Mean Girls: what happened to Lindsay Lohan and the actresses of the cult film of the 2000s?

19 years later Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert gave way to Angourie Rice, Renée Rapp, Avantika Vandanapu and Bebe Wood in the film adaptation of the musical Mean Girls, itself inspired by Mark’s film Waters from 2004 and the novel by Rosalind Wiseman.

Released in theaters this Wednesday, January 10, Mean Girls, Lolita Despite Me is directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr and written by Tina Fey, who already worked on the original film.

The story follows Cady Heron, a new student who finds herself rubbing shoulders with the elite of the social food chain, the popular girls called “The Plastics”, led by Regina George and her minions Gretchen and Karen. But when Cady has a crush on Aaron, she doesn’t immediately realize that she has just made a big mistake, her new friend will quickly turn into an enemy. Cady decides to overthrow the established order with the help of her loser friends, Janis and Damian.

Having become cult over time, the comedy Lolita Despite Me is brought up to date here through a musical version. Here we offer you a comparison of the characters from the original film and the 2024 version.

Cady: Lindsay Lohan / Angourie Rice

Incarnated in 2004 by Lindsay Lohanfamous at the time for her double role as twins in The Four of Us by Nancy Meyers and the comedy Freaky Friday as My Mother in which she played opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, Cady is played by Angourie Rice in the 2024 film.

The 23-year-old actress has already appeared in The Nice Guys with Ryan Gosling, Sofia Coppola’s The Prey and in the recent Spider-Man trilogy where she plays high school student Betty Brant.

Warning, this paragraph contains a spoiler on Mean Girls

A key actress in family comedies from the early 2000s, Lindsay Lohan lost several roles due to her off-set behavior and went through rehab.

At the start of the 2020s, Lindsay Lohan attempted a comeback with the Netflix film Christmas Time, the sci-fi film Among The Shadows and Gardel, a biopic on tango singer Carlos Gardel, which should begin filming soon. The 37-year-old actress makes a cameo in Mean Girls and notably gives the answer to Angourie Rice.

Regina: Rachel McAdams / Renée Rapp

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19 years later Rachel McAdamsit’s the singer Renee Rapp who takes over the role of Queen of Plastics Regina George. A character that Renée Rapp already played on stage since she has played Regina in the Broadway musical since 2019. This is the first feature film of the 24-year-old young woman who had already appeared in the series The Sex Lives of College Girls .

For his part, after the film Mark WatersRachel McAdams has played a series of roles: the horror film Red Eye alongside Cillian Murphy, the sentimental fresco Never Forget with Ryan GoslingSherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, the romances Out of Time, I Promise You, Midnight in Paris, To the Wonder by Terrence Malick, the Marvel Doctor Strange films and the True Detective series (season 2).

If the original actresses of Lolita in spite of myself met last November for an advertising spot for the American chain of stores WalmartRachel McAdams refused to reprise her role because she was not interested in publicity.

Karen: Amanda Seyfried / Avantika Vandanapu

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Clearly not the smartest of the Plastics but probably the funniest, the character Karen marked a generation. This role launched the film career of‘Amanda Seyfried. The young actress continues with the series Veronica Mars, in which she plays Kristen Bell’s best friend, and the series Big Love. We then meet her in Alpha Dog by Nick Cassavetes and she lands the role of Sophie, Meryl Streep’s daughter in the film adaptation of the cult musical Mamma Mia!. The 38-year-old actress now has more than 50 films and series to her credit. In 2023, she won the Golden Globes for Best Actress in a Mini-Series for The Dropout.

At only 18 years old (she wasn’t born when the first film came out), Avantika Vandanapu takes over the role of Karen in the new version. Actress and dancer (she won the second season of TV hook Dance India Dance L’il Masters), Avantika has appeared in several Indian films, and in Disney Channel productions (Diary of a Future President, Spin). We will find her on May 8 in the casting of the horror film Horrorscope.

