'My So-Called Life' turns 30: See the cast then and now (2024)

Claire Danes (Angela Chase)

Claire Danes picked up early work with shorts and minor TV credits in the '90s before landing her breakout role as Angela Chase on My So-Called Life. The then-teenage star played the relatable high school student until the show's wrap in 1995, also hitting the big screen as Beth March in 1994's Little Women during this time.

In a 2018 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Danes recalled filming one of the more intimate scenes from My So-Called Life with costar Jared Leto. "There were these stage directions in that scene where it says 'Angela kisses Jordan’s face,' and I was like, 'What? What isthatabout? Why would she kiss his face?'" Danes remembered. "I had that question on set, and he had to try to teach me. It's ridiculous!"

Danes returned to film soon after the series ended, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996), and going on to appear in The Rainmaker (1997), Igby Goes Down (2002), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), The Family Stone (2005), and Stardust (2007) before she landed her first Emmy for the 2010 HBO film Temple Grandin.

The actress is now perhaps best known for her Emmy-winning role of Carrie Mathison on Homeland, a gig she held from 2011 to 2020. She also appeared in such miniseries as The Essex Serpent, Fleishman Is in Trouble, and Full Circle.

Danes has been married since 2009 to fellow actor Hugh Dancy, with whom she shares three children.

Jared Leto (Jordan Catalano)

After making a few small-screen appearances in one-off episodes of '90s shows, Jared Leto landed his first major role as My So-Called Life's Jordan Catalano. He played the high school rebel through the drama's 1995 finale, reuniting with costar Danes months later for How to Make an American Quilt (1995).

Because of how short-lived My So-Called Life ended up being, Leto admittedly doesn't have the strongest of relationships with the series all these years later. "I think for some people, especially girls at that time, it mirrored something in their lives," he told Rolling Stone in 2016. "I don't know. It did make an impact for people, but it's always been so imbalanced with what the experience was for me in my own life."

Following the show's ending, Leto added to his filmography, earning credits for Urban Legend (1998), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Requiem for a Dream (2000), Panic Room (2002), Lord of War (2005), and Mr. Nobody (2009). The performer also worked on his music career during this time, dropping studio albums as the frontman of Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Leto nabbed an Oscar in 2014 thanks to his celebrated turn as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club (2013), and took on the roles of the Joker in Suicide Squad (2016) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), Paolo Gucci in House of Gucci (2021), the title role in Morbius (2022), and Ares in Tron: Ares (2025).

Leto dated Cameron Diaz from 1999 to 2003 and model Valerie Kaufman from 2016 to 2022.

A.J. Langer (Rayanne Graff)

A.J. Langer kicked off her acting career in the late-'80s and picked up early roles in episodes of Drexell's Class, Blossom, The Wonder Years, and Baywatch before landing a part on My So-Called Life as Rayanne Graff, playing the eccentric pal to Angela and Rickie.

“With her, all my self-consciousness disappeared; she was very liberating,” Langer told author A.S. Berman of playing Rayanne. "To me, who was quite a people pleaser, there was a joy, a freedom."

Langer kept busy over the next decade, popping up in episodes of Coach, Seinfeld, and It's Like, You Know..., as well as the 1996 film Escape From L.A.

The actress — who married royalty in 2005 when she exchanged nuptials with Charles Courtenay, 19th Earl of Devon, with whom she shares two children — slowed down her career, doing a stint as Erica Warner on Private Practice from 2011 to 2012 and hitting Lifetime in the 2013 TV movie Kristin's Christmas Past.

Wilson Cruz (Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez)

Wilson Cruz picked up his first onscreen role with My So-Called Life, breaking TV grounds by playing a teen LGBTQ+ Latinx character, Rickie Vasquez, as an out, gay actor — a rare feat for TV during the '90s.

"I took [the role] as an opportunity to shed light on LGBT youth issues and give a voice to young people," Cruz told EW in 2018. "I felt like, at that time, there weren't a lot of people who were willing to take those roles. Here I was, not only willing but excited to take them — and to make a difference because of them."

