In 1992, Melrose Place hit the small screen, portraying a dramatically enmeshed group of beautiful people, who lived in an apartment complex on — you guessed it — Los Angeles’ Melrose Place.
Cast members Josie Bissett, Laura Leighton, and Heather Locklear appeared on the May ’94 cover of Rolling Stone, and the show was nominated for five Golden Globes. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly deemed the show a “New Classic,” and it was revived in 2009 with a new cast for one magical season. Later, in 2015, Lifetime released The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story.
So where are the residents of Melrose Place these days? Here’s a look.
Heather Locklear
After the series finale in 1999, Locklear moved on to Spin City, where she played Caitlin Moore. The actress, who has one daughter, Ava, with ex-husband Richie Sambora, has gone through rehab numerous times, and was arrested in 2010 for involvement in a hit-and-run.
Nevertheless, she’s continued to work, appearing on Hot in Cleveland, Franklin & Bash, Fresh Off the Boat, and most recently, on TLC’s Too Close to Home. In 2009, Locklear was called back to Melrose Place for the show’s revival, where she reprised her role as Amanda Woodward — called one of the 40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time by Rolling Stone, and one of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years by Entertainment Weekly in 2010.
In an 2009 interview with EW, Locklear defended her character against accusations that Woodward is one of “TV’s bitchiest,” saying, “She isn’t a bitch, she’s just misunderstood. If she were a man, no one would comment about how she conducts business.”
Locklear ended her engagement to her Melrose Place co-star (and on-screen love interest) Jack Wagner in 2011, after four years together.
Thomas Calabro
Getty Images
Calabro’s character, Dr. Michael Mancini, was the only one to last the entire run of Melrose Place. After the show ended, Calabro went on to Nip/Tuck, Touched by an Angel, Castle, NCIS, CSI: NY, Greek, and the reboot of Melrose Place, among others.
Calabro, who has three children, has also gone on to do voice-over work. In 2017, TVLine announced that Calabro would be starring in the fifth season of TNT’s The Last Ship.
Josie Bissett
Getty Images
Bissett appeared in 172 episodes of Melrose Place, during some of which, she co-starred with then-husband Rob Estes. The couple, who has two children, divorced in 2006. Post-MP, Bissett landed roles in several TV movies, as well as on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, where she spent five seasons. Bissett also made an appearance in the 2009 Melrose Place reboot. And later, she and MP co-star, Jack Wagner, reunited in 2016 for Hallmark Channel’s The Wedding March.
Bissett has also become a successful children’s book author. Her first book, Tickle Monster, came out in 2008, and she followed it up with Boogie Monster in 2011. As of 2012, she and Chef Danny Boome were working on a cookbook called Munchie Monster. Bissett plans to collaborate on another children’s book with her daughter Maya. “I said, ‘We should do it together,'” she told People, “And she was really excited about it.”
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?
Courtney Thorne-Smith
Getty Images
On Melrose Place, Thorne-Smith played Allison Parker, a Midwestern transplant with a serious penchant for drama. The actress then moved to another hit show, Ally McBeal, after leaving MP. She then spent five years on According to Jim, and joined the cast of Two and a Half Men in 2010. In 2016, Thorne-Smith appeared on Fresh Off the Boat in an episode paying tribute to Melrose Place. And in 2017, she was cast as archaeologist Emma Fielding in the Hallmark series Site Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery.
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. “I thought, 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 the author of the novel Outside In, and is married to author Roger Fishman, and has one son, Jake.
Vanessa Williams
Getty Images
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.
She went on to appear on Murder One, earning her first nomination for an NAACP Image Award in 1996. She was nominated again in 1997 for her role as Dr. Grace Carr on Chicago Hope, and later won for her role as Maxine Chadway in Showtime’s Soul Food. Williams appeared on Cold Case and Lincoln Heights before landing the role of Francine West on The CW’s The Flash in 2015. In 2016, Williams joined the cast of Days of Our Lives as Dr. Valerie Grant.
Andrew Shue
Getty Images
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. He, and his childhood buddy, Michael Sanchez, also created Do Something, an organization aimed at motivating young people to take action through community service.
Shue worked with his sister, actor Elisabeth Shue, on the 2007 film Gracie, which is not only the story of Elisabeth’s experience playing on her high school, all-boys’ soccer team, but also of the loss of their brother, Will, who died in an accident in 1986.
In 2010, Shue married ABC News correspondent Amy Robach. The two each had children from previous marriages: Shue had three sons from his marriage to Jennifer Hageney, and Robach had two daughters from her marriage to Tim McIntosh.
Grant Show
Getty Images
It was Grant Show’s character, Jake Hanson, who started it all, as the bad-boy carpenter who helped Jackie Taylor and Mel Silver prepare for their wedding on Beverly Hills, 90210, ultimately becoming involved with Kelly Taylor. Hanson’s character was spun-off of 90210, and right onto Melrose Place.
After MP, Show found roles on Six Feet Under, Beautiful People, Private Practice, Big Love, Criminal Minds, The Family, and Devious Maids.
In 2017, it was announced that Show would return to the soap world as Blake Carrington in The CW’s reboot of Dynasty. Show and his wife, Katherine LaNasa, welcomed daughter Eloise McCue Show, in March 2014.
