The sitcom era of the 1990s was like a weekly ritual where you turned on the TV, laughed at the same familiar faces, and somehow those characters became part of your brain forever. But once the 2000s came around and later the streaming services replaced your usual programming, the casts scattered, and the shows somehow got worse.
Some actors stuck to comedy, some turned into serious awards magnets, and some took life detours nobody saw coming. Here’s where seven of the most recognizable ’90s sitcom stars landed decades after their Prime Time.
Jerry Seinfeld
After the conclusion of Seinfeld in 1998, Jerry Seinfeld chose to focus on his expertise in stand-up comedy shows, rather than reinventing himself. He kept touring for years and later turned his “hangout with funny people” energy into Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, a series built around low-stakes conversation, fancy vehicles, and caffeine—basically, the same premise as Seinfeld but with cars. He’s also stayed active as a writer/producer, and in 2024, he added a big new line to his resume, which was not the Bee Movie: Unfrosted, a Netflix comedy loosely inspired by the creation of Pop-Tarts. Sheesh, that must have been difficult to write.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston will always be Rachel Green to a huge chunk of the planet, but she’s much more than just that. After the show ended, Aniston stacked her IMDb with big comedies and romance flicks and then pivoted hard into prestige TV. Off-screen, she’s also leaned into producing and business ventures. One of the most profitable ideas is her haircare brand, LolaVie, which launched in 2021 with Aniston as founder/creator.
Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry’s silly little character Chandler was the sarcastic inner core of Friends, and Perry’s delivery made even throwaway lines feel iconic and hilarious. After Friends ended airing, he kept working steadily in TV and film, but the bigger story of his later life was what he chose to share publicly. In 2022, he published a memoir in which he discussed his addiction struggles and recovery in a way that felt brutally honest. Barely a year later, Perry tragically died on October 28, 2023, at age 54, but even his death was a messy ordeal for the police. In August 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against multiple people (including doctors) tied to allegedly supplying him with ketamine, and in 2025, his doctor was found guilty of supplying Perry with ketamine.
Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox has one of the best post-sitcom careers of the whole Friends crew, largely because she never tried to outrun Monica. She joined the Scream franchise as journalist Gale Weathers and later starred in the comedy series Cougar Town for six whole seasons. More recently, she starred in the horror-comedy series Shining Vale, which was canceled after two seasons. Her personal life has also been fairly consistent by Hollywood standards. Johnny McDaid (Snow Patrol) has been her partner for years, and they engaged in 2014. However, Cox later clarified that they are not “fiancés.” And yes, Scream 7 is slated for February 27, 2026, which likely means Gale will be back!
Will Smith
Will Smith’s journey from the iconic ’90s sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to movie stardom is quite amazing. After the show ended, Will Smith became a box-office hit with movies like Men in Black and Bad Boys. Professionally, he continues with the Bad Boys franchise, the latest of which is Ride or Die on Netflix, a sequel released in June 2024, and returned to music with Based on a True Story in March 2025. He shares children Jaden and Willow with Jada Pinkett Smith and has a son, Trey, from his first marriage.
Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart basically owned kid/teen TV in the ’90s. Clarissa Explains It All made her a Nickelodeon cornerstone, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch turned her into a pop-culture staple who could carry a show on pure charm as long as there was an animatronic black cat named Salem in it. In the years since, she’s partaken in lighter, family-friendly projects and even tried her hand at producing. Recently, Melissa starred in the Netflix holiday movie A Merry Little Ex-Mas, which she also helped produce, so go check that out.
Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher wasn’t a mere actress on The Nanny; she made that baby pop with jokes and charisma. After the series, she continued acting and producing, but her most surprising second act has been in labor leadership. Drescher was elected president of SAG-AFTRA in 2021 and was re-elected in 2023, becoming one of the most recognizable faces of the union, especially during the 2023 actors’ strike. In 2025, she stepped down, and actor Sean Astin was elected as SAG-AFTRA’s new president.
