The Cast Of Melrose Place Has Changed A Lot Since 1992

In 1992, Melrose Place hit the small screen, showcasing a dramatically enmeshed group of beautiful people living, loving, and lying in an apartment complex located on a Los Angeles street named — you guessed it — Melrose Place.

The Fox drama was an instant hit, and its stars were subsequently catapulted to stardom. While it aired its last episode in 1999, Melrose Place left a lasting impression in America's pop culture. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly deemed the show a "New Classic," and it was revived with a new cast in 2009 for one last magical season. In 2015, Lifetime released a made-for-TV movie titled The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story, proving that no one can get enough of this classic primetime soap — or its star-studded cast.

While the apartment doors of Melrose Place are closed, the actors on the show remain an important part of '90s nostalgia. Luckily for fans of the show, many of the famous faces that brought some of television's most beloved characters to life are still gracing Hollywood with their talents. Here's a look at what the cast of Melrose Place looks like today. 

After the series finale of Melrose Place in 1999, Heather Locklear moved on to Spin City, playing the role of Caitlin Moore. But life hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for the actress. Locklear has experienced several highly-publicized rehab stints and had been arrested twice — once for involvement in a hit-and-run, and once for domestic battery. In 2018, reports surfaced that claimed Locklear was in a "psychiatric hold" after suffering a mental breakdown. However, hardships aside, the actress has managed to maintain a relatively successful career.

Locklear has made appearances on shows like Hot in Cleveland, Franklin & Bash, Fresh Off the Boat, and TLC's Too Close to Home. In 2009, she was called back to Melrose Place for the show's revival, where she reprised her role as Amanda Woodward — named one of the 40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time by Rolling Stone. In an 2009 interview with EW, Locklear defended her character against accusations that Woodward is one of "TV's b**chiest," saying, "She isn't a b**ch, she's just misunderstood. If she were a man, no one would comment about how she conducts business."

Josie Bissett appeared in 172 episodes of Melrose Place, co-starring in some with then-husband Rob Estes. Post Melrose Place, Bissett landed roles in several TV movies, as well as on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, where she spent five seasons. The actress also made an appearance in the 2009 Melrose Place reboot — and in 2016, she was reunited with Jack Wagner for the Hallmark Channel's The Wedding March

Bissett has also experienced success outside of Hollywood with her career as a children's book author. Her first book, Tickle Monster, came out in 2008, followed by Boogie Monster in 2011. In June 2015, Bissett's Seattle home was destroyed in a fire, an experience she recounted on an episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now? Luckily, Bissett wasn't physically harmed in the fire, though watching her home burn certainly left the star with some emotional scarring. "I still have my friends and my family and my kids," Bissett told Oprah during her emotional interview (via The Huffington Post). "I can't even imagine going through what I went through without them. I just can't imagine."

On Melrose Place, Courtney Thorne-Smith played Alison Parker, a Midwestern transplant with a serious penchant for drama. After leaving MP, Thorne-Smith moved on to Ally McBeal, followed by five years in a starring role on According to Jim. However, Thorne-Smith returned to her roots in 2016, appearing on Fresh Off the Boat in an episode paying tribute to Melrose Place. Since 2017, the actress has enjoyed a residency at the Hallmark Channel, playing the titular role in the network's Emma Fielding Mystery series. 

Thorne-Smith told Good Morning America that after seeing a picture of herself in a magazine article about actresses who were too thin, she decided to break the cycle of obsessive diet and exercise she'd been in for years. The actress revealed, " I hate the thought of a 12, 13, or 14-year-old girl seeing a picture of me and thinking she'll do what I did." Thorne-Smith is also the author of the novel Outside In, and is married to author Roger Fishman.

Vanessa Williams' character, Rhonda Blair, was written off of Melrose Place after only one season. "I think they didn't make the effort to equip themselves [to write for a black character], either by hiring a black writer or asking me things," Williams told TV Guide of her character's unfortunate exit.

But as the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens — and Williams' career certainly saw many an open door after her days at Melrose Place came to an end. The talented actress went on to appear on Murder One, earning her first nomination for an NAACP Image Award in 1996. Williams went on to appear on Cold Case and Lincoln Heights before landing the role of Francine West on CW's The Flash in 2015. In 2016, Williams joined the cast of Days of Our Lives, portraying Dr. Valerie Grant until November 2018, when it was reported by several soap fan sites that she had been removed from the show's contract list. 

It's likely that you've seen Andrew Shue's post-Melrose Place work without ever realizing it. After playing Billy Campbell on MP for six years, Andrew Shue became an internet mogul as one of the creators of CafeMom, an online hub for all things parenting. A natural entrepreneur, Shue later created Do Something with childhood buddy Michael Sanchez, which is an organization aimed at motivating young people to take action through community service.

In 2010, the Melrose Place actor married another famous face you might know — ABC News correspondent and 20/20 anchor Amy Robach. Shue and Robach each had children from previous marriages when they wed: he had three sons from his marriage to Jennifer Hageney, and she had two daughters from her marriage to Tim McIntosh. In an interview with Us Weekly, Robach dished on the oversized family she shares with Shue, joking, "We've been described as the Brady Bunch." We wonder why!

