Whatever Happened To The Cast Of Cheaper By The Dozen?
When Cheaper by the Dozen was released in 2003, it was an instant hit for young viewers. (There was even a sequel made in 2005!) While the original flick wasn't necessarily a huge success amongst the critics — scoring just 24 percent on Rotten Tomatoes — it was a commercial success. Audiences were charmed by the chaotic, dysfunctional, but loving Baker family, and it doesn't take much digging to understand why: the family movie boasted an all-star cast that was made up of some of the biggest young stars of the time. With Hollywood heavyweights Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt at the helm as the parents of twelve kids, it's easy to see why the movie was a riot. Meanwhile, the kids were played by some familiar faces, too, such as Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo, Tom Welling, and Alyson Stoner. Of course, some of the younger child actors were less recognizable.
The movie was released over 15 years ago — so, needless to say, all of the Baker kids are now all grown up and have gone on to have a wide variety of careers. Curious to learn more? Here's what happened to the cast of Cheaper by the Dozen.
Comedy legend Steve Martin has all but retired from acting
Steve Martin was one of the most successful comedic actors around, with unforgettable roles in Roxanne, The Jerk, The Pink Panther, and more. If you grew up watching the Cheaper by the Dozen patriarch throughout the '80s, '90s, and 2000s, you may have noticed that he's since gone off the radar — but for good reason.
After decades of success in the film industry, Martin eventually decided to pursue different interests. As he explained to Newsweek in 2017, it was in the early 2000s when he shifted his focus to banjo playing. "The great banjo player Earl Scruggs was doing an album, and he asked me to play on it," Martin said. This led to a career in bluegrass music — and multiple Grammy wins. Going on to confess that he wasn't really interested in acting anymore, he added, "I'm so happy with what I'm doing."
In addition to his music career, Martin has also written several books. As an author, this multi-talent has published novels, essays, short stories, and plays. Even though Martin has pretty much left Tinseltown behind, he's certainly stayed very busy!
Bonnie Hunt has been a trailblazer throughout her varied career
As the mother of the Baker tribe in Cheaper by the Dozen, Bonnie Hunt is as competent, stoic, and admirable as she is off-camera. Prior to her appearances in the franchise's two movies, you probably saw Hunt in the Beethoven films, Jumanji, and Jerry Maguire. Since playing Kate Baker, she's continued to work steadily in Hollywood — particularly in voice acting for Pixar: Sally in Cars, Dolly in Toy Story, Mrs. Graves in Monsters University, and Bonnie in Zootropolis.
Hunt has also kept busy with various jobs behind the camera. In addition to creating and hosting her own talk show, The Bonnie Hunt Show, she was the first person to have written, produced, directed, and starred in her own primetime sitcom, Life with Bonnie. "I went to Hollywood and I've failed many times," Hunt told the Christopher Closeup podcast in 2019. "... You get up and brush yourself off, but you do your best work." Noting the "incredible friendships" she's made along the way, Hunt added, "It's not only about the success."
Cheaper by the Dozen's Piper Perabo has stayed busy with her activism
As eldest sibling Nora, Piper Perabo portrays a mature, grown-up, young adult who had already moved out of the hectic Baker house. While Perabo was already pretty well known for playing Violet in Coyote Ugly, it wasn't until after Cheaper by the Dozen that her career really took off. After playing Hugh Jackman's wife in 2006's The Prestige, she starred on the TV series Covert Affairs from 2010 to 2014 (for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2011), and in 2019, had a leading role in Angel Has Fallen.
Offscreen, Perabo has also kept pretty busy with her activism — and has actually been arrested multiple times for protesting. After getting arrested for civil disobedience during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings in 2018, she wrote in a CNN article, "I got arrested for what I believe in: justice." The following year, Perabo was arrested again (alongside Jane Fonda) during a climate change protest, and has even put together a list of links to various causes her fans can support. It's clear that Perabo will always stand up for what she believes.
Family man Tom Welling has starred in a number of television shows
In Cheaper by the Dozen, Tom Welling plays Charlie, the eldest Baker son who's often forced to help out with the younger kids — much to his annoyance. But Welling was already well-known for starring in the popular Superman series, Smallville, which premiered in 2001. After it came to an end ten years later, the actor took on another TV role as Marcus on Lucifer. On portraying a character with a villainous side after so many years playing the hero, Welling told Entertainment Weekly, "I'd be lying if I was saying that I'm not enjoying playing something very different."
