What Happened To The Secret Life Of The American Teenager Cast?
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"The Secret Life of the American Teenager," also known as "Secret Life," was the ABC Family drama that captured the hearts of young adults everywhere when it premiered in 2008. The show was created by writer and producer Brenda Hampton, and aired until June 2013 with a total of five drama-filled seasons. If you haven't had the chance to binge-watch this show yet, it's centered on following the main character Amy Juergens (played by the talented Shailene Woodley) as she deals with unexpected teen pregnancy. "Secret Life" dives head first into relationships, divorce, sexuality, the death of a parent, and other relatable issues teenagers may come across in high school.
Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, cast members Molly Ringwald, Francia Raísa, Shailene Woodley, Megan Park, and others virtually reunited in October 2020 after seven years since the show ended (yes, it's really been that long!) to encourage people to vote in the November 2020 election. During their meeting, Park said the cast feels like her "OG high school friends" because "even if lots of time has passed and we see each other, it's kind of like no time has passed because we just sort of had these formative years together."
What is the beloved cast up to now, you may ask? Each actor has gone on to new and exciting different projects — acting, directing, and writing books. Since we know you are curious, here is a look at what happened to the cast of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager."
Shailene Woodley is engaged to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers
After the season finale of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," Shailene Woodley's career quite literally skyrocketed. Soon enough, she became one of the biggest household celebrity names. She's well-known for her heroine roles in "Divergent," "The Fault in Our Stars" (who could ever forget her playing alongside Ansel Elgort?), "The Descendants," and HBO's Emmy award-winning show "Big Little Lies" (via IMDb). Woodley was also seen in the romantic drama "The Last Letter From Your Lover" that was released on Netflix in July 2021 and was based on the book by Jojo Moyes.
The "Secret Life" star confirmed her engagement to Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, when she appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in February 2021. "Yes, we are engaged. But for us, it's not new news, you know, so it's kind of funny. Everyone right now is freaking out over it and we're like, 'Yeah, we've been engaged for a while.'" She joked to Fallon that she never thought she would grow up to marry someone one day who "threw balls for a living" since sporting events were never on her "radar" growing up. It's safe to say they are the cutest, most unexpected couple, and we are totally here for it!
Daren Kagasoff secured his spot in the entertainment industry and continued acting
Since his breakout role as bad boy Ricky Underwood, Daren Kagasoff landed multiple roles in TV shows following "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," including Fox's "Red Band Society," the series "Blue," and "The Village" (via IMDb). He's featured as the male lead alongside Emma Roberts in Lauren Oliver's New York Times bestseller trilogy "Delirium" and the feature film "Ouija."
Kagasoff joined the cast of Korean War drama "Devotion" in January 2021 that will also feature Joe Jonas of The Jonas Brothers and Spencer Neville, as noted by The Hollywood Reporter. The film is based on the book "Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship and Sacrifice," written by Adam Makos. There is no confirmed release date for the film at this time.
While filming for the movie, Kagasoff, Jonas, and Neville have spent a lot of time together — they've gone to baseball games at Fenway Park, rode bikes with one another throughout New York City, and been on golfing trips. Unfortunately, our invite must have gotten lost in the mail ... but maybe next time!
Francia Raísa was cast in Hulu's How I Met Your Father
Francia Raísa, otherwise known as Adrian Lee in "Secret Life," has been pretty busy since the show ended. Raísa landed a spot on Freeform's "Grown-ish" in 2018, a spinoff of the series "Black-ish" (and you guessed it — she was seen in that, too!). She was also featured in "The Mindy Project," "Dear White People," and "Life Size 2" (via IMDb). Currently, she is filming "How I Met Your Father," for which she plays Valentina, alongside Hilary Duff, Chris Lowell, and Tom Ainsley. According to Bustle, there is no release date for the show at this time, but there will be 10 episodes in the first season.
In 2017, Raísa made headlines when she donated her kidney to her best friend and pop sensation Selena Gomez. She recalled the moment she offered to donate her kidney in an interview on the "Today" show that aired in October 2017: "It just vomited out of me. I was like, 'Of course I'll get tested.' ... I called her assistant and I said, 'Give me the information. I want to do this.'" Later, Raísa and Gomez were reported to be feuding over Gomez's lifestyle choices, according to Radar Online, and were reportedly not on speaking terms, but they appear to have reconciled (via People).
Megan Park welcomed her first child with One Tree Hill alum Tyler Hilton
Megan Park continued to find major success in front of and behind the camera when her role as Grace Bowman came to an end. She continued acting and has appeared in the series "Young Sheldon," "Jane the Virgin," and "Imposters" (via IMDb). The first project Park directed, "Lucy in My Eyes," landed her the Jury Award for Best Narrative Short in the Austin Film Festival in 2016. She's also won the Toronto International Film Festival's Rising Star Award, Teen Choice Awards, and the Emerging Directors Award from Cannes Film Festival (via Women and Hollywood). Not to mention, she's directed music videos for major stars, including Billie Eilish and Gucci Mane. According to Variety, Park's debut feature film, "The Fallout," premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in 2021, won multiple awards, and will soon be added to HBO Max.
Aside from her professional work, Park welcomed her first baby in February 2020 with actor Tyler Hilton, known for his role as Chris Keller on "One Tree Hill." The couple, who married in 2015, kept the pregnancy a secret and happily took to Instagram to share the big news. In a caption, Park shared, "Meet Winnie. She was hidden under many jackets and piles of books on several different sets last year but now that she's here, healthy and happy, I couldn't wait to introduce her. @tylerhilton and I thought we understood joy, love, purpose and life before but ... turns out we weren't even close until we met Miss Winnie."
Ken Baumann focused on his writing career
Ken Baumann — who played Ben Boykewich, Amy Juergens' on-again, off-again love interest — decided to stop acting when the show came to a close. Instead, he wrote several fiction and non-fiction books. Baumann is known for writing the books "Solip" and "Say, Cut, Map" that were published in 2013, and "Earthbound," which was later released in 2014.
In 2018, he accepted a fellowship position with St. Johns College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he supports students through whatever struggles they may have, including financial, academic, and personal issues. In an interview with St. Johns College, Baumann discussed his position as the Inaugural Presidential Fellow. Baumann said he has enjoyed the role, noting, "I really love just meeting privately with folks, conspiring with them and helping them feel capable and connecting them to resources that are already there for them [but] that maybe they didn't know about or maybe were a little afraid to find on their own."
In his personal life, Baumann tied the knot with Aviva Farber in June 2012, who is known for her role as Nicola in the film "Superbad" (via Digital Spy).