Beautiful Stars Of The '80s Who Still Excite Today
By | May 20, 2021
Madonna has always been a wild child
Everyone who came of age in the 1980s has a special connection to the favorite stars of the era. Whether they found comfort in the goth aesthetic of Winona Ryder or the chic style of Brooke Shields, these stars continue to mean something to the teenagers of that fateful era. But what are they up to now?
Stars may look like they're infallible and unflappable, but look closer and you'll see that they're not that different from everyone else. They grow and change just like everyone else, and they find new ways of expressing themselves.
These untold stories of stars of the '80s will shed light on what they were doing in their heyday and what they're up to today. Even if a few of these stars are still super famous you'll never guess what some of your favorite celebrities are doing today.
In the 1980s no one was as ubiquitous as Madonna, the Queen of Pop. After years of training as a dancer, working at Dunkin' Donuts, and doing her best to survive in the wasteland that was the late '70s and early '80s in New York City she broke through with songs like "Lucky Star" and "Holiday." In spite of her five times platinum debut album, it wasn't until 1984 that she became capital m Madonna.
Even before recording her second album, "Like A Virgin," Madonna knew that she had to take control of her career and do something spectacular. She later said to biographer J Randy Taraborrelli:
I had to prove them wrong, which meant not only proving myself to my fans but to my record company as well. That is something that happens when you're a girl. It wouldn't happen to Prince or Michael Jackson. I had to do everything on my own and it was hard trying to convince people that I was worth a record deal. After that, I had the same problem trying to convince the record company that I had more to offer than a one-shot singer. I had to win this fight.
Madonna in 2020, still looking fierce
While speaking about her constant push to create, Madonna told Harper's Bazaar:
I like pushing the envelope. But I don't like to do it just for the sake of doing it. I don't like to be provocative for the sake of being provocative. I like to be provocative. I like to make people think. I like to touch people's hearts. And if I can do all three of those things in one fell swoop, then I feel like I've really accomplished something.
Before Pamela Anderson became famous, she was the 22 year old known as The Blue Zone Girl for Labatt's Beer in 1989
Shortly after her fateful trip to the BC Lions game Anderson was offered a modeling contract with Labatt Beer. She appeared on posters and in ads as the Labatt Zone Girl, her face was all over Canada for years even after she made her way down to California to seek out a massive modeling career. Even now, it's amazing to think that she got her start while enjoying a football game.
No slow motion is needed to see how gorgeous Pamela Anderson remains
While speaking with the New York Times, Anderson explained that today she does what she can to help people around the world even though she's still perceived through her old career:
There’s things to consider in different places. I know many people think there’s no positive things, but there’s always something you can find that maybe you can encourage.
At the time that this photo was taken Diaz was attending high school in Long Beach, California, studying alongside none other than Snoop Dogg. It's genuinely fascinating that these two stars were attending the same school, even though it's likely that their paths didn't really cross. Well, Diaz said that they did meet once or twice even if it was for reasons that were a little cloudy.
Cameron Diaz is all grown up
While speaking with Gwyneth Paltrow, Diaz explained that she was tired of acting and that she just wanted to do something for herself:
I just decided that I wanted different things out of my life. I had gone so hard for so long, working, making films and it's such a grind. I didn't really make any space for my personal life.
While speaking with NPR about her time as a young space princess Fisher explained how lonely things could be for a young woman in a galaxy far, far away:
It's mostly - crews are still mostly men. I mean, I like that they have a continuity girl. So they don't call her continuity woman. It's a continuity girl, and they're women in makeup and hair and wardrobe, but not in camera, not in sound, you know, and not in special effects. It's all men.
Carrie Fisher returned to her iconic role as General Leia in the 2010s
While speaking about her return to the Star Wars saga Fisher noted how wild it is for a woman of her age to be included in a big budget tent pole series:
I’m a female in Hollywood over the age of — let’s say 40 and we could also say 50… they don’t have to ask you to work at that age. I’ve been Princess Leia for 40 years. So what, I’m gonna stop now that it’s really ridiculous to be someone named Princess Leia or General Leia? It’s ridiculous. I mean ridiculous in a good way.
