Nickelodeon Stars Then & Now: Photos – Hollywood Life

Nickelodeon Stars Then & Now: Photos of Amanda Bynes, Drake Bell, Ariana Grande, & More

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March 14, 2024 4:30PM EDT
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From Amanda Bynes to Drake Bell, look back at your favorite Nickelodeon stars and find out what they are up to now.

Nickelodeon television shows have a special place in the hearts of millennials and some older Gen Zers. Many can still recite all the lyrics to the Victorious, iCarly, and Zoey 101 theme songs and rehash love triangles and drama between their favorite characters. As scary as it may be for those who grew up watching Amanda Bynes crack a joke on The Amanda Show or Drake Bell and Josh Peck get into something ridiculous on All That, many of these childhood stars are well into their 30s and have children of their own. Some have retreated from the limelight, while others are grinding hard in the entertainment industry.

Seen above, Ariana Grande flourished into one of modern pop music’s biggest icons. After she played the sweet and often oblivious Cat Valentine on ‘Victorious’ and then Sam & Cat, which starred Jennette McCurdy, Ariana burst into pop stardom with her 2013 hit, The Way, which featured the late Mac Miller. Now, she’s a Grammy Award-winning artist with multiple successful albums and arena tours under her belt. In 2021, she was announced as Glinda in the highly anticipated ‘Wicked’ movie, which is currently filming.

Scroll on to find out where your favorite Nickelodeon stars are now.

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Amanda Bynes

Amanda Bynes
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Amanda Bynes became a staple on Nickelodeon screens when she was cast on Nickelodeon’s sketch comedy show, ‘All That’, in 1996. She was such a stand-out player that she landed her own comedy show, ‘The Amanda Show’, in 1999. She became one of the biggest child stars of the late ’90s and early 2000s. 

Amanda seemed to transition effortlessly into adulthood as a former teen sensation. She notably starred opposite Jennie Garth in the hit series ‘What I Like Abou You’ beginning when she was 18 years old. She went on to star in a number of uber-successful movies, such as 2003’s ‘What a Girl Wants’, 2006’s ‘She’s the Man’, and 2007’s ‘Hairspray’. 

Amanda’s last role came in 2010’s ‘Easy A’, and unfortunately, she began suffering from severe mental health issues and substance abuse, and was arrested in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, Amanda was placed under a conservatorship, which lasted through 2022. Amanda, unfortunately, suffered a mental episode in March 2023 and was founded wandering around Los Angeles naked. She was placed in a mental institution, where she stayed for three weeks until she was ready to retreat to her home.

Amanda got engaged to Paul Michael in 2020, but they broke up in 2022. Following her psychiatric episode, Paul claimed Amanda had stopped taking her prescribed medication. 

April 13, 2023, 11:46AM
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Drake Bell

Drake Bell
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Drake Bell acted with Amanda Bynes on ‘All That’ and also starred on ‘The Amanda Show’ with her and Josh Peck. Drake, of course, is most known for his television show with Josh, ‘Drake & Josh’, which was filmed between 2004 and 2007. Drake has continued acting and notably starred as Timmy Turner in four live-action movies based on the popular Nick show, ‘The Fairly OddParents’. 

Drake notably sang the theme song for ‘Drake and Josh’ and continued making music after the show. He built a promising music career for himself after he moved to Mexico and became more or less of a pop sensation there. In Nov. 2019, he announced that he had officially moved to Mexico by sharing a photo of what appears to be his official ID on Instagram (seen here). The ID revealed that he changed his name to Drake Campana.

Drake married Janet Von Schmeling in 2018, but they separated in 2022. They share one son named Jeremy Drake Bell.

In 2021, Drake made headlines when he pleaded guilty to charges of attempted endangering of children after a fan filed a police report against him. The investigation found inappropriate messages between the two. He made headlines again in April 2023 when he was reported missing and endangered in Florida. Luckily, he was found alive and well. 

In 2024, it was revealed that Drake was molested by a former Nickelodeon dialogue coach named Brian Peck. 

