What Nickelodeon's Biggest Stars Of The '90s Look Like Today

The '90s were quite the time. Grunge was all the rage, but "Clueless" was one of the most popular movies of the decade. Windows 95 and Tamagotchi were both considered mindblowing pieces of technology. Sunglasses were tiny, and jeans were huge. Juxtapositions abounded, but it was all copacetic. The decade was also defined by the emergence of a new television network: Nickelodeon. Although Nickelodeon was founded in the late '70s, it didn't truly hit its stride until the early to mid-'90s, ushering in a plethora of hit TV series, some of which are still airing today (here's looking at you, "SpongeBob SquarePants").

Nickelodeon was a major part of the zeitgeist, and although its content was made with the express purpose of entertaining children, it entertained plenty of adults, too. And with that entertaining programming came dozens of actors who, for better or worse, broke beyond child stardom and became legitimate celebrities at a very young age. For many such actors, that stardom has stuck, and plenty are still working in Hollywood as adults. Here's what Nickelodeon's biggest stars of the '90s look like today.

Lori Beth Denberg is one of the original stars of Nickelodeon live-action programming. She's best known for her work on "All That," bringing to life characters like Miss Fingerly and Connie Muldoon, and playing herself in her most popular recurring sketch, "Vital Information." Denberg also played Connie Muldoon in "Good Burger," the "All That" spin-off film starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell based on the recurring sketch of the same name. After leaving "All That," Denberg played a recurring role on "The Steve Harvey Show" and worked on a few movies before taking about 10 years off from acting. She returned to the screen in the mid-2010s and has been acting steadily since.

Some of Denberg's projects as an adult have been the same projects she worked on as a child actor. In 2020, Denberg returned to Nickelodeon to appear in a few episodes of the "All That" reboot, playing a couple of her former characters. In 2023, Denberg reprised her role of Connie Muldoon another time for the long-awaited "Good Burger" sequel, "Good Burger 2." Of course, Thompson and Mitchell needed to be game for the sequel, but the writers wanted Denberg to make an appearance, too. "When we wrote it, we hoped Lori Beth would do it. We've kept in touch with her over the years. She really did seem game for it because we worked with her too on the 'All That' reboot," writer Kevin Kopelow said in an interview with The Beat.

Since his time as a Nickelodeon star, Kenan Thompson has transformed into a bona fide comedy legend. Thompson started on Nickelodeon as one of the stars of "All That," playing characters such as Pierre Escargot, Randy from "Cooking With Randy and Mandy," and Dexter Reed, the last of which he reprised for the spin-off film "Good Burger." Toward the end of his time on "All That," Thompson starred alongside his co-star and friend Kel Mitchell in the hit series "Kenan & Kel," which ran for four seasons and cemented both actors' Nickelodeon legacies.

In his post-Nickelodeon life, Thompson kept acting, finding work in movies and TV shows before joining the cast of "Saturday Night Live." Thompson started on the show in 2003, and he has since become the longest tenured cast member in the series' history. Thompson has done plenty of other work outside "SNL," but the series continues to be his anchor. And while some may question his decision to stay while most others leave after a few seasons, Thompson knows what he likes about the work. "I am definitely an ensemble-minded individual ... people want to consider me as a glue, great, you know? But I just try to go out there and do my job and, you know, give showcase to these brilliant writers and brilliant minds and all of our departments," he said in an interview with NPR.

Much of Kenan Thompson's success as a child star wouldn't have been possible without the help of Kel Mitchell, and vice versa. Mitchell played the other main character in "Good Burger" (in both the movie and the "All That" sketch) and "Kenan & Kel," making the two a hilarious and welcome package deal on Nickelodeon in the late '90s and early 2000s. After "Kenan & Kel" ended, Mitchell also kept acting, finding work in several movies and starring in other series over the years, like "Rob Dyrdek's Wild Grinders" and "Game Shakers." In 2020, Mitchell reprised his "Good Burger" character Ed (and Coach Kreeton) for a few episodes of the "All That" reboot, and in 2023, he reprised his role again for the sequel film, "Good Burger 2."