Bette Midler and her back-up singers The Harlettes in the early 1980s
Midler spoke about having to switch between personas to NPR, noting that she did that as a way to hide who she really was:
I think I'm doing what all the girls do. Now that's what they do; they didn't used to. But I was trying to hide; I was hiding. I was entertaining, but I was also serving myself. I didn't have to give too much of myself because I was busy creating another character.
The Divine Miss M remains fabulous
Midler spoke about her need to turn off for awhile and shy away from the spotlight, even when she has to be camera ready. She explained:
I'm a shy person. I was born sort of shy and I don't really like to be on all the time. One of the things that used to distress me about the situation that I found myself in once I became well-known is that when I would go to a social gathering people would expect me to be that person that I was on the stage. You know, that kind of loud-mouth, brassy, in-your-face, that girl who would flash you, and I didn't want to be that in a social gathering. I wanted to be the lady that I am.
Bo Derek rocking cornrows back in 1980
In an interview with Variety, Derek said through all of the crazy popularity that followed 10 the most exciting part of it all was being paid to travel to a beautiful location in Mexico:
It was such a life changing moment for me. I honestly thought I was just going to go to a resort in Mexico and get paid to go to a resort in Mexico. I just wanted to have a good time. I had no idea that anything would come of it.
Bo Derek, now with a more natural look
Today, the actress no longer rocks the cornrows or tan bathing suit but she still pops up from time to time onscreen. Most recently, Derek wrote about her life as a young actress in her biography where she spoke about her ups and downs. It's great to know that long after 10 she remains on top.
The woman behind Elvira, Cassandra Peterson, had been kicking around the entertainment industry for years, but she hadn't had a hit until she decided to go goth. Peterson wanted to make her character more of a ditzy valleygirl, but the producers of the series wanted her to be more like their previous horror host, Vampira, so vampiric Elvira was born. The valley girl vocals stayed, but out went the platinum blonde hair and in came the jet black wig.
Elvira is still spooky and sultry today
While speaking with Consequence of Sound about what it's like to be a woman in horror, Cassandra Peterson explained that while she feels somewhat outside of the norm, it's always been that way for her:
When I was a kid in the ’50s, my cousin took me to see House on Haunted Hill, and it changed my life. Well, that was that for me, and I was only in second or third grade. From then on, I wanted to buy Famous Monsters of Filmland comic books, and when it was Christmas, I would beg my parents for Aurora model kits of like The Creature From the Black Lagoon. I remember people just thinking I was such a freak because even boys weren’t into horror back then.
Christie Brinkley modeling a swimsuit in the 1980s
Three national campaigns later and Brinkley was rethinking the whole not being a model thing. By the early '80s she had appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue three times and made a major impression in National Lampoon's Vacation. Even though she came to prominence in the '70s, Brinkley was unstoppable in the '80s.
Once a sun worshipper always a sun worshipper ☀
While speaking with People Magazine, Brinkley noted that while many women in the entertainment industry are pushed out when they're still in their prime she bristles at that thinking and refuses to step down because of her age:
Women are not to be brushed under the carpet because they're a certain age. When I started out, I remember very clearly a group of successful models saying, 'You will be burned up and thrown away by the time you're 30.'
Christina Applegate played Kelly Bundy during her time on the television series Married with Children, that aired from 1987 to 1997
To hear Applegate tell it she wouldn't have taken the role had she been offered the part earlier in her career. She says that she was angsty and considred herself to be "serious." She told the LA Times:
I was a dark kid. I always thought serious projects were going to be my jam. But the show really helped me to let go of being so serious all the time.
She may have ditched the rocker hair but she still looks amazing
It's amazing to think that a lifetime of beloved work came from a chance to decision to take a job on a primetime comedy rather than in something more dramatic. That just goes to show the way that life can change in an instant no matter who you are. All you have to do is take a chance when the time is right.
