Your favorite stars weren’t magically born as A-listers. They had to start somewhere. And for most of them, that was on television — ’90s television, to be exact.
Some of these shows, like S*x and the City and Friends are even still popular today!
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Ready for a stroll down memory lane? Here are 10+ stars who got their start on ’90s shows.
1. Cole and Dylan Sprouse
Cole may play Jughead on Riverdale now, but he first got his start on TV as a child.
He and his twin brother, Dylan, took turns playing Ben, Ross’s son, on Friends . Cole even developed a crush on Jennifer Aniston!
2. Leighton Meester
She’s most known for portraying Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl , but the actress played a mean g*****n another show: 7th Heaven .
Her character’s name was Kendall and she was a tutor at the end of Season Eight.
3. Gabrielle Union
Leighton wasn’t the only actress to appear on 7th Heaven . The Bring It On actress acted alongside Jessica Biel as Mary’s friend, Keesha Hamilton.
She made her mark during those five episodes on Season One.
4. Adam Scott
Since we’re so used to seeing the actor in movies, most people have no idea that he actually got started on TV.
He played Griffin Hawkins, a band member, during a few episodes of Boy Meets World .
5. Milo Ventimiglia
The actor certainly has a knack for TV. While most known for his role as Jess on Gilmore Girls , he had a small role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air before this.
He played a party guest who had only a few lines.
6. Craig Robinson
Before he became Darryl on The Office , the actor played the role of someone working a very monotonous office job on Friends .
He was the one responsible for Phoebe naming herself Princess Consuela Banana Hammock!
7. Michelle Williams
The actress appeared on not one, but two of your favorite ’90s shows!
Her first-ever TV role was on Baywatch as a popular girl. The second was on Home Improvement , where she played Brad’s girlfriend Jessica.
8. Matthew Mcconaughey
He’s a big-shot movie star these days. But back in the ’90s, he had a small role in an episode of Unsolved Mysteries .
His character was Larry, an ex-marine and young father who ended up as a murder victim.
9. Bradley Cooper
S*x and the City was the eptiome of the ’90s. It was also the show where a lot of famous stars today got their start.
That happened for Brad, who had his first credited role on the show.
He played the character Jake who, well, was a total j**k.
After Carrie landed on the cover of a magazine looking the opposite of “single & fabulous,” he found the magazine and made her feel bad about herself.
10. Ellen Pompeo
Before she was the infamous Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy , she was in one episode of another popular show: Friends .
She played Missy Goldberg, Chandler and Ross’s crush from college.
11. Kat Dennings
The actress hit it big with her first TV role. She played the spoiled 13-year-old, Jenny Brier, on S*x and the City .
She was the one who put Samantha through the paces as she tried to plan her bat mitzvah.
12. Leonardo DiCaprio
Even this mega-movie star has TV roots. He appeared on a few of them, but most notable was his time on Growing Pains .
He played Luke Bower, a homeless teen who was taken in by the family during the final season.
13. Mila Kunis
She may have landed That ’70s Show when she was only 14, but she was acting way before that.
She was on 7th Heaven , where she played Ashley, a bad girl, for two episodes.
Mila was also in another ’90s show.
She starred as two different characters on Baywatch .
The first was a young student named Annie and then the second was the character Bonnie, a girl who got lost while hiking.
14. Anne Hathaway
For one year in the ’90s, she acted alongside Jesse Eisenberg in the TV show, Get Real .
The show was about a family living in San Francisco. She played one of the older siblings.
15. Jessica Alba
After she made her film debut in the movie, Camp Nowhere at 13, she starred in the TV show, The Secret World of Alex Mack .
She played a mean girl named Jessica for three episodes.
16. Ryan Gosling
The actor was super busy during the ’90s.
He danced and sang next to fellow big names, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, on The Mickey Mouse Club . He was also on an episode of Goosebumps .
He played the character Greg on the episode when a group of friends find a camera that’s cursed.
If that wasn’t scary enough, he also appeared on Are You Afraid of The Dark? . He played Jamie Leary, the character whose brother was obsessed with dying.
Last Updated on August 28, 2020 by Sarah Kester