As it turned out, the sequel film wouldn't have been possible without child stars Mitchell and Thompson reconciling after a falling out. In a 2024 interview on "Club Shay Shay," Mitchell shared that his and Thompson's relationship first started deteriorating while they were still on Nickelodeon together due to network chatter and mental health struggles Mitchell was navigating behind the scenes. After reconnecting with his faith, Mitchell eventually reconnected with Thompson, too, and a heart-to-heart conversation led them to a deeper friendship as adults. "[N]ow, every day, we're speaking to one another as far as brothers, and just checking on each other," Mitchell told Shannon Sharpe.

Few child stars have had as drastic a transformation as Amanda Bynes. Hailed as one of the greatest comedians of her generation, Bynes started her television career as a cast member on "All That," playing many memorable characters on the show. The actor's career got even bigger when she was given her own sketch series, "The Amanda Show," and coined characters like Judge Trudy, Moody from "Moody's Point," and Crazy Courtney. After leaving Nickelodeon, Bynes starred in a handful of popular movies in the early 2000s, as well as the series "What I Like About You." In 2010, Bynes co-starred in the hit movie "Easy A" before retiring from acting and starting school at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

These days, Bynes mostly stays out of the public eye. Following a public mental health scare in the mid-2010s, Bynes gave an interview to Paper magazine in 2018 and hasn't spoken publicly in such a manner since. At the end of 2023, Bynes and a friend of hers started a podcast, but they only filmed one episode before canceling it. Now, Bynes primarily uses social media to update fans on her career. In 2026, she announced via social media that she is releasing a line of handbags. "I am so excited about my bag line that I'm doing," she said in a video posted to Instagram. "It's a whole vibe, the production."

When putting together the Mount Rushmore of Nickelodeon stars, there's a serious argument to be made that it would have to include Drake Bell. After getting his start on the network in the late '90s as a cast member of "The Amanda Show" and bringing to life characters like Tony Pajamas, Bell became a fixture at Nickelodeon, going on to star in "Drake and Josh" alongside Josh Peck and later voice Timmy Turner in some "Fairly Odd Parents" movies. Post-Nickelodeon, Bell focused on his music career while continuing to act, primarily in voice-over roles. Today, Bell's career looks similar, though he has had some roles in live-action series, including "The Boys" and "Painting Autumn."

Bell has also been very vocal about the dark side of childhood fame, especially at Nickelodeon. The former child star appeared on the infamous documentary "Quiet on Set" to recount his experience as a young performer, and he uses other art forms to express his past, too. "I tell my story through my art, and the documentary is one way of seeing my story. But if you really want to know what's going on in my mind, my heart, and my thoughts, to get down to the nitty-gritty, you should check out my record and what I'm doing artistically, because that's a much more pure reflection of what's gone on in my life and my experiences," Bell said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Nick Cannon is so famous today that it's easy to forget he got his start as a '90s child star on Nickelodeon. Cannon joined the cast of "All That" for Season 4 and Season 5 and returned the following year as a musical guest. From there, his career blew up, leading him to act in movies like "Men in Black II," "Love Don't Cost a Thing," and "Drumline." Cannon has continued acting and making music, and he's branched out to other areas of the entertainment business. For decades, he hosted the popular MTV series "Wildin' Out," and since 2019, he's been the host of another popular series, "The Masked Singer." Cannon also writes, directs, produces, and hosts two podcasts.

Despite how busy he is, Cannon might be best known for having 12 kids. The star was married to Mariah Carey for a few years in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and that union brought him his first two children. Since his divorce from Carey, Cannon has welcomed more children with multiple partners, something he thinks may be the result of trauma. "[I]t wasn't like I was acting out. It was more of being careless, being frivolous with my process because I could do it, because I had the money, [and] because I had the access to whoever and however I wanted to move," Cannon said on an appearance at "The Breakfast Club."

Aside from "All That" and "The Amanda Show," the most memorable '90s Nickelodeon series were animated ("Rugrats," "Doug," "Hey Arnold!", "CatDog," just to name a few). A select few live-action series have stayed in the zeitgeist, though, like "Clarissa Explains It All." The show starred the stunning Melissa Joan Hart in her breakout role. And while the show made her a child star, it didn't last as her most memorable role. Hart went on to star as Sabrina Spellman in the iconic ABC series "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." The series lasted for seven seasons, and Hart reprised the role for multiple spin-off movies and crossover appearances on other series, including "Clueless," "Boy Meets World," and "Teen Angel."