Dolly Parton rocking the red carpet in the late 1980s
While speaking with Barbara Walters in 1977, Parton explained that she knows what people think of her but she really doesn't care:
Oh I know they make fun of me, but all these years the people have thought the joke was on me, but it’s actually on them. “I am sure of myself as a person. I am sure of my talent. I’m sure of my love for life and that sort of thing. I am very content, I like the kind of person that I am. So, I can afford to piddle around and do-diddle around with makeup and clothes and stuff because I am secure with myself.
Is it just us or does Dolly Parton look exactly the same as she did decades ago?
Dolly continues to write and perform whenever possible. In the 2010s she headlined the Glastonbury Festival and even nabbed a couple of Guinness World Records for being the artist with the most decades with a top 20 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and most hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart by a female artist. After all that she's still not slowing down. Go on, Dolly.
Cates is only one of many in Fast Times of Ridgemont High, but she made the most of her small amount of screen time and small red bikini. She continued popping up in films throughout the '80s, but nothing else in her filmography compares to her role in one of the greatest teen movies of all time. By the '90s she dropped out of the spotlight forever.
Phoebe Cates has a much more demure style today
Cates mostly keeps to herself these days, but while speaking about their marriage in 1988 Kevin Kline said that more often than not she prefers to stay home. He explained:
We have agreed to alternate so that we're never working at the same time... [but] whenever it's been her slot to work, Phoebe has chosen to stay with the children.
Elizabeth Hurley During Her Punk Phase
Hurley said that when she was growing up in England she was always friends with punk rockers, but that she didn't adopt their look until people started noticing her beauty on the street. She told The Sun:
I think what happened is that so many men took an interest, I wanted to make myself look as ghastly as possible. I did not want them to whistle any more... My mum probably minded a lot because I looked so terrible. The thing I regret about those punk days was that my mother said if I took my nose ring out, she would let me have driving lessons. Of course, after that, I could not possibly take it out.
Less punk but still cool
Today, Hurley splits her time between making appearances on the small screen and using her fashion line to help with charitable causes across the world. Most notably, she's worked with Elton John and Estee Lauder on awareness campaigns that have allowed her to put her fame to good use. That's not bad for a former punk who didn't take driving lessons.
Modeling careers can only last for so long. While some of the biggest of the big are able to maintain their on camera work for decades, most models are well aware of just how ephemeral their work is. Ireland didn't wait around to become obsolete, and in 1993 she started her own branding company and became one of the most wealthy former models on the planet.
There's no more one piece bathing suit baseball for Kathy Ireland
It's this line of home furnishings and clothing that made Ireland more wealthy than her modeling ever could. Between 2005 and 2012 her brand generated $2 billion in sales, making her the world's richest model. And to think, it all started with a few pairs of socks.
Flea and Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1983.
In their early days, the Chili Peppers were inspired by funk and punk and they brought their wild mix of influences to clubs across Los Angeles. As crazy as their early performances were, the band secured a seven album deal with EMI in 1983 and while they weren't the multi-platinum taste makers that they are today right off the bat they did manage to sell a few hundred thousand copies of that record. All of that success came from these two wild kids.
Anthony Kiedes and Flea are still crazy after all these years
While speaking about the way the band has continued to move like a machine through time, Flea explained that he and Kiedes are always going to be together because they're more than just bandmembers at this point:
I met Anthony when I was 15, and our relationship has not always been easy. It’s been antagonistic and we battle like brothers would do—though I don’t know because I’ve never had a brother. We fight, we argue, we hurt each other’s feelings, and we’re different people. But the meaningfulness of the connection was in some ways more profound than those that I felt with my family, and obviously it’s why we’ve been hanging out hard for over 40 years now.
By the 1980s, Curtis was a legit star. With roles in films like Trading Places, Perfect, and A Fish Called Wanda she showed that she was more than just a scream queen - she was a dramatic powerhouse and a comedy horoine to boot. If anyone thought Curtis' peak would be in the '80s they were very wrong.
