I'll never forget the first time I watched Now & Then at a middle school sleepover. I thought the movie was amazing — perfectly capturing the characters as they navigated the ups and downs of adolescence. Plus, the theme of strong female friendship was straight-up empowering! At the time, I wasn't even 13 yet, so I felt a bit rebellious watching a movie with a PG-13 rating. (I know, I just made myself sound as naively dorky as Chrissy's character!) The memorable movie celebrates a milestone today that's worth acknowledging: Now & Then came out 20 years ago on Oct. 20, 1995. Two decades later and it's still just as great!
One of the highlights of the movie is the fact that we get to see the characters in present day, but also back in the summer of 1970. (See, the name makes so much sense!) But since it's 20 years later, I've got to wonder: What does the cast look like now? Did the teenage cast really wind up looking like their adult counterparts in the movie? To celebrate the anniversary, I decided to do some digging and see how well the directors really did at casting the actresses who played the grown-up versions of Roberta, Teeny, Chrissy, and Samantha.
Before we begin, let's relive the movie's greatness by watching the trailer:
Now that we're feeling nostalgic, let's get started. It's a bit meta, but here are the actresses from Now & Then ... now and then!
Roberta
A young Christina Ricci got her start as Roberta, the bad-ass tomboy of the group. She wasn't afraid to stand up for herself or play baseball with the boys. Nowadays, Ricci is known for her vast acting career, including a role on Grey's Anatomy (that earned her an Emmy nom) and the movie Monster.
Who played the older version of Roberta? Rosie O'Donnell. The side-eye O'Donnell has in the photo speaks for itself. She's basically saying, "Are you kidding? We were so off with this one." They both have big brown eyes, if that's any consolation!
Teeny
The pre-teen Teeny was played by Thora Birch. You may recognize her as Dani in another childhood classic, Hocus Pocus. Since then, Birch had various roles and recently decided to get back into acting, according to IMDB.
The grown-up version of spunky Teeny was played by Melanie Griffith. They don't really look all that much alike, but it wasn't a bad guess. And hey, at least they're both blonde.
Chrissy
The young, naive Chrissy was played by Ashleigh Aston Moore. Sadly, according to sources, including the Huffington Post, Moore passed away in 2007 at the age of 26. There are rumors of a drug overdose, while IMDB attributes her death to pneumonia and bronchitis. Regardless of the cause, it's such heartbreaking news.
The older version of Chrissy, who winds up having a baby in the movie, was played by Rita Wilson.
Samantha
A young Samantha was played by Gaby Hoffmann, who now stars in two of the best TV shows of the moment: Girls and Transparent. Whether playing Adam's sister or Maura's daughter (respectively), her acting range knows no bounds.
Demi Moore played the older Samantha. Of course it's not like they're identical twins, but they do look relatively similar. I've got to give the casting directors props on this one. It's like they predicted the future!
So there you have it! All these years later and we finally get to see what the Now & Then cast looks like now. Happy 20th birthday to one of the best coming-of-age movies around!
Images: New Line Cinemas (9)
