How 15+ Big Stars of the 2000s Have Changed Over the Years

The faces of these stars were all over magazine covers, all sorts of calendars, and other souvenirs. We learned what to wear from them, we had the same hairstyles, we listened to their songs, and we watched their shows.

We at Bright Side want to tell you about our favorite actors and musicians that made our 2000s so cool that we now can’t even explain it to our children.

Lindsay Lohan

The films The Parent Trap, Mean Girls, and Freaky Friday made Lindsay Lohan a star worldwide. When her fame started to die down, she started a music career, and she appeared in TV series and independent movies. On April 3, 2020, Lohan released her album’s lead single, “Back to Me.” And the song received positive feedback from critics and regular listeners.

Julian McMahon

All the fans of Charmed absolutely loved Julian McMahon. And he still appears on the screens quite often. You might have seen him in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as a villain and in the series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

Jennifer Love Hewitt

The star of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Heartbreakers is raising a son and a daughter and is still actively starring in projects. Her roles in Criminal Minds, Law & Order, and 9-1-1 have been especially successful.

Tara Reid

The star of American Pie had shares in fast-food restaurants and released a perfume and her own brand of swimsuits. Besides that, she still appears in smaller roles in movies and series and looks amazing.

Sophie Marceau

The French movie actress, director, and singer was very different from the other stars of the 2000s. She was so slender in her light dresses and she looked so bright in her Juicy Couture clothes. Sophie Marceau became an international star after her roles in Braveheart and the 19th James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. Aside from her acting career, Sophie worked as a director, and even took part in the jury of the Cannes Film Festival.

Nicole Richie

At the beginning of the 2000s, Lionel Richie’s adopted daughter was enjoying the high life and took part in The Simple Life with her friend Paris Hilton. Since then, Nicole Richie has made her own fashion brand, published 2 novels, and appears in TV series.

Amy Lee — Evanescence

The lead singer of Evanescence, Amy Lee, made our 2000s awesome thanks to her songs “Bring Me to Life” and “My Immortal.” Her dark image and Victorian-style clothing were copied by girls from all around the world. Today, she is raising a son and continues to sing. Yes, the band still exists and we’re expecting to soon hear their fifth album called The Bitter Truth.

Dexter Holland — The Offspring

The singer from The Offspring, Dexter Holland, is not just good at music but also at science: he was awarded his Ph.D. degree in molecular biology during the USC Commencement on May 12, 2017. And his band still gathers stadiums of fans.

Paris Hilton

In the middle of the 2000s, she was everywhere: her songs were on the radio, and on TV we could watch the reality show with her where she learned to wash floors and milk cows. Over time, Paris’s fame died down, but she still pursued her music career, made perfumes, and became a successful DJ. A documentary concerning her has been released online called This Is Parisand it’s really honest and moving. Watching it, viewers learn how she was in a scary place as a teenager, how she tried to escape, how she was betrayed by someone she loved, and why she’s scared of having children.

Jessica Simpson

This singer, actress, TV host, and designer was really popular and then she went under the radar overnight. She’s busy with her family: she and her husband are raising 3 beautiful children.

Ashlee Simpson

Jessica Simpson’s younger sister, whose music career started in the middle of 2004 with her debut album Autobiography and a reality show about her life, still makes music. Her life has changed quite a bit, though. First, she was married to the bass player of Fall Out Boy, Peter Wentz, and they have a son named Bronx. And 6 years ago, she married an actor and musician Evan Ross and had a daughter named Jagger Snow. This year, they are expecting another child.

Billie Piper

Billie Piper is really famous for playing Rose Tyler in Doctor Who. She and Doctor Who were such an amazing couple in the show! Also, she was a famous pop princess in England in the middle of the 2000s. Today, Billie doesn’t make music, she appears in TV series and short films. She plays a lot in the theater and she’s so successful that her performance in Yerma was described as a “generation’s best.” She went on to win a total of 6 Best Actress awards for that one performance, including the Olivier Award, making Piper the only actress to have won 6 out of available 6 Best Actress awards for a single performance.

Natalie Imbruglia

Natalie Imbruglia appears in movies and series, acts in the theater, and still sings. Natalie was planning to release an album with new songs in 2020, but it was rescheduled for 2021.

Nelly Furtado

The Canadian singer whose disks and singles were sold around the world appears in movies now. For example, she had a supporting role in the romantic comedy A Date with Miss Fortune. Besides that, she donates to charity and still continues to sing.

Carmen Electra

This American model and actress seems to have found a source of eternal youth. Otherwise, it’s just impossible to explain why her appearance has remained the same for decades. This beautiful woman stars in TV series and does charity work.

Jason Priestley

The actor who became famous after his role as Brandon Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 starred in films after the end of the series. Besides, he became interested in directing and directed some episodes for famous American TV shows.

Pamela Anderson

Pamela appears in movies and series and is actively involved in protecting the environment: she promotes vegetarianism, protects animal rights, and she’s an activist for many charity campaigns. Her personal life is also interesting: in January 2020, she had a secret wedding with producer Jon Peters.

Ryan Phillippe

It looks like Carmen Electra shared her secret of youth with Ryan Phillippe. The difference between the left and the right photos is 21 years. The charming actor from Cruel Intentions and the ex-husband of Reese Witherspoon is acting in TV series and raising his children: daughter Ava Phillippe and son Deacon Reese from Witherspoon and daughter Kai from his second wife, who he also broke up with.

Hilary Duff

Thanks to her main role in Disney Channel’s Lizzie McGuire, Hilary Duff became the star of the generation. When she got older, she continued to be involved in music, she’s appeared in independent films, she’s launched 2 lines of clothing, released her own perfume, she writes books, and she does charity work. The only mistake was the film The Haunting of Sharon Tate where she was a producer and had the main role. The film was bashed by critics and viewers: on IMDb, the score was a 2.8 out of 10.

Who did you like in the 2000s? Tell us in the comment section below!