If you loved Melrose Place, you might want to send your compliments to Grant Show. After all, it was Show's character, Jake Hanson, who started it all. As true Melrose Place fans know, Jake Hanson was the bad-boy carpenter who helped Jackie Taylor and Mel Silver prepare for their wedding on Beverly Hills, 90210. Hanson ultimately became romantically involved with Kelly Taylor before the character was written out of the famous zip code and right onto Melrose Place. 

After five successful seasons on Melrose Place, Show found roles on mega-popular shows like Six Feet Under, Beautiful People, Private Practice, Big Love, Criminal Minds, The Family, and Devious Maids. 

Show became a first-time father in 2014 when he welcomed daughter Eloise McCue Show with his wife, fellow Big Love actress Katherine LaNasa. In 2017, it was announced that Show would return to his roots in the soap opera world on The CW's reboot of Dynasty, portraying billionaire Blake Carrington — a role made famous by John Forsythe. 

Before she breathed life into Charlotte York — the BFF all of us deserve — on HBO's Sex and the City, Kristin Davis rose to fame playing the pregnancy-faking Brooke Armstrong on Melrose Place. In addition to SATC's successful run and its subsequent films, Davis has enjoyed a number of post-MP projects, including voicing Miss Spider on the cartoon series Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends and playing Ginny Taylor-Clapp on the short-lived CBS series, Bad Teacher.

Davis, who adopted daughter Gemma Rose in 2011, briefly dated screenwriter Aaron Sorkin in 2012 — however, the actress revealed to Haute Living that she's not planning on rushing to the altar any time soon. Instead, Davis stays busy working with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to raise awareness for endangered elephants. She was honored for her activism at the 2015 Environmental Media Awards, admitting to People that she has a surprising phobia. "I am deathly afraid of speaking in public, but for the elephants, I'm always thrilled to represent them," she told the publication.

Matt Fielding, Doug Savant's Melrose Place character, was a pioneer in openly gay characters being portrayed on television in a way that felt less exploitative and more genuine. As Melrose Place creator Darren Star explained in an interview with the Television Academy, Savant's character was often on the receiving end of some pretty offensive reactions from Fox executives, as he didn't fit the mold of gay characters that came before him. "Up to that point [...] if you had a gay character on television, the issue for that character would be, 'Oh, my God. He's gay,'" Star revealed. "And in this case, the character [...] he just had a life. He was leading his life."  

After leaving MP in 1997, Savant's next major role was playing Craig Phillips on the popular Fox action series 24. The actor went on to join the cast of Desperate Housewives in 2004 alongside fellow Melrose Place alum Marcia Cross, later making appearances on Castle, Criminal Minds, the The X-Files reboot — and, most recently – MacGyver.

Famous for his role as Frisco Jones on ABC's long-running daytime drama, General Hospital, soap opera veteran Jack Wagner played Dr. Peter Burns on Melrose Place – joining the cast in the show's fourth season. When Melrose Place ended its run in 1999, Wagner experienced continued success with acting on daytime TV, gracing Broadway as the titular characters in Jekyll & Hyde, and later reprising his classic role as Frisco Jones on General Hospital in 2013.

The year following his return to General Hospital, Wagner reunited (professionally, at least) with his ex-wife Kristina Malandro Wagner for Hallmark's When Calls the Heart. After meeting while playing General Hospital super couple Frisco and Felicia, Wagner and his now-ex wed in 1993 and enjoyed over ten years of marriage before divorcing in 2006.

Also a musician, Wagner's debut album, All I Need, was released in 1984, after signing a multi-record deal with Quincy Jones' Qwest Records. His sixth and latest album, On the Porch, a 12-song collection, came out in 2014. 

Before she found herself at the center of all the drama on the The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Lisa Rinna rose to fame playing Taylor McBride on Melrose Place, joining the cast in the show's fifth season. Since then, the actress has popped up virtually everywhere — even spending some time on Broadway alongside husband Harry Hamlin, where she portrayed the infamous Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago. Rinna has also competed for the coveted mirrorball trophy on Dancing with the Stars, started a QVC clothing collection, and appeared on shows like Days of Our Lives, Entourage, and The Middle. 

In 2010, Rinna appeared in a reality show based on her famous marriage called Harry Loves Lisa. Unfortunately, the spinoff wasn't nearly as successful as RHOBH, and was cancelled after only six episodes. In February 2019, Rinna made headlines when she stepped onto the red carpet with a drastically different hairdo, sporting a shoulder-length wig styled in beachy waves in place of her signature short shag. 

Fans of Melrose Place certainly remember the scene in which Marcia Cross's character, the ever-memorable Dr. Kimberly Shaw, pulls off her beautiful, red wig, revealing an intense scar she received after suffering a horrifying car accident. Cross left the show in season five, but that famous wig reveal will live on forever in the hearts of 90s-era TV lovers (along with the time she blew up the apartment building — sheesh). 

