It’s been 25 years since those wacky under-achievers, Romy White and Michele Weinberger, attended their 10-year high school reunion and created the cult classic Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. With much of the film’s original audience attending their own 10, 20, and 30-year reunions since its 1997 debut, the nostalgia factor for Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion has never been bigger. There’s even been a tease here and there that a sequel is in the works.
So, with that in mind, let’s revisit the class of Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion and see what they’ve been up to.
Mira Sorvino (Romy White)
Mira Sorvino appeared in minor roles in acclaimed indie films such as Quiz Show and Barcelona, yet it was her performance in Woody Allen’s 1995 film Mighty Aphrodite that brought her not only mainstream recognition but an Academy Award for Best-Supporting Actress. Sorvino also appeared in a string of other hits, including Romy and Michele, throughout the late 1990s.
Sorvino came out publicly with claims that she had been sexually harassed by notorious Miramax producer Harvey Weinstein. In a self-penned article published in The Hollywood Reporter, Sorvino stated: “I felt if I had accepted Harvey’s advances, I would have continued to make movies with them.”
In recent years, Sorvino has experienced a career resurgence appearing on TV as Monica Lewinsky’s mother, Marcia Lewis, in Impeachment: American Crime Story, and in the comedy horror series Shining Vale. Sorvino is also set to appear in the upcoming biopic Lamborghini.
Lisa Kudrow (Michele Weinberger)
Lisa Kudrow is known worldwide for her portrayal of Phoebe Buffay on the smash hit Friends, but had not starred in a major feature film before Romy and Michele. Kudrow had originated the role of Michele Weinberger in Ladies Room, the 1988 play that inspired the movie. Kudrow was also responsible for one of the film’s best moments, improvising the scene where Michele claims to have invented Post-It Notes.
While Kudrow has always remained in the public eye due to her high-profile role in Friends, she’s also appeared in the Analyze This franchise, Easy A, Booksmart, and The Girl on the Train. Kudrow also starred in the HBO comedy series The Comeback, and produced and starred in Web Therapy on Showtime.
Janeane Garafolo (Heather Mooney)
Janeane Garofolo was a legit Gen X icon even before playing sarcastic class alt-girl Heather Mooney in Romy and Michele. Garofolo was a cast member of the cult sitcom The Ben Stiller Show, and also starred in cultural touchstone Reality Bites prior to blowing Michele’s Post-It lie in Romy and Michele.
Garofolo continues to work steadily in the industry, both as an actor and as a stand-up and spoken word artist. She recently appeared in two episodes of Showtime’s Billions as a marijuana mogul. She voices Madam Malin in We Baby Bears.
Alan Cumming (Sandy Frink)
Class nerd turned financial whiz Sandy Frink was played by Alan Cumming in his US film debut. Sandy’s millions save the girls in the film. Romy and Michelle opened up a number of doors for Cumming. He would follow up the role with a Tony award-winning run playing The M.C. in the Broadway revival of Cabaret. He became known to millennials as Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids franchise, and even portrayed the superhero Nightcrawler in the X-Men sequel X2.
Cumming has remained active in TV, film, and theater to this day. He starred in the CBS police procedural Instinct from 2018 to 2019, and will return to his role as the mayor in the second season of Apple TV Plus’ Schmigadoon! Cumming recently took home another Tony, this time for producing the musical A Strange Loop.
Camryn Manheim (Toby Walters)
Camryn Manheim, who played the over-enthusiastic and forever picked upon optimist Toby, was a relative unknown at the time of Romy and Michele, having played minor roles in the soap operas Loving and One Life to Live. The same year Romy and Michele was released, Mannheim scored one of her most memorable parts as lawyer Ellenor Frutt on The Practice, a role she would continue to play until 2003. She scored an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for the part in 1999.
Manheim has remained a consistent TV presence over the last 25 years, appearing in series such as Law and Order, Younger, and Major Crimes. She also was a regular on Stumptown.
Julia Campbell (Christie Masters)
Julia Campbell is still probably best known for her work as OG mean girl and (of course) cheerleader captain Christie Masters in Romy and Michelle.
Campbell is a reliable fixture of TV and has appeared in dozens of guest roles on numerous series. She had a notable character arc in Dexter, and also shared screen time with her IRL husband Jay Karnes on The Shield. Campbell also played JonBenet Ramsey’s mother Patsy in the 2016 TV film Who Killed JonBenét?
Elaine Hendrix (Lisa Luder)
Elaine Hendrix portrayed the slightly less mean one of the mean girls, Lisa Luder. Hendrix was best known for the one-season reboot of Get Smart where she played Agent 66 opposite Andy Dick. She became firmly ensconced in the consciousness of millenials everywhere when she played everybody’s least favorite potential stepmom, Meredith Blake, in the reboot of The Parent Trap one year after the release of Romy and Michele.
Hendrix has remained a hardworking actress ever since her appearance in Romy and Michele. She’s appeared in numerous film and television roles, and has played Alexis Carrington Colby in the rebooted Dynasty for the last three years.
Vincent Ventresca (Billy Christianson)
Vincent Ventresca was definitely memorable in his role of high school hero and post-high school almost zero Billy in Romy and Michele, but he may be more remembered by Friends fans as Monica Geller’s onetime boyfriend Fun Bobby. Ventresca went on to star in the Invisible Man series and continues to work in film and television roles. He’s appeared on Criminal Minds, 9-1-1, and Disconnected.
Justin Theroux (Clarence the Cowboy)
While Heather didn’t get to resolve her unrequited love with Sandy, she did get to walk off into the metaphorical sunset with hunky cowboy Clarence, played by then-newbie actor Justin Theroux, who had only appeared in one indie movie previously. Theroux would on to play roles in acclaimed art-house fare such as Mulholland Drive and American Psycho in the 2000s, while also starring in the acclaimed HBO series The Leftovers.
In the time since he hung up his cowboy hat, Theroux has forged a career as a Hollywood triple threat, acting, writing, and producing. He wrote Iron Man 2 and Rock of Ages, and also had a brief appearance in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Theroux will be appearing as infamous political operative G. Gordon Liddy in the upcoming miniseries, The White House Plumbers.
So, now that we know what everyone has been up to, when do we get a sequel? Well, Kudrow and Sorvino are remaining more or less mum on the subject, but Sorvino has dropped a hint that there may be one in the works.
Keep your fingers really really crossed, and have a Romy and Michele Day!