April 13, 2023, 12:04PM
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Jennette McCurdy

Jennette McCurdy
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Jennette McCurdy starred as Sam Puckett in ‘iCarly’ between 2007 and 2012 and as the same character on one season of ‘Sam & Cat’. Jennette also tried crossing over into country music and released a single, ‘Not That Far Away’, in 2010, which was followed by her 2012 self-titled debut album. 

Jennette gave up acting in 2018 and in 2022, released a book about the abuse she experienced at the hands of her late mother and the entertainment industry. The book is called ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ and it put a spotlight on what many child actors have to endure growing up. 

April 13, 2023, 11:51AM
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Melissa Joan Hart

Melissa Joan Hart
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Melissa Joan Hart starred in Nickelodeon’s ’90s hit ‘Clarissa Explains It All’, as teenager Clarissa. In March 2022, Melissa revealed a reboot was in the works, but it quickly crumbled. ‘Nickelodeon got a new president, and they kind of squashed the whole thing’, she told ‘PEOPLE‘. ‘So it was actually in the works and yeah, it just sort of disappeared. It took like a year to do the contracts, which was the hardest part, and then it just kind of fizzled out. So I don’t think [it will happen].’

Melissa may be best known, though, as the star of ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’, which was filmed between 1996 and 2003. Melissa is still acting and most recently starred in Netflix’s ‘No Good Nick’ for two seasons and a string of Christmas television movies. She has been married to Mark Wilkerson since 2003 and has three kids.

April 13, 2023, 11:26AM
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Emma Roberts

Emma Roberts
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It’s hard to forget a tween Emma Roberts plucking the strings of her guitar and singing about her daily woes as a middle schooler in ‘Unfabulous’. The Nickelodeon star enjoyed several starring film roles around the time of ‘Unfabulous’ as well, including 2006’s ‘Aquamarine’, 2007’s ‘Nancy Drew’, and 2009’s ‘Hotel For Dogs’. 

She became the talk of the town again when she starred in ‘Scream Queens’ with Lea Michele, Ariana Grande, and Abigail Breslin. She has also appeared in several seasons of ‘American Horror Story’. 

Emma welcomed her first child, a son named Rhodes, into the world in 2020 with her then-boyfriend Garrett Hedlund.

April 13, 2023, 11:41AM
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Josh Peck

Josh Peck
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Josh Peck played the rule-following, caring brother on ‘Drake and Josh’ opposite Drake Bell. Before that, he also acted with Drake on ‘All That’ and ‘The Amanda Show’. 

He has continued acting, and recently found success on Hulu’s ‘How I Met Your Mother’ reboot, ‘How I Met Your Father’. He also starred in one season of ‘Turner & Hooch’ in 2021 and reunited with Miranda Cosgrove in two episodes of ‘iCarly’ in 2022.

Josh married Paige O’Brien in 2017 and shares two kids with her.

April 13, 2023, 11:37AM
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Kel Mitchell

Kel Mitchell
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Kel Mitchell stole the spotlight on Nickelodeon’s ‘All That’, after which he landed his own show with Keenan Thompson, ‘Kenan & Kel’. He notably starred in the 1997 family comedy movie, ‘Good Burger, with Keenan. He also appeared on the shows of other teen stars, such as ‘Sister, Sister’ and ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’. 

The actor and comedian is still making people laugh today. He landed a starring role in ‘Game Shakers’, a sitcom about a 12-year-old girl-founded gaming company, which lasted three seasons. In 2019, he reprised his role of Ed in the ‘All That’ reboot. He has also done a great deal of voice acting. He has four kids and has been married twice.

April 13, 2023, 11:33AM
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Alex And Nat Wolf

Alex And Nat Wolf
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Alex and Nat Wolf rose to fame thanks to their Nick series ‘The Naked Brothers Band’, which aired between 2007 and 2009. The show followed the brothers and their band through the ups and downs of the average rockstar tween.

Both Alex and Nat have continued acting, with Alex landing some major roles in 2014’s ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ and 2015’s ‘Paper Towns’. He most recently starred in Prime Video’s ‘The Consultant’.