Nevertheless, Welling couldn't resist reprising his role of hero Clark Kent one more time on Batwoman in 2019. As of 2020, Welling is set to appear in yet another series called The Professionals, in which he'll play "a hardened former counterintelligence officer Captain Vincent Corbo," per Deadline.
While it's clear that Welling's career is still going well, his family life has been equally successful: In January 2019, he and wife Jessica Rose Lee welcomed son Thomson Wylde into the world.
Hilary Duff is as busy as ever with more mature acting roles
Most of us knew Hilary Duff before she played Lorraine in Cheaper by the Dozen as the titular character on the Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire series. The singer-actress later took on a series of iconic roles in movies like A Cinderella Story, Cadet Kelly, Raise Your Voice, and, of course, The Lizzie McGuire Movie. She also released several pop albums throughout the early 2000s.
Since her teen star days, Duff has certainly grown up, having welcomed son Luca with ex-husband Mike Comrie and daughter Banks with fiancé Matthew Koma — and her career has followed suit. In 2015, Duff was cast as a savvy book editor named Kelsey Peters in Younger, a stylish, fun, binge-worthy comedy series starring Sutton Foster and created by Sex and the City's Darren Star. "Younger is edgy," Duff told Time. "It's dealing with a lot of women's issues in humorous ways."
While it's so cool to see Duff involved in some grown-up projects, it turns out that Lizzie McGuire is all grown up, too: In 2019, a reboot was announced for Disney Plus.
Will Kevin G. Schmidt bring a third Cheaper by the Dozen movie to the big screen?
Kevin G. Schmidt plays Henry Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen. You may remember him as the kid who (disgustingly) slips in vomit. Going on to play a series of small roles on shows like Bones and Numb3rs, he landed larger gigs on Unnatural History and Poor Paul. From 2008 to 2012, Schmidt hit the soap opera circuit, playing Noah Newman on The Young and the Restless.
Schmidt hasn't had many memorable onscreen parts since, but he's certainly kept busy, dabbling in writing, producing, directing, and acting as the CEO of sustainable food company Creative Organic Ventures. "I'm an artist to the core but I've had a lot of great mentors in my life who encouraged me to really look at the big picture," Schmidt, who also founded natural skincare line the Hapbee Company, told Soap Opera Digest. "I want to do more for this planet than just acting."
Coming full circle, Schmidt also wrote a third Cheaper by the Dozen movie back in 2010! "If @disneyplus doesn't make it post #coronavirus," he shared on Instagram in 2020, "I'll release it as fanfiction."
Actor-dancer Alyson Stoner has become an advocate for mental health
When Cheaper by the Dozen hit theatres, Alyson Stoner (who portrays Sarah Baker) was fairly new to the entertainment industry. Having just found fame dancing in Missy Elliott's 2002 music video for "Work It," Stoner quickly became a staple of Nickelodeon and Disney Channel productions. Recognizable for her work on Drake & Josh, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and Camp Rock, she also lent her voice to Phineas and Ferb. Stoner even had a moderately successful music career, releasing two EPs by 2015.
But Stoner's changed a lot since her saccharine kids network days. Sporting a bleach blonde pixie cut and retro clothes in 2020, the seriously hip star's main focus in adulthood appears to be on promoting self-love and advocating for a sustainable lifestyle. She also came out in a 2018 Teen Vogue essay, revealing that she's "attracted to men, women, and people who identify in other ways." In addition to her lifestyle YouTube channel, Stoner's Simplexity podcast aims to "simplify the complexities of life." We love how Stoner has grown up to be such a conscientious, thoughtful young woman.
Jacob Smith quit acting and worked his way out of a dangerous spiral
Jacob Smith plays the Jake Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen, but this child star already had an impressive resume prior to taking on the part — in fact, he'd been acting for six years and had a long-running role on Party of Five. Despite his early success as an actor, Smith quit the craft in 2006, when things took a tragic turn.
During a 2019 interview with Charis Bible College's Charis Talk Series, Smith opened up about how he almost succumbed to drug addiction. "It started when I was 16, I had a birthday party at a friend's house, and some guy brought over cocaine, and then I just lost my whole life to just that." His drug use "spiraled" out of control into abusing other substances, and by the time he was 20, it had become his whole life. Luckily, attending this college helped Smith kick his dangerous habits, get back on track, and rediscover his passion for acting. "I really want to get back into it," he revealed.
