Feeling nostalgic? Do you wish you could travel back in time and experience meaningful moments again? Well, until time machines are invented (which is only a matter of…time! See what we did there!?) there’s not much you can do. Or is there? You could take a cue from celebrities and recreate those happy days again. Whether they’re reminiscing about vacations with their young children or are just thinking fondly of their own youthful days, here are 12 famous people who have posted “before and after” photos taken decades apart.
The Cast of Boy Meets World
When Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle first starred in the coming-of-age sitcom on ABC, they were all in middle school. The show lasted 7 seasons and took the cast all the way through their first year of college. Fast forward almost 30 years and the only thing that’s changed is that Savage subsequently vowed to never smile his mouth open ever again. Not really. We’re just making that up.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Mario Lopez
Another nostalgic, school-centered 90s show, Saved By the Bell is a show that both Gen-Xers and Millennials can agree on. Gosselaar as Zack Morris was the main protagonist, while Lopez played A.C. Slater, a buff Latino heartthrob. Both have reprised their roles in the 2020, with Morris now the governor of California and Slater the PE teacher and football coach at Bayside High.
Kelly Ripa
Named one of the Most Powerful People in Media in 2014, the co-host of Live! with Kelly and Ryan was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2016. She’s been married to fellow actor Mark Consuelos, with whom she has three children. Here she is with the kiddies on the beach back in the early 2000s and again more recently.
Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis
The veteran actresses starred together in the 1991 chick flick Thelma and Louise, for which they were both nominated for Best Actress, the last film to date to hold the distinction of having two lead actors in the same movie nominated in the same category. The film features the two taking a selfie long before that became a thing everybody was doing. Fast forward to today, and they’re still doing it.
Kiernan Shipka and January Jones
Starring on the AMC series Mad Men from 2007 until 2015, Jones played Don Draper’s ex-wife Betty while Shipka played their daughter Sally. The two photos were taken almost a decade apart.
Nick Lachey
The former member of the boy band 98 Degrees and ex-husband of pop singer Jessica Simpson still remains involved in the music industry, currently hosting American’s Most Musical Family on the Disney Channel, as well as co-host of the Netflix show Love is Blind alongside his wife Vanessa.
Robert Irwin
The son of the late “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, 17-year-old Robert not only looks like a splitting image of his father, he has all of his charisma and showmanship. In these photos — taken a decade apart — he’s with his older sister Bindi, who is becoming a celebrity in her own right.
Bindi Irwin
Perhaps it comes as no surprise that Steve Irwin’s daughter was named after his favorite female crocodile at the Australia Zoo. She first gained attention after giving the eulogy at her father’s funeral at the age of 8. She went on to win the US version of Dancing With the Stars in 2015 and is currently a judge on the Australian version. In the first picture, Bindi’s mother Terri is pregnant with Robert. Bindi recreates the photo with her husband Chandler. She gave birth to daughter Grace in March 2021.
Will Smith
When the decision was made to create Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for Will Smith, the producers were taking a gamble. After all, while Smith was having success as a rapper, he had never acted in anything. But it paid off and today he’s one of the biggest Hollywood stars on the planet. The first photo is a screen shot of the opening credits to the sitcom while the recreation was done with Ellen DeGeneres.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
While Johnson is the most bankable wrestler-turned-actor of all time, he got off to a bumpy start in the WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Federation). Although he was heavily pushed as the next big star under the Rocky Maivia moniker, fans were not impressed. But once he took on the cocky, bad guy persona, he became the legend he is today.
Busy Phillips
The talented actress who currently stars on the Peacock streaming service original Girls5eva is photographed with her daughter Birdie, who she had with husband and screenwriter Marc Silverstein, as a toddler and again at the age of 12.
Janet Jackson and Keshia Knight Pulliam
In the first photo, Jackson, who is starting to break out as a pop star at that point, is photographed with Knight Pulliam, the youngest daughter on The Cosby Show. They got together again in 2019 for the second picture. The actress has stated that if a biopic of Janet is ever made, she intends to portray the singer.