Meanwhile, Alex has recently landed roles in a list of movies, including 2023’s Florence Pugh-starring ‘A Good Person’ and 2019’s ‘Jumanji: The Next Level’. He reunited with his brother in 2018 for the comedy ‘Stella’s Last Weekend’. 

April 13, 2023, 11:20AM
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Victoria Justice

Victoria Justice
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Victoria Justice‘s first claim to fame was portraying Lola Martinez on ‘Zoey 101’ between 2005 and 2008. She went on to star as Tori Vega on her very own show, ‘Victorious, between 2010 and 2013. The Nickelodeon poster child that she was, Victoria also had guest starring roles on ‘iCarly’ and ‘True Jackson, VP’. 

Her most significant role since her Nick days was on one season of MTV’s ‘Eye Candy’, which aired in 2015 and followed a woman who gets into a scary situation with an online match. Victoria released a single in 2023 called ‘Last Man Standing’ and a music video for the single, ‘Treat Myself’, in 2020.  

April 13, 2023, 12:04PM
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Nick Cannon

Nick Cannon
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Before he was known for having a dozen kids with several women, Nick Cannon starred alongside Kenan, Kel, Amanda, Drake, and Josh on ‘All That’. He impressively became a staff writer on the show in 1994, making him the youngest writer in television history, per BET. He went on to direct and star on ‘The Nick Cannon Show’, which was also on Nickelodeon. In 2005, he debuted a brand new comedy show on MTV: ‘Wild ‘N Out’. By then, Nick had already made his big-screen debut in 2002’s  ‘Drumline’, and would go on to star in several other films. 

Nick has continued acting and landed the hosting gig for ‘America’s Got Talent’ for Seasons 4 through 11. He departed the show in 2017 due to NBC not agreeing with a racial joke he made in his Showtime stand-up special. He’s also led ‘The Masked Singer’ since its American debut in 2019. 

April 13, 2023, 12:04PM
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Nathan Kress

Nathan Kress
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Nathan Kress played Freddie Benson on ‘iCarly’ between 2012 and 2023, which serves to be the biggest role of his career. He also portrays the loveable nerd on the ‘iCarly’ reboot alongside Miranda Cosgrove. Nathan married London Elise Moore in 2015 and shares two kids with her.

April 13, 2023, 11:17AM
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Miranda Cosgrove

Miranda Cosgrove
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Miranda is one of the most recognizable child stars of the early 2000s. She played Drake and Josh’s menacing little sister on their show and then graduated to ‘iCarly’. She’s also known for 2003’s ‘School of Rock’ and appeared in some other hit Nick shows, such as ‘Unfabulous’ and ‘The Naked Brothers Band’. Furthermore, Miranda dabbled in music, as many Nickelodeon and Disney stars did. She released her debut album, ‘Sparks Fly’, in 2010. It is the first and only album she released.

Like Nathan, ‘iCarly’ was Miranda’s biggest project. She has also voiced Margo in the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise since 2010. 

April 13, 2023, 11:22AM
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Kenan Thompson

Kenan Thompson
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As previously mentioned, Kenan Thompson’s claim to fame is his gig on ‘All That’ alongside a handful of other child stars. And of course, we can’t forget his iconic movie with Kel, ‘Good Burger’, or their show together. 

After ‘Kenan & Kel’ wrapped, Kenan landed a gig on arguably the biggest platform for comedians: ‘Saturday Night Live‘. Impressively, he is there making American laugh every Saturday night to this day. ‘I don’t feel pressure to stay, I don’t feel pressure to go either,’ he told ‘E! News‘ in Jan. 2023 when asked about his future. ‘If [creator Chuck] Lorne says he wants me to be there, I should be there.’

Kenan was married to Christina Evangeline between 2011 and 2021. They have two kids.

April 13, 2023, 11:29AM
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Jamie Lynn Spears

Jamie Lynn Spears
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Who could ever forget the star of ‘Zoey 101′? Jamie Lynn Spears stole the hearts of kids across the states when her Nickelodeon show premiered in 2005 — and upset them when the show ended in 2008 right after she announced her pregnancy at the age of 16. Despite fans’ belief that her firstborn daughter, Maddie, is the reason why the beloved series ended, the former teen star denies such rumors.

