‘Josie and the Pussycats’ Cast: Where Are They Now? Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid and More

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'Josie and the Pussycats' Cast: Where Are They Now? Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid and More

Totally jerkin! Josie and the Pussycats was a box-office flop when it was released in April 2001, but the film and its soundtrack have since earned cult status among fans. Written and directed by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, the movie is a loose adaption of the Archie Comics series Josie and the Pussycats — and it hit theaters over a decade before Riverdale reinvigorated interest in Archie, Betty, Veronica and the whole gang. When the film celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2021, Elfont revealed that curiosity about the movie was at a higher level than it ever was when Josie actually premiered. "It's crazy how it has grown in people's interest and the movie has grown over the years, as opposed to a movie that made a lot of noise when it came out and then nobody really talked about it anymore," he told InStyle in April 2021. "This is kind of a unique and fun experience to go through, to have people still want to ask us about this movie 20 years later." The movie followed Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook) and her bandmates Melody (Tara Reid) and Valerie (Rosario Dawson) during their abrupt rise to fame. The trio eventually discover that their label, MegaRecords, is using their music to hide subliminal messages about what products and slang are cool. [jwplayer gX6EhvC6-zhNYySv2] The actresses didn't actually sing in the movie, but the soundtrack still became a hit thanks in part to the participation of Letters to Cleo frontwoman Kay Hanley, who provided the vocals for Josie. (10 Things I Hate About You fans will remember Letters to Cleo as the band that's performing on the roof of the high school during the film's closing credits.) "We got to meet Kay before we went to shoot," Cook recalled in a September 2017 interview with The Fader, which called Josie and the Pussycats "the best fake rock band" of all time. "She completely eased my nerves about the performance aspect." As Melody the drummer, Reid took drum lessons, while Dawson really learned how to play the bass for her role as Valerie. "We did it every day for, like, a couple months," the American Pie star said in the same interview. "I remember at the beginning I couldn’t separate my hands from my feet and [producers] were like, 'Oh, God, she’s never going to learn.' Like, it was a disaster. And then one day I just got it." Dawson, for her part, had an absolute blast filming the movie's big finale, where the Pussycats perform for an arena full of people and shrug off the control of MegaRecords. "The music and project was just so great that it felt like this really big concert that everyone enjoyed being at," the Daredevil alum told InStyle in April 2021. "It was magical and profound. It was a big day! I wish I would have been able to crowd surf." Keep scrolling to see what the cast of Josie and the Pussycats is doing now. [podcast_block]

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Rachael Leigh Cook

Cook played Josie, the band's lead singer and guitarist. After Josie and the Pussycats, she starred in films including 29 Palms, Nancy Drew and Blonde Ambition. In 2021, she had a small role in He's All That, Netflix's remake of her 1999 film She's All That. The Dawson's Creek alum is set to appear in Spirit Halloween: The Movie, due out in 2022.

The Get Carter actress was married to Daniel Gillies from 2004 to 2021. The duo share daughter Charlotte, born in September 2013, and son Theodore, born in April 2015.

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Rosario Dawson

The New York City native played bassist Valerie, who's the first band member to realize that MegaRecords is up to something shady. Dawson went on to appear in Men in Black II, Shattered Glass, Sin City, Top Five and Zombieland: Double Tap. Her TV credits include Jane the Virgin, Luke Cage and The Mandalorian. She is set to play the titular role in a Star Wars spinoff series titled Ahsoka, which will follow the character she played in The Mandalorian.

Dawson dated U.S. senator Cory Booker from 2019 to 2022. She adopted daughter Isabella in 2014.

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Tara Reid

The Cruel Intentions actress starred as ditzy but lovable drummer Melody, who had a crush on Reid's then-fiancé, Carson Daly (who also had a cameo role in the movie). The Van Wilder star later appeared in My Boss's Daughter, American Reunion, Scrubs and the Sharknado film series. From 2005 to 2006, she starred in her own reality show titled Taradise.

Reid dated Daly from 2000 to 2001. She was later linked to Michael Axtmann, Michael Lillelund, Erez Eisen and Zachary Kehayov.

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Parker Posey

The Best in Show star played Fiona, the CEO of MegaRecords who desperately wanted to be famous and popular. She went on to star in A Mighty Wind, The Sweetest Thing, Fay Grim, Broken English, Spring Breakdown and Café Society. In 2022, she appeared in HBO's adaptation of The Staircase. Posey published a memoir titled You're on an Airplane in July 2018.

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Alan Cumming

The Tony Award winner played Wyatt, the MegaRecords employee who recruited bands for the company's subliminal messaging program. After Josie and the Pussycats, Cumming appeared in films including X2, The Tempest, Burlesque and Show Dogs. From 2010 to 2016, he played Eli Gold on The Good Wife, racking up three Emmy nominations in the process. In 2021, he appeared in the Apple TV+ series Schmigadoon!, which is a sendup of old-school musicals. Cumming has also published several books and continued to act on Broadway, reprising his Tony-winning role as the Emcee in Cabaret in 2014.

The Golden Globe nominee has been married to Grant Shaffer since 2012.

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Gabriel Mann

Mann played Josie's love interest, Alan, who was also a guitarist himself. He later appeared in Summer Catch, The Bourne Identity, Ray Donovan and Revenge. He currently stars on The CW's Batwoman as Tommy Elliot, a.k.a. Hush.

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Paulo Costanzo

The Canada native played Alexander Cabot, who worked as the Pussycats' manager before their big break. Constanzo went on to appear in 40 Days and 40 Nights, Splinter and Joey. From 2009 to 2016, he starred USA's Royal Pains. Costanzo appeared in season 2 of Upload in 2022. 

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Missi Pyle

Pyle played Alexander Cabot's twin sister, Alexandra, who was there because she was in the comics. The Texas native, who reunited with Posey in Spring Breakdown, has since appeared in Soul Plane, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Artist, Gone Girl and Ma. Her TV roles include Y: The Last Man, Mr. Mayor, Disjointed and Another Period.

Pyle was married to Antonio Sacre from 2000 to 2005 and was later wed to Casey Anderson from 2008 to 2012. She adopted daughter Zooey in 2015.  

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Seth Green

Green appeared as Travis, one of the members of fictional boy band DuJour, who had the misfortune of being shills for MegaRecords before the Pussycats. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum went on to star in Rat Race, Austin Powers in Goldmember and Without a Paddle, and he provided the voice of Howard the Duck in both Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Since 1999, he has voiced Chris Griffin on Family Guy.

The Entourage alum has been married to Clare Grant since May 2010.

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Breckin Meyer

Meyer played Marco, another unfortunate member of DuJour. He later reunited with Green in Rat Race and starred in films including Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Garfield: The Movie. From 2011 to 2014, he starred as Jared Franklin on USA's Franklin & Bash. His other TV credits include Party Down, Designated Survivor, Good Girls and Men at Work.

The Clueless star was married to Josie writer-director Kaplan from 2001 to 2014. The former spouses share daughters Clover and Caitlin.

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Donald Faison

The Clueless actor joined Meyer and Green as D.J., another DuJour boy. Faison went on to star in Uptown Girls, Pitch Perfect, Scrubs, Drunk History, Ray Donovan and Emergence. He is set to appear in the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Powerfpuff Girls as Professor Utonium.

Faison has been married to CaCee Cobb since 2012. The duo share son Rocco, born in 2013, and daughter Wilder, born in 2015. The Waiting to Exhale star also shares son Shawn with ex-girlfriend Audrey Ince and twins Dade and Kaia and son Kobe with ex-wife Lisa Askey, whom he divorced in 2005. Askey died in 2017.