Kristin Davis
Getty Images
Before she was Charlotte York on Sex and the City, Kristin Davis played the pregnancy-faking Brooke Armstrong on Melrose Place. In addition to SATC, Davis was the voice of Miss Spider on the cartoon series Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends, and in 2014, played Ginny Taylor-Clapp on CBS’s Bad Teacher.
Davis, who adopted daughter Gemma Rose in 2011, was rumored to be dating Aaron Sorkin in 2012, but she told Haute Living that she’s not rushing to the altar any time soon. She works 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 said.
Laura Leighton
Getty Images
Leighton played Sydney Andrews on both the original Melrose Place and the reprise in 2009. Leighton, who is married to fellow MP alum Doug Savant, also appeared on Skin, Tru Calling, Law and Order: SVU, CSI: Miami, and more, before landing the role of Ashley Marin on Pretty Little Liars in 2010.
During a 2009 appearance on the Bonnie Hunt Show, Leighton said her older daughters were weirded out by her role on MP, which they’re now old enough to watch. “It’s like, ‘Oh God, my mom’s on this show.’ Their phrase — to quote them — is ‘Ah…ew…awkward,'” she shared.
Doug Savant
Getty Images
Matt Fielding, Savant’s Melrose Place character, was at the forefront of openly gay characters being portrayed on television. After leaving MP in 1997, Savant’s next major role was as Craig Phillips on 24, before joining the cast of Desperate Housewives in 2004, alongside MP alum Marcia Cross. He later appeared on Castle, Criminal Minds, the The X-Files reboot, and most recently, Notorious.
Savant turned down the offer to reprise his role as Matt in the 2009 Melrose Place reboot, saying that he was too busy at the time with Desperate Housewives, but he admitted, “Here’s the truth: They need to get us old-timers back for a real old-school Melrose Place reunion. I’d come [back] for that.”
Jack Wagner
Getty Images
Soap opera veteran Wagner played Dr. Peter Burns on Melrose Place. After the show’s finale, Wagner continued acting on daytime TV, graced Broadway for his role in Jekyll & Hyde, and later reprised his role as Frisco Jones on General Hospital in 2013.
The following year, Wagner reunited (professionally) with his ex-wife, Kristina Malandro Wagner, for Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart. The pair originally met while playing General Hospital super couple Frisco and Felicia, married in 1993, and divorced 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.
Rob Estes
Getty Images
On Melrose Place, Estes first played Sam Towler, and then Kyle McBride, whom he played from 1996 until the show’s end.
Estes then guested 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 on the remake of Beverly Hills, 90210 in 2008. In 2016, he joined the cast of VH1’s Daytime Divas, based on Star Jones’ novel Satan’s Sisters.
After spending several years living in Seattle with ex-wife Josie Bissett, Estes and wife Erin live in California with their son, Makai, 5, and Mason, Estes’ teenaged son, with Josie Bissett.
Lisa Rinna
Getty Images
Before she was at the center of drama on the The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Rinna played Taylor McBride on Melrose Place. Since then, Rinna has popped up everywhere, including Broadway (as Roxie Hart in Chicago, alongside husband Harry Hamlin), Dancing with the Stars, Days of Our Lives, Entourage, and even QVC, where she has her own clothing collection.
Rinna and Hamlin also had a short lived reality show, Harry Loves Lisa, in 2010. The couple has two daughters, Delilah Belle and Amelia Gray.
Marcia Cross
Getty Images
Fans of Melrose Place certainly remember the scene in which Cross’s character, Dr. Kimberly Shaw, pulls off her wig, revealing an intense scar. Cross left the show in season five, but that moment will live forever (along with the time she blew up the apartment building).
After MP, Cross guest-starred on basically every relevant television program at the time — including Seinfeld, Boy Meets World, and Ally McBeal — before spending a season on the WB’s Everwood.
Cross married stockbroker Tom Mahoney in 2006, and gave birth to twin daughters Eden and Savannah in 2007. After yet another memorable role wrapped for Cross on Desperate Housewives in 2012, the prolific actress joined the cast of ABC’s Quantico in 2015.
Kelly Rutherford
Getty Images
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 after her divorce from Giersch, after spending “nearly $1.5 million on legal fees…for her bitter divorce/custody war.”
Daphne Zuniga
Getty Images
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.
According to Zuniga’s website, she’s at work, developing a half hour comedy, in which she plans to star. In 2009, she was appointed by then Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, to the Board of the LA River Revitalization Corp, and is also an avid supporter of Equality Now. In 2007, Zuniga made a documentary called The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED.
Alyssa Milano
Getty Images
At this point, there’s little Alyssa Milano hasn’t done. She has a clothing line, she’s a philanthropist, she’s part of the team that created a graphic novel, and she’s married with two children.
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, she produced and starred in TV movie Sunday’s 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 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.
Cultural icons
In October 2012, the Melrose Place cast reunited for a segment on Good Morning America in which they reflected on their favorite moments on the show. For Thorne-Smith, it was playing “Drunk Allison,” and for Leighton and Bissett, who played sisters, it was the countless times they couldn’t stop laughing. Savant, for his part, remains proud of his Matt Fielding role becoming part of the lexicon of gay characters on network television.
While the apartment doors of Melrose Place are closed, one thing is certain: the actors on the show remain an important part of ’90s nostalgia, one that can never quite be replicated.