former actor began working for CalStart, a clean transportation nonprofit organization. Zimbler is particularly interested in electric vehicles, and he educates others working in the sector. "The scale of battery production has been going up dramatically. With economies of scale, you're getting cheaper and cheaper batteries, and the batteries are the most expensive component in the EV. So as batteries are getting lower cost, we're getting a future of cheaper EVs," Zimbler shared in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.

The role of Brighton Sheffield on "The Nanny" was perfectly cast. Benjamin Salisbury played the witty middle child, becoming an adult in front of America as the show ran over the entirety of his teen years. Salisbury did find work on other projects while "The Nanny" was airing, most of which was voice-over work, as well as the Disney film "D3: The Mighty Ducks." But after the hit sitcom ended, Salisbury found himself on just a few more sets before leaving screen acting for good.

Salisbury didn't totally leave Hollywood, though. The child star got a job with Universal Studios in 2000 as a Studio Tour Guide. He balanced the job with college, returning each summer, then joining the staff full time after graduating with a broadcast journalism degree. The former actor shuffled through various positions with Universal Studios before getting the coveted position of senior director of attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood. "I really cared about the Studio Tour Guides and loved the idea that I could help lead them. When I look back, I would say being a Studio Tour Guide is one of the best jobs ever to have," Salisbury told NBCUniversal of his work at the studios. "You get to engage with guests, share history about the Studio, and work at doing something that you love." Salisbury also noted that he's made many close friends through his work at Universal Studios, and he met his wife there.

Brandon Call was a very successful child actor. His career began in the late '80s, with roles in series like "The Charmings," "Magnum, P.I.," and "Baywatch" on his resume. But life got even larger for Call in the '90s when he joined the cast of "Step by Step," a popular sitcom of the decade led by Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Sommers. Throughout his decade in Hollywood, Call racked up over 30 professional acting credits, but "Step by Step" was ultimately his final bit of work in Tinseltown because a horrific incident led him to leave fame behind.

In September of 1996, Call was shot six times in a drive-by shooting. The man who shot him was found guilty of premeditated murder, among other charges, but the act changed Call. On an episode of "Pod Meets World," Call's former co-star Christine Lakin described the events of the shooting, noting that Call drove himself to a police station after being shot and was taken to UCLA Medical Center for treatment. Lakin said Call was fortunate to have survived. The former co-star also believes that the incident is what prompted Call to leave Hollywood. "[T]hat will change you as a person, a traumatic event like that. I feel like he just really had no interest in being in the spotlight anymore," Lakin said. Call still has love for '90s sitcoms, though. In 2024, the former child star attended 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut.

Sabrina Le Beauf had a flourishing acting career in the '80s and '90s, finding work in movies and episodes of television shows. In the latter decade, she ended her run as Sondra Huxtable in the iconic sitcom "The Cosby Show." And what happened to Sondra Huxtable after the show was over? Le Beauf continued working as a creative in multiple forms. The former sitcom star continued acting some, mostly with the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., though also on-screen and in voice-over. But her primary focus shifted to interior design.

After "The Cosby Show" ended, Le Beauf earned a degree in interior design from UCLA, and after graduation, she began working with wealthy clients. In an interview with People, Le Beauf noted how fulfilling her interior design work is. "Whatever part of the brain and the heart that acting feeds in me, design does the same thing. You walk into an empty home and little by little you put it together and it comes to life, just the way you build a character. Once it's there and people really like it, it's the same as the applause you get as an actor," she said.

Melanie Wilson was another recognizable sitcom star from the '90s who started her career in the '80s. The former actor had roles on series like "The A-Team" and "Hollywood Beat" before landing a spot on "Perfect Strangers," a sitcom that ended in the early '90s. Wilson continued working as an actor for a bit after "Perfect Strangers" ended, finding roles on "Family Matters" and "Step by Step," among other projects. Eventually, though, Wilson stepped away from on-screen work and took up a career as a unit publicist for television projects. Wilson only had two screen acting credits in the 2000s, "Facing the Enemy" in 2001 and "Prayers for Bobby" in 2009.

Though "Perfect Strangers" didn't leave Wilson with a lasting acting career, it did give her an eternal friendship. As her former co-star Rebeca Arthur shared in an interview, "Melanie and I were, and still are, very close. She is one of my dearest friends. We leaned on each other through those years of standing behind a door waiting to knock and we are still leaning on each other in life!"