The Biggest '90s Horror Icons, Then and Now

From award-winning classics like The Silence of the Lambs to the slasher resurgence brought on by Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, the '90s was one of the greatest ever decades for horror. Scary movies earned a new level of respect and mainstream attention, and with that came a new generation of stars—whether playing the Final Girls who always survive, or the masked killers who just won't die. Decades later, we're taking a look back at the horror stars who gained fame at the end of the millennium, and catching up with them today. These are the biggest '90s horror icons, then and now. And for another walk down memory lane, check out our Ranking of Every '90s Horror Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.

In 1996, Neve Campbell starred in The Craft and Scream, earning instant '90s horror icon status. But it was her return in 1997's Scream 2 that made her the ultimate Final Girl.

Campbell has continued to work in film and television, and will make her long-awaited return to horror with the upcoming Scream 5, which begins filming soon. And for more recent standouts, This Is the Best Horror Film of 2020, According to Critics.

While 1997's I Know What You Did Last Summer wasn't as well reviewed as Scream, Jennifer Love Hewitt made her mark as Julie James, a role she reprised in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer the following year.

Hewitt has not abandoned her thriller roots: She currently stars on the Fox series 9-1-1.

Sarah Michelle Gellar got memorable death scenes in I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2, but her role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer made her a horror icon for the ages.

Gellar brought her scream queen status into the 2000s with The Grudge and The Grudge 2, and has continued to make TV appearances. And for a look at other icons of the era, here are The Biggest '90s TV Teen Idols, Then and Now.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

While Jada Pinkett Smith didn't last long in Scream 2, no one can forget her heartbreaking movie theater death scene.

Pinkett Smith is still acting and will appear in the long-awaited The Matrix 4, but her most notable role might be as the host of the headline-making Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk.

By the time she made The Silence of the Lambs in 1991, Jodie Foster had already been working for two decades, but playing Clarice Starling certainly earned her new fans, along with an Oscar.

Foster continues to act and has also earned acclaim as a director—she even helmed an episode of the spooky anthology series Black Mirror in 2017.

Like Janet Leigh in Psycho, Drew Barrymore's early death in Scream was a shock to audiences who assumed she'd be sticking around past the first scene.

On the horror front, Barrymore played a flesh-eating zombie on Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet, but she's now skewing less scary with her daytime talk show, which premiered in September. And for a peek at her daytime debut, check out This Is What Drew Barrymore Really Thinks of the "SNL" Parody of Her Show.

Tony Todd made several horror films in the '90s, but taking on the title role in 1992's Candyman is what made him a legend in the genre.

Todd has worked almost exclusively in horror over the past few decades, appearing in the Final Destination series, the Scream TV show, and an impressive number of standalone scary movies every year. And for more fun content delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Like so many A-listers, Jennifer Aniston made her big-screen debut in a horror movie, starring in 1993's Leprechaun. And for other major stars who got their start in the genre, check out these Celebrities You Forgot Were in Horror Movies.

Aniston became a household name as Rachel on Friends, and she's earned acclaim and awards for her more recent work, including on the hit Apple TV+ series The Morning Show. And for a look at this '90s icon's newest addition, Jennifer Aniston's Adorable New Rescue Puppy Has the Classiest Name.

Few horror movie villains have left the mark that Hannibal Lecter did, thanks to Anthony Hopkins' indelible (and Academy Award-winning) performance.

Hopkins played Hannibal again in two early 2000s sequels, and has worked steadily since then, though his horror output—like 2010's The Wolfman and 2011's The Rite—has been somewhat lacking. And for more great actors who have made not-so-great movies, these are The Worst Movies Starring Oscar-Winning Actors.

Though she had a small part in Scream 2, Rebecca Gayheart made her real mark on '90s horror as the (spoiler alert) homicidal Brenda Bates in 1998's Urban Legend.

Gayheart has had a few notable TV and film appearances in recent years, including a part in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Jamie Lee Curtis' scream queen status dates back to her role in the original Halloween in 1978, and she brought Laurie Strode into the '90s with Halloween H20: 20 Years Later in 1998.

Curtis is still very much the Final Girl to end all Final Girls: Not only did she star on the Fox series Scream Queens, but she also resurrected Laurie Strode again in 2018's Halloween, and will return for the sequel Halloween Kills, due out in 2021.

Beloved '90s heartthrob Josh Hartnett played Laurie Strode's son in Halloween H20, and that same year he also starred in the sci-fi horror film The Faculty.

Horror fans appreciated Hartnett's starring role on Showtime's Penny Dreadful, where he played a charming leading man who also happened to be a werewolf.

Devon Sawa played a friendly ghost in 1995's Casper, then aged things up with the more adult horror-comedy Idle Hands in 1999.

Sawa kept his scary streak going with Final Destination in 2000, and has made several horror films since then, including 2015's The Exorcism of Molly Hartley and 2019's The Fanatic.

In Candyman, Vanessa Williams played Anne-Marie McCoy, who knew enough to fear the titular killer.

Williams made a name for herself on series like Soul Food and, more recently, Days of Our Lives, and she'll be playing Anne-Marie again in 2021's Candyman.

Like Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich became a horror icon in 1996, also appearing in The Craft and Scream.

Ulrich has found a whole new generation of fans as Jughead's dad on Riverdale, a CW series that often dips its toes in the horror genre.

Fairuza Balk scared a generation of '90s kids—and became a goth fashion inspiration—with her twisted portrayal of Nancy Downs in The Craft.

You can catch a glimpse of Balk's Nancy in The Craft: Legacy, and she's made several film and TV appearances in recent years, including an arc on Showtime's Ray Donovan.

While she could easily have just been one of Ghostface's victims in Scream, Rose McGowan made Tatum Riley one of the franchise's most beloved characters.

McGowan followed up Scream with more genre faves, most notably starring as a witch on Charmed, but now she's probably best known for her role in taking down disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein, as documented in McGowan's memoir Brave and the docuseries Citizen Rose.

Child star Elijah Wood proved he could tackle scarier (and more grown-up fare) with The Faculty.

Wood has become something of a horror aficionado over the past several years, starring in movies like 2012's Maniac and 2020's Come to Daddy, and producing indie horror hits like 2019's Mandy and 2020's Color Out of Space.

Chucky found his match with Tiffany Valentine, memorably played by Jennifer Tilly, whose distinctive voice served her well when Tiffany got transformed into a doll.

Tilly has continued playing Tiffany—as well as herself—in all the Chucky sequels, most recently Cult of Chucky in 2017.

When he wasn't breaking hearts on Dawson's Creek, Joshua Jackson was joining his fellow WB stars in late '90s slashers like Urban Legend and Scream 2.

Jackson has enjoyed a recent career renaissance, earning rave reviews for roles on prestige series like The Affair and Little Fires Everywhere.