American Beauty was one of 1999’s biggest critical and commercial successes.
Director Sam Mendes’ darkly comic thriller swept award season in 2000 with five Oscar wins, including Best Director for Mendes and Best Actor for Kevin Spacey. American Beauty ultimately made more than $350 million at the box office, defying even the loftiest expectations.
Spacey’s portrayal of a suburban father, Lester Burnham, becoming dangerously obsessed with his teenage daughter Jane’s (Thora Birch) high school friend Angela (Mena Suvari) helped him transition from a “character actor” to a bona fide leading man. The film’s young cast all went on to varying degrees of success as well.
However, American Beauty’s success was so tied to Spacey’s unforgettable lead performance that its legacy became incredibly complicated once the actor was accused of sexual misconduct more than a decade later. (Spacey has always denied any wrongdoing. He was acquitted in a U.K. criminal trial as well as being found not liable in a U.S. civil trial.)
While some of today’s biggest A-listers got their start in the ’80s, many of their famous contemporaries in the “Me” decade live quieter, more low-profile lives today. From Tom Cruise, who bravely donned those tighty whities in Risky Business, to the boys and girls of the Brat Pack, click through to see which stars got their big breaks in the 1980s — and see where they ended up!
Keep scrolling for a look back at where the cast of American Beauty is now.
