Summary
- Mohammed Bilal: Works as Associate Dean and Director of the Office for Inclusion, Belonging, and Intergroup Communication at Stanford University, using his reality TV experience to speak on HIV/AIDS and diversity.
- Rachel Campos-Duffy: Married fellow reality TV contestant Sean Duffy, has nine children, and appeared on Fox and Friends, creating her own talk show called Moms.
- Pam Ling: Married fellow cast member Judd Winick, works as a professor of medicine specializing in tobacco marketing research, and remains special in Judd's life.
Although the trailblazing reality TV series The Real World took place in New York and Los Angeles for the first two seasons, the show didn't find its footing until the cast of San Francisco in season 3 made its collective mark. Aired in 1994 as one of the earliest reality TV shows, eight strangers came together and shared an experience of a lifetime, leading to a series of triumphs and tragedies in the intervening quarter-century. As one of the best reality TV shows, it's no wonder there's still curiosity about the cast today.
As for the lives of Mohammed, Rachel, Pam, Cory, Puck, Joanna, Judd, and Pedro, their legacies will persist in paving the path for reality television as it's known today. In the meantime, it's worth catching up with the memorable cast of The Real World San Francisco to see what they're up to nowadays. With enough interest, maybe the cast of Real World San Francisco will get the homecoming season they deserve.
1 Mohammed Bilal
The Real World San Francisco
Of all the cast members in San Francisco, arguably none made better use of their profound experience than musician Mohammed Bilal. He left his heart in San Francisco, where he works as the Associate Dean and Director of the Office for Inclusion, Belonging, and Intergroup Communication at Stanford University. Bilal has spent years focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In addition, Bilal has worked as a corporate speaker leading discourses on HIV/AIDS, using his experience on the long-running reality show to impart wisdom to others.
2 Rachel Campos-Duffy
The Real World: San Francisco
During her time in San Francisco, conservative Arizona native Rachel Campos struggled to adjust to the liberal lifestyles of her roommates. Since departing the show, Rachel married fellow Road Rules: All-Stars contestant Sean Duffy in 1999. Today, they share nine children and live in Wisconsin. While Sean rose to prominence as a Republican Congressional rep from Wisconsin from 2010-19, Campos-Duffy raised her national profile by appearing repeatedly on Fox and Friends. In 2017, she created the talk show Moms, which ran for 21 episodes until 2020.
3 Pam Ling
The Real World: San Francisco
One of the most lasting legacies of The Real World San Francisco is the enduring marriage of Pam Ling and her housemate Judd Winick. Pam entered with a boyfriend and left with a groom-to-be. Believe it or not, Pam and Judd have been married for over 20 years. In addition to having two children, Pam currently works as a professor of medicine at The University of California-- San Francisco, where she specializes in tobacco marketing research. At the same time, she doesn't indulge in social media that often; Judd is quick to celebrate how special Pam continues to be in his life.
4 Cory Murphy
The Real World San Francisco
Cory Murphy was a 20-year-old UCSD student when joining the landmark MTV reality show, spending much of her time getting close to Rachel. She famously appeared as a bridesmaid in Judd and Pam's wedding in 2001 (per the Nob Hill Gazette) before appearing in New York cast member Norman Korpi's The Wedding Video in 2003.
According to Reddit, Cory is married and sports the hyphenated surname Murphy-Alfaro. She has two children and works as a middle school teacher for California's Los Alamitos Unified District. Cory also appeared in Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way, completed in 2021.
5 Puck Rainey
Real World San Francisco
During the volatile crank of season 3, David "Puck" Rainey became too much of a contentious nuisance in the house, and his fellow mates evicted him during the 11th episode. Puck appeared on The Challenge Battle of the Sexes in 2003 after his time on the show. After working as a truck driver in Los Angeles in 2008, Puck moved his wife and two children to Alabama in 2009. A slew of legal troubles ensued, leading to Puck's arrest and jail time in 2011-12 (per radaronline.com). Nowadays, Puck continues to live "off the grid" on a farm and raise chickens in Neenach, California (per MTV.com).
6 Joanna Rhodes
Real World San Francisco
When Puck was dismissed from the classic must-watch MTV show for his volatile behavior, he was replaced by 22-year-old Londoner Joanna "Jo" Rhodes. Jo deliberately faded from the limelight after working as a P.A. on the TV movie Homeward Bound nearly a decade after her time in the show. Jo currently lives in Santa Barbara, California, and works in an art studio focused on creating giant murals. Beyond that, not much is known about what Jo is doing now.
7 Judd Winick
Real World San Francisco
Upon joining the stellar '90s reality TV show, Judd Winick was a 24-year-old aspiring cartoonist struggling to find his way. Seven years later, Judd married his housemate Pam Ling. The two are still together to this day and have two children. Professionally speaking, Judd realized his dream of being a cartoonist, earning several plaudits for his work illustrating DC Comics in various Batman, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow comics, among others. In 2019, Winick wrote an episode of Young Justice for HBO Max.
8 Pedro Zamora
The Real World San Francisco
In a story as tragic as his life was inspirational, most Real World fans know about the fate of Pedro Zamora. Showing tremendous courage as one of the first openly gay and HIV-positive men on TV, Pedro opened his heart to his roommates. He educated them about same-sex relations while raising societal awareness of the growing AIDS epidemic.
After making a profound friendship with Judd and engaging in one of the first same-sex commitment ceremonies to be televised, Pedro lost his life to HIV just three months after his time on the show aired. He may be gone physically, but Pedro's memory and kind spirit are far more lasting than any living former cast member on The Real World San Francisco.
Source: Nob Hill Gazette, MTV.com, radaronline.com, Reddit
The Real World is available for streaming on Paramount+.