Hart has continued acting since "Sabrina" ended, including another starring role in a series, "Melissa & Joey." These days, Hart primarily works on made-for-TV Christmas movies, and she's even stepped into an executive producer role for many of them. And though she's had continued success, Hart is still best known for playing Sabrina Spellman, and she knows how badly fans want a reboot. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Hart said that she'd love to do a reboot, but she doesn't see it happening due to various legal constraints. But Hart still has a soft spot for the bygone project. "I love that the show still lives on ... I couldn't be prouder of that," she said.

Another live-action Nickelodeon series that has lived on (though not quite to the level of some of its contemporaries) is "The Secret World of Alex Mack." The show followed Alex Mack, played by Larisa Oleynik, as she navigated life with newfound supernatural abilities. The show was quintessentially '90s, and it set Oleynik up for continued success post-Nickelodeon. The former child star went on to have roles in films like "10 Things I Hate About You" and "An American Rhapsody," as well as recurring parts on popular TV shows such as "Boy Meets World," "3rd Rock from the Sun," "Mad Men," and "Pretty Little Liars." Oleynik has also done some voice-over work, and in 2023, she returned to Nickelodeon for the children's comedy "Erin & Aaron."

It's hard for any artist to predict which of their projects is going to connect with audiences, but it's especially hard for child actors to know. On an episode of the "Boy Meets World" recap podcast, "Pod Meets World," host Danielle Fishel shared with Oleynik that her prior appearance had fans lamenting that Oleynik wasn't asked more about one of her earliest projects, the screen adaptation of "The Baby-Sitters Club." Oleynik said that she isn't often asked about that film, but she knows there are still fans out there. "It seems to have endured ... I get why it is still impactful for people who sort of grew up with it," Oleynik said.

Darris Love was alongside Larisa Oleynik for the ride that was "The Secret World of Alex Mack." Love started acting when he was a toddler and rose to child-star fame when he co-starred on the aforementioned Nickelodeon show for its entire four-season run. After the series ended, Love continued finding work in popular series. He's acted in episodes of "Sister, Sister," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "NYPD Blue," "ER," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Shameless," and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," among others. Love has also been in various movies throughout the years, including "Gang Tapes," "Waist Deep," and most recently, "Rock."

Although Love has had plenty of other exciting projects to be proud of throughout his career, he still has gratitude and love for where it all started, with Nickelodeon and "The Secret World of Alex Mack." On an episode of the Prime Nostalgia Podcast, Love said, "Big shout-out [to] Nickelodeon, everybody over at the offices and the executive offices ... Nickelodeon gave me an opportunity to be able to be a part of history. 'Alex Mack' is a timeless, global brand that has touched so many fans, and they've grown with it, even as adults ... [I]t's just amazing."

Most of the Nickelodeon stars from the '90s were child actors, but not all were. Nancy Sullivan made a name for herself on the network by playing an adult in sketches for a few seasons of "The Amanda Show," and she continued her work for Nickelodeon by playing Drake and Megan's mom in "Drake & Josh." Sullivan had worked plenty before her tenure at Nickelodeon, and she continued working after it, mostly with voice-over roles in projects like "Squirrel Boy," "Monster Island," and "Barbie Dreamtopia," the last of which was her most recent screen project and stopped airing in 2018.

Although Sullivan isn't acting much, she's active on social media, where she often posts throwback pictures from her Nickelodeon days. Sullivan was also one of the several former Nickelodeon stars to speak out after the "Quiet on Set" documentary aired and Drake Bell made several harrowing allegations against former Nickelodeon executives. "They weren't my real kids, but I'll always love them. It broke my heart into a million pieces to hear just how much Drake was holding inside while we were working together," Sullivan said in an Instagram post. "I hope memories of the joy he had on our shows will someday greatly overshadow the pain. Sending love to Drake for a deep healing and for a rich and beautiful life ahead," she added.