Short hair, don't care
How does she keep up her non-stop work schedule and return to the big screen again and again decades after her earliest roles? Curtis says that sobriety is the key to her success:
My sobriety has been the key to freedom, the freedom to be me, to not be looking in the mirror in the reflection and trying to see somebody else. I look in the mirror. I see myself. I accept myself. And I move on because you know what? The world is filled with things we need to do.
One of the most fascinating things about Locklear is the way that she has the vibe of a star who would be all over primetime in the '70s. Doesn't she just look like she would have been right at home on Charlie's Angels and the Love Boat? They really don't make stars like Heather Locklear anymore.
She was still rocking flower power in the early '80s and she's all smiles today
Locklear's career shows that even when stars fade they don't disappear forever, at least not unless they want to. It's great to know that we're going to be seeing this blonde beauty across streaming platforms for years to come. And of course, there's always reruns.
Keith Richards, minus a wrinkle or two, at Longview Farms in North Brookfield, MA prior to the Stones’ 1981 tour.
By 1981, Richards and the Stones were beyond their days as the moddish boys from London who turned rock music on its head, but they were scoring bigger hits than ever with their album Tattoo You. The album was mostly made up of outtakes from previous records but it still featured massive hits like "Start Me Up" and "Hang Fire." Their tour in support of the album went on to be one of the biggest and longest runs of their career.
Even in his golden years Keith is the coolest guy in the room
If anyone has earned the right to sit back and relax it's Richards, but he can't seem to stop working. It's truly inspiring to see someone who's so successful continue to reach for the brass ring even when he's won time and time again. It's enough to make you want to put on a jaunty hat and try your hand at his out there version of life.
Lynda Carter during the aerobic craze in the 1980s
From her early days on the pageant circuit Carter has always been someone who's been in shape. It makes sense, if you're going to be on TV you want to look your best, especially if one of your gigs is showing people how to get fit. Still, she wasn't long for the aerobics world and went back to more traditional roles.
Still a wonder woman
Much like many stars her age, Carter credits her longevity with staying sober. She says that she stopped drinking altogether in her 50s and she never looked back. Her decision to keep the straight and narrow path is definitely laudable, and if it helped her get to where she is today then we couldn't be happier for her.
Model/actress/the main reason to watch 'Weird Science' Kelly LeBrock, 1980s.
The wildest thing about LeBrock showing up in Weird Science is that she almost didn't take the part. When the call came through she was on vacation in the south of France and couldn't pull herself away. She explained:
When I was first offered that role I turned it down because I was having way too much fun in the South of France with Sting, and I didn’t want to go back to the U.S., so they had hired someone else. After about three weeks of shooting the girl had to be fired, so they called me up and said we will give you whatever you want, so the next day I was on a plane to Chicago.
She may have slipped out of view, but she's still the fantasy of teenagers everywhere
LeBrock is a genuinely private celebrity but when she does step off her California ranch it's usually to take part in charitable work. She spends much of her time working with the terminally ill, especially children, and she pops up every now in then in indie films. Frankly, we're just happy to see her no matter what she's doing.
Demi Moore was underage when she appeared on the cover of the January 1981 issue of the adult magazine Oui
Moore has never been excited to be on the cover of Oui at such a young age, although by the time researchers were pulling up those photos she was already on her way to the top of Hollywood. The early '80s were a little little shakey, but things popped off in a big way with her starring role in St. Elmo's Fire. After that breakthrough she essentially went on to run the '80s and early '90s.
Today, Demi Moore takes the reigns on her life
After all of her ups and downs Moore is still surprising viewers with the depth that she can bring to the screen. Now seen as a role model, Moore's advice for young people who want to follow in her footsteps is truly sage:
You have to really want this. You have to really be willing to put in the effort, knowing you’re going to face a lot of rejection. My biggest advice is don’t take anything personal and don’t look for someone outside of you to validate you.
Taking a whole crew of rockers to Jamaica couldn't have been a walk in the park, aside from the logistical aspects of the weekend it has to be hard to keep that many people in check for a solid 48 hours. That being said, Bon Jovi is one of those bands that seems like they were able to have a good time without going absolutely off the chain. Maybe that's why MTV elected to bring them down to the carribbean instead of Van Halen.