Gretchen: Lacey Chabert / Bebe Wood

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Already known for her role as Claudia in the series La Vie à Cinq, Lacey Chabert in 2004 landed the role of Gretchen Wieners in Lolita in spite of myself. The American actress continued her career on the small screen (Baby Daddy, Still the King) and appeared in numerous TV films for American television, notably Christmas TV films (Christmas in the Enchanted Castle, Love Always Comes Back at Christmas, Christmas at all costs!).

For his part, Baby Woodthe interpreter of Gretchen 2.0 made her debut in front of the camera at the age of 10 in the series Submissions Only. In 2012, she landed the role of Shania in Ryan Murphy and Allison Adler’s series The New Normal and appeared in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. His best-known role is that of Lake in the series Love, Victor inspired by the feature film Love, Simon by Greg Berlanti.

Janis: Lizzy Caplan / Auli’i Cravalho

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Lizzy Caplan began her career on the small screen at the age of 17. She appears in the series Freaks and Geeks then in the series Second Chance, Smallville and Tru Calling: Countdown.

It is with the role of Janis in Lolita in spite of myself, that she takes her first steps on the big screen, but we have to wait for the release of Cloverfield to find her in a more substantial role. The young actress then skillfully combines cinema (The Time Machine, 127 Hours, Allies) and television (True Blood, New Girl, Masters of Sex, Castle Rock). In 2023 she is in the casting of the series Fatal Liaison with Joshua Jackson.

It’s Auli’i Cravalho, who reprises the role of the rebellious Janis in Mean Girls. Spectators have already seen her in the series Rise and Le Pouvoir, the Netflix film All Together Now or the Disney + TV films, Crush and Darby and the Dead. But she is best known for having lent her voice to the Disney heroine Moana in the original version.

Damian: Daniel Franzese / Jaquel Spivey

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Daniel Franzese plays Damian, Janis and Cady’s gay best friend. A role which also allowed the actor to come out 10 years later. In a column published in 2014 on IndieWireDaniel Franzese wrote about his character in Lolita Despite Me: “You were proud of yourself, I was an insecure actor. Your character has become an icon that people have taken as a reference… I would have liked to have had you as a model when I was younger. It might have been easier to grow up gay.”

A touching declaration of love for this character who has become an icon for an entire generation. From Lolita in spite of myselfDaniel Franzese has alternated between television series (Conviction, Looking, Recovery Road) and cinema (War of the Worlds, I Spit on Your Grave) but without ever managing – until now – to land THE role of his career.

With Mean Girls, Jaquel Spivey took his first steps in front of the camera, but the actor has been shining on stage for 2 years. He won the Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Musical and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor for his role as Usher in the Broadway play “A Strange Loop“.

Aaron: Jonathan Bennett / Christopher Briney

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He is the “object” of the discord between Regina and Cady. Aaron was played in 2004 by the young lead Jonathan Bennett. The latter then briefly appeared in Veronica Mars where he found Amanda Seyfried before participating in numerous TV films. In 2015 we found him in the role of Ethan in the teen series Awkward. Like Lacey Chabert, the latter then shot several Christmas TV films: Christmas Made To Order, The Christmas Nanny, Christmas at the Mitchells! and its sequel.

In Mean Girls, actor Christopher Briney takes over the role of Aaron. The latter is already known to teenage audiences for his role as Conrad in the hit Prime Video series The Summer I Became Pretty. He will soon be appearing in Dalíland in which he co-stars with Ben Kingsley and Barbara Sukowa.

Mrs. George: Amy Poehler / Busy Philipps

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In 2003, Tina Fey – already screenwriter of the first opus – entrusts the role of Mrs. George, Regina’s mother, to his accomplice Amy Poehler. The two friends will then collaborate on several occasions, whether for cinema or television. Actress, producer, screenwriter and director, Amy Poehler has more than 65 works to her credit.

Fans of Dawson and Cougar Town will have recognized it, it is Busy Philipps who plays the role of the crazy mother in the new version. Iconic actress of the small screen in the early 2000s, Busy Philipps also appeared in the series: Emergency, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Vice Principals, Girls5Eva, and in supporting roles in the cinema (FBI Fake Blondes Undercover, What think men, I Feel Pretty).