He followed up the debut gig with big-screen turns in Nixon (1995), All Over Me (1997), Supernova (2000), Party Monster (2003), and He's Just Not That Into You (2009), and small-screen roles on Ally McBeal, Party of Five, and The West Wing. Cruz has also earned onscreen credits for Grey's Anatomy, 13 Reasons Why, and Star Trek: Discovery, and voiced roles on The Bravest Knight and The Casagrandes.

Devon Gummersall (Brian Krakow)

Devon Gummersall picked up one of his first roles as My So-Called Life's Brian Krakow.

"When we saw the first cut of the pilot, we all watched it together, and were just so proud of it and blown away," Gummersall told Elle in 2016. "We were in love with the experience and each other… and then the show wasn't picked up. All the actors got together and had this pow-wow; we were so devastated. We couldn't believe that something so good could be ignored."

The actor — who had previously appeared on Step by Step and Blossom — followed his turn as the smart student with credits for It's My Party (1996), Independence Day (1996), Felicity, Dick (1999), Roswell, and The L Word. Gummersall has also appeared in episodes of iZombie, Mad Men, and 9-1-1.

Devon Odessa (Sharon Cherski)

Devon Odessa joined My So-Called Life as Angela's childhood friend, Sharon Cherski.

"Everyone I meet thinks they went to high school with me," Odessa told Elle of the impact of the series. "It's really funny."

The rising star filled the next decade with projects like Campfire Tales (1997), Nowhere (1997), and The Omega Code (1999), as well as episodes of Pacific Blue, Touched by an Angel, and That's So Raven. Odessa has intermittently returned to the screen, in a 2011 episode of Private Practice, the 2018 short film Blink, and the 2024 horror film Shark Girl.

Bess Armstrong (Patty Chase)

My So-Called Life found its Patty Chase in Bess Armstrong, who played Angela's mother.

"No matter how late I got home, the tyranny of my schedule was that my children were going to be getting up between 6:15 and 6:30 and I needed to make their lunches, pack their lunch boxes, feed them breakfast, make sure they got dressed, and on some days actually run carpool," Armstrong recalled to A.S. Berman of the show's filming schedule. "But it’s just a version of what families are doing in any industry now to a certain extent, right? It’s always that juggling of careers and family. You don't want to shortchange anybody, but that means that you burn your candle at both ends."

The Jaws 3-D alum went on to book gigs in Pecker (1998), Diamond Men (2000), and episodes of Touched by an Angel, The Nanny, Frasier, and One Tree Hill. Armstrong did a 10-episode stint on House of Lies as Julianne Hotschragar; played Professor Beth Marillo on Switched at Birth; joined Bosch as Judge Donna Sobel; and played Eileen Lim on The Good Doctor.

Armstrong has been married to executive John Fiedler since 1986.

Tom Irwin (Graham Chase)

Tom Irwin found his spot on My So-Called Life as Angela's father, Graham Chase. Irwin came into the role after building up his résumé in the '80s and early-'90s, earning credits for Light of Day (1987), Midnight Run (1988), Men Don't Leave (1990), Deceived (1991), and My Life and Times.

Irwin looks back on his My So-Called Life experience fondly, especially working with Armstrong as his onscreen wife. "There were several times when we would finish the scene and then Bess and I would just sit there in bed and talk for another hour or two, and just hang out on the set," he told Elle. "I loved working with her."

The actor followed My So-Called Life with a string of TV movies, then went on to appear in The Haunting (1999), 21 Grams (2003), (2008), On the Basis of Sex (2018), Amsterdam (2022), and episodes of Without a Trace, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, and Devious Maids. Irwin also has a recurring role on Apple TV+'s The Morning Show as UBA president Fred Micklen.

Lisa Wilhoit (Danielle Chase)

Lisa Wilhoit signed on to play Danielle Chase, the younger sister to Angela, on My So-Called Life. Wilhoit landed the gig after making an uncredited appearance in 1991's Hook, and followed up with roles in Adam and Eve (2005), The Kid & I (2005), and episodes of Social Studies, The Tom Show, 7th Heaven, and Greek.

Her most recent credit is for Family Guy, on which she has voiced Connie D'Amico for more than 20 years.