From posing with Samantha Fox to posing as a silver fox
Aside from picking up football teams and appearing on TV, Bon Jovi is a serious philanthropist. He works throughout New England to rehabilitate homes and bring cash to poverty stricken neighborhoods through volunteer work and jobs programs. He's one rocker who really did something with his fame.
Rebecca De Mornay as Lana in Risky Business (1983)
While speaking with the LA Times in 1993, Mornay said of the strange trip that began with auditioning for Risky Business:
I had only been auditioning for six months--which is nothing--when I got the female lead in a feature film that went on to become a monster hit. I got a nine-year ride on one film.
Rebecca de Mornay returned to the small screen in the 2000s
Audiences may feel like they haven't seen De Mornay in years, but she's all over the place if you know where to look. In the 2010s she mainly went the independent route for the big screen, but when it comes to television she's made a meal out of shows like Law & Order, ER, and Jessica Jones. Is Rebecca De Mornay the one star who figured out how to stay out of the spotlight and stay in the public consciousness? It looks that way.
Elisabeth Shue as Ali Mills in the flick The Karate Kid, 1984
While reminiscing about her time filming Karate Kid, Shue said that not only was she jealous that co-star Ralph Macchio got to learn karate, but that she was way more athletic than he was:
I remember being incredibly jealous that Ralph got to learn karate and I didn’t. I made fun of him a little bit. I had to pretend to be bad in The Karate Kid. I had to pretend that I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was better than Ralph Macchio at soccer.
Elisabeth Shue made her way back to Cobra Kai in 2020
Shue spoke with Entertainment Weekly about returning to the role of Ali decades after the hit and she explained that it wasn't as weird as she thought it would be.
It was so fun to realize that all of our chemistry was exactly the same. My chemistry with Ralph was the same, the same with Billy — it was odd! It was literally like a high school reunion; it felt like no time had passed.
Sarah Jessica Parker during the '80s
Throughout the '80s she popped in small roles in a series of films that would show just how elegantly she could handle being a supporting player. In both Footloose and Flight of the Navigator she turns otherwise thankless roles into straight up talent shows. Looking back on her run in the '80s it's clear that she was destined for something big.
By the 2000s Sarah Jessica Parker was a red carpet mainstay
Was it this one role that opened her up to an all new audience or was it years of hard work that pushed her over the top? It's really a combination of both; all of that hard work has a cumulitave effect that can turn someone's career into a speeding train. On top of all of that, Parker has become a name in both fashion and publishing, which shows just shows how much she's picked up over her time in the biz.
As unquestionably beautiful as Stone is, she says that it was nearly impossible for her to get roles in Hollywood. She said that producers could basically see that she was a wallflower and they didn't want that, so she decided to take her career into her own hands. She explained:
I decided because I was a very bookworm person that I had to use my intelligence of how to be sexy. So I was very good friends with the woman who was photo-editor of Playboy magazine and she was always saying that Hugh Hefner wanted me to be in Playboy. I thought, ‘you know what, this would be an intelligent step for me because if I tell people that I’m sexy, they’ll think I’m sexy’. So I showed her some black and white pictures that Man Ray had taken of his wife and said, ‘something like this’. And I got Basic Instinct, like five minutes later.
There will never be another Sharon Stone
Today, Stone is still acting but she's also an accomplished songwriter and she's the mother to three adopted children, which is where her concentration lies. In 2014 she explained the excitement she feels when thinking about watching her sons grow up:
My children are at a fantastic age. They are boys, all three of them. They are seven, eight and 13 and this is the first time that as a group they are having experiences that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. I want them to remember being together in Morocco, running up and down sand dunes, riding camels, and walking through souks.