While Jamie is mostly known for the wildly popular Nick show, it may surprise fans to learn that her acting roots began on the same show as several of the previously-mentioned actors: ‘All That’. That’s right: Jamie appeared on several episodes of the hilarious show between 2002 and 2004.

Jamie took a break from the screen following her pregnancy but landed several voice-acting jobs. She also dabbled in country music, releasing her EP, ‘The Journey’, in 2014. She revived her acting career with the release of ‘Sweet Magnolias’ on Netflix in 2020. 

After varying reports, it was announced in 2023 that a ‘Zoey 101’ movie was coming out. The film saw several stars return: Erin Sanders as Quinn Pensky, Sean Flynn as Chase Matthews, Matthew Underwood as Logan Reese, Christopher Massey as Michael Barret, Abby Wilde as Stacey Dillsen, and Jack Salvatore as Mark Del Figgalo. Victoria Justice, who played Lola, and Paul Butcher, who played Zoey’s younger brother, Dustin, are not returning.

Jamie Lynn Spears married Jamie Watson in 2013. They welcomed a daughter named Ivey in 2018.

April 13, 2023, 11:43AM
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Keke Palmer

Keke Palmer
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Keke Palmer has been acting since 2004, but her breakout role is often seen as 2006’s ‘Akeelah and the Bee’, which was followed by Disney’s 2007 film, ‘Jump in!’. It was in 2008 that her own show, ‘True Jackson, VP’, debuted on Nickelodeon and made her a household name for families. 

The show ended in 2011, which is when she focused her attention on a music career. She had already been signed to Atlantic Records at the age of 12, as she recorded ‘All My Girlz’ for the ‘Akeelah and the Bee’ soundtrack. Her debut album, ‘So Uncool,’ dropped in 2007. She never released another album, but dropped singles through 2020.

Keke has gotten her feet wet in the television hosting world. She became the youngest talk show host in 2014 when her show, ‘Just Keke’, debuted on BET. She also hosted the third hour of ‘Good Morning America’ with Michael Strahan and Sara Haines. The show, titled ‘Strahan, Sara & Keke’, was canceled less than a year after its launch in July 2020. She continues to do some red carpet hosting and interviews. 

Keke became a mother for the first time in 2023 when she gave birth to a baby with her ex-boyfriend, Darius Jackson. 

April 13, 2023, 11:49AM
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Elizabeth Gillies

Elizabeth Gillies
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Elizabeth Gillies famously portrayed Jade West in ‘Victorious’.

Her biggest project following ‘Victorius’ was ‘Dynasty’, which aired on the CW between 2017 and 2022. She married musician Michael Corcoran in 2020.

April 13, 2023, 11:53AM
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Avan Jogia

Avan Jogia
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Avan Jogia and his luscious hair became famous on ‘Victorious’. He played Liz Gillies’ boyfriend, Beck Oliver. 

Avan has gone on to flourish in the entertainment world. He starred in the crime-drama ‘Twisted’ between 2013 and 2014, SYFY’s ‘Ghost Wars’ between 2017 and 2018, Starz’s ‘Now Apocalypse’ in 2019, and Fox’s ‘The Stranger’ in 2020.

April 13, 2023, 11:56AM
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Michelle Trachtenberg

Michelle Trachtenberg
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Michelle Trachtenberg landed her first acting role in 1991 on ‘Law & Order’ and then appeared on an episode of  ‘Clarissa Explains It All’ in 1993. Her first starring role came in Nick’s 1996’s film ‘Harriet the Spy’, in which she starred as — you guessed it — a spy.

Once her career was established, Michelle joined the hit series ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ in its fifth season as Dawn Summers. She went on to play Georgina Sparks on ‘Gossip Girl’. 

Michelle is still acting to this day and reprised her ‘Gossip Girl’ character in the show’s reboot. She also starred in one season of ‘Mercy’ and lent her voice to Facebook’s ‘Human Kind Of’. 

April 13, 2023, 12:02PM
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nickelodeon-stars-then-now-feat
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March 14, 2024, 4:29PM
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