The ’90s were a strange and beautiful time. It was the decade that ushered in the Grunge era, introduced the world to boyband/girlband culture, and completely redefined what the word “Ironic” meant.
To celebrate this incredible period in our lives, here are 10+ completely random facts about major ’90s celebs that fans didn’t know.
RELATED STORIES
Let us know which ones are your favorite facts at the end of the article!
Drew Barrymore wrote her autobiography when she was only 14 years old.
You might think that fourteen is a bit preemptive to be penning a memoir or autobiography, but Drew’s childhood was unique, to say the least.
The title of her book was ” Little Girl Lost “, released in 1990.
Leonardo DiCaprio was the seventh youngest person to ever be nominated for an Academy Award.
Leo was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Arnie Grape in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape .
At the time, he was only nineteen years old. He’s just that good.
Sarah Michelle Gellar was an accomplished ice-skater before she started acting.
Sarah even skated competitively for many years.
The only reason why she quit was that her mother forced her, citing that she needed to focus on her studies and pursue her acting career.
Tom Hanks was only the second actor win back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Actor.
Tom won in 1993 for his groundbreaking work in Philadelphia and again the very next year for Forrest Gump .
“Why don’t you love me, Jenny ? I’m not a smart man but I know what love is.”
It rips me apart every time!
Adam Sandler released and recorded four albums from 1993-1999.
Two of which were certified Platinum two times over, the other two achieved Gold status. The albums are a mixture of comedy sketches and songs.
For my money, What The Hell Happened To Me? is one of the greatest comedy albums of all time.
Johnny Depp tattooed Winona Ryder’s name on his arm.
The two were engaged and together for nearly three years, but sadly their romance wasn’t meant to be.
After the pair split, Johnny amended the tattoo so that it would read ” Wino Forever “.
Jennifer Aniston absolutely hated her ‘Rachel’ haircut for *Friends*.
“I was not a fan of ‘ The Rachel ,'” Aniston told Glamour magazine. “That was kind of cringe-y for me. Looking back — honestly, even during that time — I couldn’t do it on my own.”
Robert DeNiro is immortalized in a song by Weird-Al Yankovich.
Weird-Al was once the gold standard of celebrity status in the ’90s. If you were parodied by the Polka Master, you knew that you’d really made it.
DeNiro is referenced in the song ” Frank’s 2000 Inch TV “.
Janet Jackson broke a world record for Largest Recording Contract.
Janet signed a 3 album deal with Virgin Records in 1991 that was worth an estimated $32 million dollars.
By today’s standards, it might not seem like a lot, but back then it was unprecedented.
Will Smith had a successful career as a rapper before he made the switch to pursue acting full-time.
A collection of singles, including “Parents Just Don’t Understand” helped to put Will on the map.
Later on, in the mid-90s, he released his most successful album to date, Big Willie Style .
Brad Pitt was banned from China.
That’s right, Brad Pitt cannot step foot inside China. I didn’t even know you could be banned from a country?!
Apparently, the Chinese government didn’t take too kindly to Brad’s work in Seven Years in Tibet .
Winona Ryder was nominated for a Grammy Award.
No, Winona isn’t a musician. She actually recorded a spoken-word album where she read aloud from the diary of Anne Frank .
Winona is one of the few actors/actresses who has been nominated for both a Grammy and an Oscar Award.
Julia Roberts was the highest paid actress all throughout the 1990s.
When Julia began her career, she was paid a measly $300,000 dollars for her work in Pretty Woman .
By the time the decade came to a close, she was commanding upwards of $20 million dollars per film.
Denzel Washington took his role in *Courage Under Fire* extremely seriously.
Denzel actually spent time in the National Training Center at Fort Irwin.
He would listen to tank battles on tape, he qualified on the M1A1 tank and the 120mm gun – he even participated in war games!
Tom Cruise nearly drowned while filming *Mission Impossible*.
It’s no secret that Tom Cruise is a bit of an adrenaline junky. He’s pretty much always insisted on doing his own stunts.
During the exploding fish tank scene from Mission Impossible , that’s actually Tom that you see diving through plate glass into 16 tons of water.