We commend Smith for speaking openly about his battle with addiction and journey toward sobriety.
Liliana Mumy found success as a voice actor after Cheaper by the Dozen
Liliana Mumy portrays the young red-headed Baker daughter, Jessica, in Cheaper by the Dozen. Judging by her IMDb page, she's gone on to have a seriously successful career as a voice actor. In fact, she's provided the voice for plenty of recognizable characters over the years, including the Sister in The Happy Elf and Bubbles in Powerpuff Girls Z. You may also recognize her from the second and third movies in The Santa Clause trilogy.
As of 2020, Mumy's main focus is playing the voice of the hilarious and ditzy Leni on The Loud House, a cartoon show and podcast on Nickelodeon. In terms of her personal life, Mumy seems to be thriving there, as well. According to her Instagram account, she spends her spare time practicing yoga at her home, where she has settled down with a boyfriend and a few adorable, fluffy dogs. By the looks of things, Mumy is really living her best life!
Morgan York became a writer of young adult fantasy
You may remember Morgan York as the actress who plays Kim Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen — also known as the one with a band aid on her forehead! After a short stint as a child actor ended with York playing the nerdy Sarah on Hannah Montana from 2006 to 2010, she turned her focus toward pursuing her other interests.
According to her website, York moved to New York City in 2016 in hopes of getting into publishing, and eventually got a marketing assistant job at Glasstown Entertainment. Soon enough, York started doing some of her own writing. As she put it, she "works in publishing by day and is a novelist by night." With her main focus in the young adult fantasy genre, could York be the author of the next Harry Potter? Only time will tell. Until then, York also pens her own blog, where she discusses politics, activism, writing, and her old life as an actor. We have to say, we never expected Kim Baker to one day become a novelist in New York City!
Cheaper by the Dozen's Forrest Landis took up skateboarding
As Cheaper by the Dozen's Mark Baker, Forrest Landis portrays the bespectacled, red-headed boy who's infamous for bringing a frog to the breakfast table. The family movie proved to be Landis' first foray onto the big screen, and the young actor went on to play characters on Weeds, Boston Legal, and Flightplan, before he took on his last acting role in 2008's Spy School. So, what became of Landis after he stopped acting?
Well, it turns out, he eventually took up skateboarding. Back in 2016, Landis posted an Instagram image of himself skateboarding from around "6 years ago," so by our deductions, he's been skateboarding since at least 2010. As of 2020, Landis is still skateboarding at a professional level. In fact, he frequently works with skateboarding photographer Joseph Butler. By the looks of things, Landis really is following his passions — which could not be further from acting.
Blake Woodruff made an acting comeback years after Cheaper by the Dozen
One of the youngest and adorable Baker children, Mike, is played by Blake Woodruff in both Cheaper by the Dozen films. After taking on this role, he went on to play a young Noah Newman in The Young and the Restless — incidentally, the teenage version of the character is played by his Cheaper by the Dozen brother, Kevin G. Schmidt.
For many years, it looked like Woodruff had stopped acting altogether. However, after a 10-year hiatus, he made his Hollywood comeback, playing Zach in the 2017 slasher film, Victor Crowley, the fourth follow-up flick to the famous Hatchet film series. Based on a review of the film in Flickering Myth, the movie was filled with "obscene levels of gore" with plenty of lost limbs. Apparently, Woodruff's character dies when he is sucked out of an airplane window and burns to death. Yikes! Talk about a change of pace from the family-friendly Cheaper by the Dozen.
Brent Kinsman and Shane Kinsman went off to college
The youngest Baker siblings in Cheaper by the Dozen were the twins, Nigel and Kyle Baker. They were played by child actor twins Brent and Shane Kinsman, who later appeared in Desperate Housewives as Preston and Porter Scavo, respectively. Ever since this stint came to an end in 2011, however, the twins took a step back from acting.
In September 2020, the two now-grown men appeared on The Morning Show in the UK to discuss what they had been up to — namely, they both attended college. "We were so young," Brent said of filming the first Cheaper by the Dozen movie. "What you saw on camera was pretty much what you got off camera — a bunch of kids you kind of had to corral together ... But nothing but good memories." Discussing co-star Kevin G. Schmidt's script for a third movie, the twins revealed that the trio eventually came up with the idea of having the cast recreate moments from the original film in a series of amazing TikTok videos. The Kinsman twins concluded that they were hoping to get back into acting.