Whatever Happened To Legally Blonde Star Ali Larter?

Ali Larter may no longer be the It-girl she was when she shot to stardom in the late '90s and early 2000s, but many of her projects have stood the test of time and become pop culture classics. After kicking off her acting career with minor roles in TV series such as "Dawson's Creek," Larter made her film debut in 1999's "Varsity Blues" as cheerleader Darcy Sears, whose whipped-cream bikini scene became so iconic that it was referenced in movies, shows, and even a Katy Perry music video. 

She then seemed unstoppable over the next decade, appearing in back-to-back hits such as the "Final Destination" franchise, "Heroes," the "Resident Evil" movies, and "Legally Blonde," where she starred as fitness instructor Brooke Taylor Windham. However, while some actors would likely choose to continue taking on projects to maintain their momentum following such successes, Larter took a break from acting instead in 2011 to focus on her other priority in life: her family.

Four years after meeting him on the set of the comedy "Homo Erectus," Larter tied the knot with actor Hayes MacArthur in 2009 and welcomed a son, Theodore, with him the following year. Shortly after, she stepped out of the spotlight and didn't return to the screen until 2014. However, aside from 2016's "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter," none of her post-hiatus projects became box office or ratings hits, failing to help her regain the level of fame and media coverage she once had. But that doesn't mean Larter isn't in a good place in her life. Here's what Larter has been up to since her acting hiatus.

Ali Larter became a mother of two in January 2015 when she and her husband Hayes MacArthur welcomed daughter Vivienne. The actress had already resumed working when her second child arrived so she was juggling filming and raising a newborn and a 5-year-old — literally. Larter's children joined her on set in Cape Town, South Africa when she filmed "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" in 2015. "We're these girls fighting the end of the world and killing zombies. And we break for lunch and you see us with our toddlers and babies nursing," she told CBS News, referring to costar Milla Jovovich, who shares three kids with husband Paul W.S. Anderson. "It's what a working mom is now. You just make it work."

While her experience raising Theodore gave her the know-how to take care of her daughter, Larter couldn't give Vivienne 100% of her attention as she had with her son due to her filming commitments — which she admitted to "feel[ing] bad" about in an interview with People in 2015. Fortunately, Theodore adored his little sister and had been enthusiastic about being a big brother. "He makes her laugh, he plays with her, he helps give her her bottle. He's so, so sweet with her. That four-year age difference has really worked out for us," Larter gushed.

After Ali Larter officially returned to acting, her film projects mostly were indie movies that ended up being released for VOD and limited theaters, such as "Lovesick" with Matt LeBlanc. The only exception was 2017's "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter," where she reprised her role as Claire Redfield and reunited with Milla Jovovich. However, though it was her only commercially successful movie post-hiatus, "The Final Chapter," which earned $312 million worldwide, also became the highest-grossing film of Larter's career. 

Box office success aside, the actress was vocal about how proud she was to be part of the female-led action franchise. "I love that it's not seven men and one woman. I mean, these are two women, and they're not competing with each other. You know, there are such easy clichés these two could fall into, but this is definitely a female power movie," Larter told IGN of the last "Resident Evil" movie.

However, while she's continued to take on movies, Larter has focused more on television roles after resuming her acting career, with FBI operative Crystal McGuire in "Legends" and sports agent Amelia Slater in "Pitch" being some of her most notable characters. In November 2024, she made her debut in "Landman" as Angela Norris, the ex-wife of Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris. According to Larter, she gets the best of both worlds as an actress and mom when she shoots TV series. "When I'm there, I'm there and I'm present. But as a working mom, I arrive on time, and the second I wrap I am out of my trailer and on my way home to Teddy," she told Philadelphia Style.

In "Varsity Blues," Ali Larter's Darcy tried to seduce the boyfriend of Amy Smart's Jules, James Van Der Beek's quarterback character Mox (yes, it's that iconic whipped cream bikini scene). In reality, Larter and Smart are pals whose friendship predates the coming-of-age sports film. The pair met in 1995 while working as models in Italy and later moved to Los Angeles together to become actors. Two decades later, Larter and Smart's friendship was as strong as ever, as proven by a post shared by the former on Instagram in 2018. The post featured a photo of a barefaced Larter and Smart leaning on each other and smiling, along with the caption: "Friendships born out of a true desire to love, learn, and support one another last a lifetime. It's that simple."

Larter also brought the nostalgia when she reunited with Reese Witherspoon and other "Legally Blonde" cast members for a virtual hangout in 2020. They were joined by Selma Blair, Luke Wilson, Jennifer Coolidge, and Matthew Davis, among others, during the reunion, which supported the food relief nonprofit organization World Central Kitchen. "I can't tell you what it means to me to see your faces. This was my college. You guys, this is where I went to college. I didn't finish college, but I finished 'Legally Blonde' and we all got together and made this movie together that has inspired so many young people and it's just such a gift," said Witherspoon.

Ali Larter found herself in hot water in 2020 when her former "Heroes" costar Leonard Roberts came forward with allegations that she treated him differently from white castmates. Roberts claimed that Larter, who played his onscreen wife, refused to film a bedroom scene with him without her top being visible in the shot but appeared to have no problem with wearing only lingerie for a scene where her character seduced costar Adrian Pasdar's character. "I couldn't help wondering whether race was a factor," the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actor wrote in an essay for Variety. 

In addition, Larter allegedly rebuffed all his attempts to get along with her on set. Roberts claimed that the alleged tension ultimately led to his 2007 firing from "Heroes," with showrunner Tim Kring allegedly informing him that his character would be killed off in Season 2 due to "the Ali Larter situation."

Larter quickly responded to Roberts' accusations by issuing a public apology. However, she appeared to deny that there was any tension between them when they filmed the series. "I am heartbroken reading his perception of our relationship, which absolutely doesn't match my memory nor experience on the show. I respect Leonard as an artist and I applaud him or anyone using their voice and platform. I am truly sorry for any role I may have played in his painful experience during that time and I wish him and his family the very best," she said in a statement to TVLine.

Since her acting break, Ali Larter has made several big moves outside of her work as an actress. She turned her passion for cooking into a business venture when she released a cookbook titled, "Kitchen Revelry: A Year of Festive Menus from My Home to Yours." She told CBS News that she's usually in the kitchen whipping up her favorite dishes for her family during her downtime, sharing, "When I'm not on set, that's really what I'm doing." In 2022, Larter also launched a wine brand called Forever Gold, which aims to "[inspire] moments of love and connection" for all its customers, according to an Instagram post. But while these ventures were born out of her love for food and wine, another major decision was the result of a surprising discovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, Larter, her partner, and their kids left their home in Los Angeles and moved to Sun Valley, Idaho, for two months after both Hollywood productions and in-person classes were shut down due to the lockdown. However, they ended up falling in love with the community there and ultimately chose to make their move permanent, trading the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for small-town life. Larter and her husband Hayes MacArthur built a gorgeous 4,400-square-foot mansion in Sun Valley to call home, and the rest was history. "[Hayes and I] fell in love with the beauty of the mountains and their quiet grandness. Neither of us had ever lived in a small town before. People look out for each other. There's a real sense of community here and we're so happy to be a part of it," Larter told Rue magazine in September 2024.