After Melrose Place, Cross went on to guest-star on basically every relevant television program on air at the time — including Seinfeld, Boy Meets World, and Ally McBeal — before spending a season on the WB series Everwood. Cross married stockbroker Tom Mahoney in 2006, and gave birth to twin daughters Eden and Savannah in 2007. After wrapping on her equally-as-memorable Desperate Housewives role in 2012, the seasoned actress and Melrose Place alum joined the cast of the ABC drama Quantico in 2015. 

In 2018, Cross took to Instagram to reveal that she's cancer free after a hard-won fight against anal cancer, showing off a picture of her head sans her famous red locks. Hair or no hair, we're just happy she's healthy!

Kelly Rutherford's Megan Lewis materialized on Melrose Place in 1996. Post-series, Rutherford had recurring roles on The District, E-Ring, and Threat Matrix before landing Lily van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl. Her recent TV appearances have included Reckless, Quantico, and Jane the Virgin.

Rutherford's six year long custody battle for her children with her ex-husband Daniel Giersch ended in 2015, when Giersch won full custody. In 2012, a family court judge ordered that Giersch could not return to the US because of a revoked visa, and it was in the best interest of the children to remain in Monaco with their father. "I see them all the time," Rutherford told Page Six in 2016. "I was there eight weeks this summer. ...It was amazing."

Rutherford, who now has her own line of jewelry, filed for bankruptcy in 2013 following her divorce from Giersch, after spending "nearly $1.5 million on legal fees [during the] bitter divorce/custody war." The actress seems to be in a better place now, however. In September 2018, it was confirmed that Rutherford is happily dating screenwriter Chriswell "Chum" Langhorne.

Daphne Zuniga's Jo Reynolds lived on Melrose Place from 1992 until 1996. Zuniga later reunited with Melrose co-star Grant Show on the ABC series Beautiful People, and played characters in numerous TV films before joining the cast of One Tree Hill in 2008. In 2007, Zuniga made a documentary called The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED. Two years later, the actress was appointed by then Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, to the Board of the LA River Revitalization Corp. Zuniga, ever the activist, is also an avid supporter of Equality Now.

In 2017, Zuniga's website, which can no longer be accessed, revealed that she was at working on developing a half hour comedy, in which she planned to star. However, no such comedy has yet to hit the silver screen. Most recently, the former Melrose Place star has been cast in a new Lifetime film series based on V.C. Andrews' Casteel Family book series. We can't wait to see what's next for Zuniga!

You've probably had no problem keeping up with former Melrose Place star Alyssa Milano. At this point, there's little Milano hasn't done. She has a clothing line, she's a philanthropist, she's married with two children — and she has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

Milano played Dr. Mancini's sister Jennifer on seasons six and seven of the show before leaving to play Phoebe Halliwell on Charmed. She went on to appear in the series Mistresses, produced and starred in TV movie Sundays at Tiffany's, and co-hosted the third season of Project Runway: All Stars. In 2016, Milano signed on to the second season cast of Netflix's Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.

In April 2017, Milano continued her streak of being politically outspoken on social media when she criticized First Lady Melania Trump for the size of her rings in her official White House portrait. An advocate for women and active member of Time's Up, Milano made headlines when she was seen in the courtroom audience during Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. 

Actor Rob Estes made a home on Melrose Place not just once, but twice! Estes first appeared in the series' second season for two episodes as Sam Towler, before returning in season five to play the more well-known character of Kyle McBride. Who says you can't go home?

If you were a Sam Towler/Kyle McBride super-fan, you'll be delighted to know that the actor is still a familiar face in Hollywood today. After his run on Melrose Place, Estes went on to guest on Gilmore Girls, and had recurring roles on CSI: Miami, and Women's Murder Club before returning to the Spelling franchise to play Harry Wilson in the 2008 remake of Beverly Hills, 90210. 

In 2016, he joined the cast of VH1's Daytime Divas, which was based on Star Jones' novel, Satan's Sisters. However, according to Estes, his favorite role came in ABC's 2006 show The Evidence. "I played a police officer who was trying to solve a crime that ended his wife's life while still working and fighting alcoholism," Estes dished to The Orange County Register. "That was challenging." 

Amy Locane has had a tough go of things since her time on Melrose Place. In fact, unless you're a diehard fan of the 90s show, it's likely that Locane's name doesn't even ring a bell. That's because the actress, who played the role of Sandy Harling in the very first season of Melrose Place, left the show after just 11 episodes. Locane rose to fame after starring opposite Johnny Depp in the 1990 romantic comedy musical Cry-Baby, and went on to appear in classic flicks like School Ties, Airheads, and Blue Sky. However, her life post-Melrose Place has not been as successful as her early years in Hollywood. 

In 2010, Locane was involved in a fatal drunk driving accident that killed a 60-year-old woman and seriously injured the victim's husband. The actress served two-and-a-half years of a three year prison sentence following the crash — however, according to Fox News, Locane was re-sentenced in appeals court to an additional five years behind bars in February 2019 after determining that her original sentence was too lenient.