Slash in 1982 before Guns N’ Roses was started, and he was known as Saul
When asked about how he came to pick up the famous tophat, thus creating his whole persona, Slash says that in true GnR fashion he stole it:
I guess this was in 1985, Guns N’ Roses was playing at The Whiskey. I went down to Melrose and I never had any money. I was looking for something cool that I could wear at this gig. I went into this store... I saw a top hat through the window, so I went in to look at it and tried it on. I thought, Oh, this would be cool. I looked around and no one was really paying attention to me. I just took a chance on it and walked out with it... I wore it that night and it just became a thing. I think the hat was good for me to be able to hide behind.
Now back in the fold with GnR, Slash notes that the band is far less contentious than they were in the '80s and '90s. But more than that, he says that playing with the band is like going home:
I’m just a player that really loves writing and performing. With Guns N’ Roses, that’s where I come from, so it has a really important meaning for me. We built this thing really against all odds and out of nothing, so that for me is my home base. When we go out and play, there’s a certain type of chemistry and a certain type of energy that only exists in that combination of folks. It’s a lot of fun. Obviously, I was gone for a long time and when I came back into it, I didn’t know what to expect and it ended up being one of the most memorable periods of my life.
Supermodel Brooke Shields even had a doll that had her famous Calvin Kleins on
People were truly obsessed with Shields in the 1980s. Not only was she a pin-up, but she was a legit movie star thanks to her roles in The Blue Lagoon and Pretty Baby, she was just inescable. Shields was so popular that by the time she was 20-years-old she had already published the autobiography On Your Own.
It's like she hasn't aged a day
So what do all of these decades in the fashion and entertainment industries mean to Shields? To her, it's all about being able to say she's confident in her decisions. She told The Guardian:
I can sit at a lunch today and not think, ‘Oh, I’m so lucky to be here.’ I can think, intellectually, I can have a conversation with anybody. I’ve been around so long, I’m not scared to go and talk to Anna Wintour or whoever. And then I can also say, well, you did have an impact on the fashion industry. And I’m a mom, and I’m a businesswoman. I can go into these meetings now, and I’m not looking over my shoulder saying: is somebody on to me?
Tanya Roberts in the movie The Beastmaster (1982)
Roberts became somewhat of a journeywoman throughout the '80s. Not only was she known for her roles in genre pictures, but she popped up in everything from a Mike Hammer film to Sheena: Queen of the Jungle. Critic Pauline Kael referred to her as a "walking, talking icon."
Tanya Roberts found a second onscreen career with That '70s Show
In 1998, Roberts was cast in That '70s Show as Midge Pinciotti. Was it stunt casting? Absolutely. But it was also a brilliant way to use a known quantity like Roberts on a show that was all about a decade that means so much to so many people.
Cyndi Lauper on stage, 1984
That kind of fame wasn't easy for Lauper, who was suddenly thrust into the spotlight. Things got so out of hand that Lauper says she had to hide whenever she went out in public. She told the Independent:
I got so famous I couldn’t wear my jewellery out anymore, and that was tough, because I used to wear a lot of jewellery. I had to hide my hair as well. Thing is, it being pink made me feel more alive, made me feel more… me. Every other woman was blonde, and I never wanted that.
Beautiful in blonde
While speaking with Billboard in 2019, Lauper said that she's not done changing and growing. Noting that she still wants "to be a great artist," Lauper admitted that she's working on an adaptation of the 1988 film Working Girl. She may be "so unusual" but she's never going to stop working.
Winona Ryder, 1980s
While Ryder may have been a goth at heart, she also knew how to poke fun at herself. Which is exactly what she said she was doing with Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice:
It was fun to play that up. My friends just love that movie because I’m making fun of myself in it. Most of the clothes I wore were my own.
Winona forever
Ryder says that she doesn't really care about what people think of her, she's just doing what she's always done. After learning that she was included on a list of Ten Most Beautiful Women from Harper's Bazaar, Ryder responded:
I didn’t know what to say. If anyone followed my advice, I don’t know what they’d look like. I’m not a big one on—I don’t know what to call it—getting all glamorous. I don’t really worry about my looks, and I don’t worry about getting old. Exterior beauty doesn’t mean a lot to me. I mean, sure I like to look nice—sometimes.
