What happened to Alicia Silverstone after starring in the 1995 hit Clueless? The American actress delivered a breakthrough performance as Cher Horowitz, a Beverly Hills teenager with a unique way of speaking. Directed by Amy Heckerling, Clueless remains a cult classic with its cast of up-and-coming stars, and seemingly paved the way for Silverstone to become a major mainstream star.
When Clueless released, Silverstone was already somewhat well-known within pop culture. Her on-screen debut in The Wonder Years season 5 introduced her to millions of television viewers, and her film debut in the 1993 erotic thriller The Crush confirmed her status as a Hollywood starlet-in-the-making. On top of that, Silverstone was featured in Aerosmith's music videos for both "Cryin'" and "Amazing," which further broadened her fanbase across various demographics. With Clueless, Silverstone didn't necessarily "arrive," but rather made a giant leap forward in her career.
Despite mainstream momentum, Silverstone's role as Batgirl in the disastrous 1997 film Batman & Robin essentially de-railed her career, or at least that's how it would appear. In retrospect, Joel Schumacher's DC Comics adaptation remains a colossal failure; a film that seemingly marked the downfall of Clueless' charming lead, especially when considering her less-than-spectacular resume in the years to come. As it turns out, though, Silverstone actively chose to pursue more challenging roles, evidenced by a telling statement in a 2015 interview with The Guardian:
"I was so overwhelmed. I was just a theatre kid. I never wanted to be in movies or TV. There’s no support or schooling on what do you do when you suddenly found yourself famous as a young woman. It was just too much for me. So I decided I would use this to spotlight something that is very meaningful to me. I went on a quest to change the world, to make things better – for children, for the earth, for animals. I wasn’t paying attention to my career, I was paying attention to something else."
The reality is that Silverstone has sustained a steady film and television career for nearly 30 years. After delivering a Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 2003 NBC series Miss Match, she portrayed Heather Jasper Howe in the 2004 hit Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, and made a cameo in the controversial 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder. In between, Silverstone was attached to numerous TV network pilots, though none of them panned out. By 2012, she reunited with Heckerling for the vampire flick Vamps, co-starring future Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter. In recent years, Silverstone has been focused on indie productions, and rather significant ones. She portrayed Mrs. Lang in Yorgos Lanthimos' 2017 thriller The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Laura Hall in the 2019 festival hit The Lodge. In a recent appearance on Well+Good's The Avocado Show, Silverstone revealed that actress Laura Dern provided career direction way back in the '90s:
"She was supportive of me, and really gave me great advice about female empowerment... and really validated my experience of not wanting to be seen as... using your sexuality. She really celebrated that with me, and supported me."
In 2020, Silverstone seems to be making a mainstream comeback. She headlined William Teitler's ensemble comedy Bad Therapy, and returned to her Clueless thematic roots with an appearance in Valley Girl. But now Silverstone may finally jumpstart her TV career after briefly starring in Paramount Network's short-lived 2018 series American Woman. Not only will she voice Queen Marlena in Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation, but she'll also be part of the main cast for the upcoming Netflix series The Baby-Sitters Club, a reboot of the 1990 HBO series based on Ann M. Martin's eponymous book franchise. As for a potential Clueless sequel, Silverstone addressed rumors during a 2018 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, stating that "Amy Heckerling has made it very clear that she does not want to do another one."