'90s teen heartthrobs: where are they now?

Brian Austin Green is best remembered for his role as teen heartthrob David Silver on Beverly Hills, 90210, a shy geek turned popular crush.

He returned to the franchise in 2019 for BH90210, appeared in 2023 rom-com Beautiful Disaster, and judged on reality show The Masked Dancer. He was previously married to Megan Fox and has been with his current partner, Sharna Burgess, since 2020. Brian is a father of five from three different relationships.

We've been swooning for Leonardo DiCaprio ever since he helped Kate Winslet onto that floating door in Titanic. His other '90s hits include Romeo + Juliet and What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

He brings just as much star power to the screen years on, with his most beloved features including thriller Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wall Street and recent action adventure One Battle After Another.

Rider Strong's role on Boy Meets World won him the adoration of teens across the world as the rebellious foil to Ben Savage's Cory Matthews. A run as posh-boy camper Frederick Egan III in Summertime Switch (1994) cemented his heartthrob status.

Plenty of '90s kids were gushing as an older but equally suave Rider guest-starred in Boy Meets World spin-off Girl Meets World. He's also taken on several voice-acting roles over the years, including Star vs. the Forces of Evil and Mighty Magiswords, and more recently, a 2025 episode of Love, Death & Robots.

We loved to loathe him in 1999 classic 10 Things I Hate About You when Andrew Keegan brought smarmy, cool-boy Joey to the screen. But it was 1994 feature Camp Nowhere that introduced us to the star's crush-worthy good looks.

He's still busy at work on screen with features like 2025's Healing Towers, the 2023 psychological horror The Activated Man, and he appeared in an episode of the TV series Trinkets.

Who doesn't fall for the underdog? '90s kids were certainly powerless to Joshua Jackson's charm and humour. Dawson's Creek brought us plenty of teen heartthrob potential, but Dawson's best friend had a fan-favorite romance with Joey Potter.

It's good news for fans of the heartthrob as they can now catch him in the TV series Fatal Attraction (2023), the 2025 feature Karate Kid: Legends, and the romantic drama Happy Hours (2026).

Jason Priestley stole the show throughout the '90s on Beverly Hills, 90210 as the morally upright leading man Brandon Walsh.

'90s fans shouldn't miss the teen heartthrob too keenly, as Jason is still a regular on screen. In fact, 2024 had him joining The CW for the cop drama Wild Cards. He's also kept a hand in with teen dramas, directing eight episodes of My Life with the Walter Boys. 

One of the biggest breakout heartthrob of the ‘90s, Devon Sawa was everyone’s childhood crush as the human version of the titular friendly ghost in Casper (1995). The star followed the blockbuster kids film up with the rom-com Now and Then (1995), starring as the charming Scott Ray alongside his Casper co-star Christina Ricci. Sticking to the spooky genre – albeit much more frightening – he then went on to lead the first Final Destination (2000) film, continuing to make hearts flutter (though partially from fear). 

After a slower start in the millennium – he appeared in the Eminem music video for “Stan” and later the CW thriller Nikita (2010–2013) – everyone’s favorite ghost returned with a vengeance in the 2020s. Returning to his horror roots, he starred in the critically acclaimed Chucky (2021–2024) TV series, and recently, the romantic slasher flick Heart Eyes (2025). 

Looking back on his heartthrob days, Devon told the New York Times, “There was a certain amount of years I just didn’t want to talk about it anymore…Now, I’ve come to peace with it. It’s never going to go away.”

After landing guest roles on shows like Family Matters (1995), Freddie Prinze Jr. skyrocketed to fame with the slasher hit I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and its sequel, which instantly cemented his status as a bona fide teen heartthrob. He seamlessly transitioned into rom-com royalty with the iconic She’s All That (1999), a film that defined an entire generation of teen cinema. 

Who could forget Scooby-Doo (2002), where he shared the screen again with his real-life girlfriend Sarah Michelle Gellar – because if we couldn’t have him, it might as well have been Buffy.

While Freddie largely stepped back from leading roles in the 2000s, he remained active in the industry, lending his voice to beloved animated shows like Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018). The star also recently reprised his role as Ray Bronson in the I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) sequel. 

Beyond acting, he’s also the host of Wrestling With Freddie, a professional wrestling podcast – and has reportedly gotten Sarah hooked on the sport, too.

The definitive floppy-haired bad boy of Bayside High, Mark-Paul Gosselaar became a household name as the mischievous Zack Morris on Saved by the Bell (1989–1993). After leaving Bayside behind, Mark-Paul took on more schoolyard antics in big-screen comedy Dead Man on Campus (1998), later swapping campus life for the police precinct as Detective John Clark Jr. on the long-running procedural NYPD Blue (2001–2005).

Since his heartthrob heyday, Mark-Paul has remained a steady presence on our screens, starring in the legal dramedy Franklin & Bash (2011–2014) and taking a lead role in the Black-ish spin-off Mixed-ish (2019–2021). 

He also delighted longtime fans by stepping back into Zack Morris’ shoes in the Saved by the Bell revival (2020–2021), where he also served as a producer. Still a ‘90s heartthrob at heart, he told NBC that rolled-up jeans were the one trend he’s dying to bring back – very Zack Morris of him!

The ultimate smouldering heartthrob of the era’s music scene, Enrique Iglesias stormed onto the music scene with his self-titled Spanish-language album in 1995, racking up number one singles like “Si Tú Te Vas” and “Experiencia Religiosa” and earning a Grammy Award. His meteoric rise to fame worldwide made him a staple on pop radio and MTV, and there wasn’t a bedroom wall or school locker that didn’t have his picture plastered on them.

With over 100 million albums sold worldwide, Enrique has built a long-lasting career beyond his teen heartthrob days, and was crowned the Top Latin Artist of All Time at the Latin Billboard Awards in 2022. There’s good and bad news for fans: while his last major music release, Final (Vol. 2) (2024) lives up to its name – his twelfth and final studio album – Enrique is continuing to tour and has promised more sizzling singles in the near future.