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Whatever Happened To…. the cast of “But I’m A Cheerleader”

Some actors become household names, and some fade into the background. Nonetheless, any time you re-watch a favorite film, there’s a wave of nostalgia, and an inevitable wondering, “Whatever happened to …?” We want to find out what happened to some of the women of our past, beginning with the cast of But I’m a Cheerleader. Now we all know that RuPaul is bigger than ever and Eddie Cibrian is playing a big shot on The Playboy Club (when he’s not leaving his wife for Leeann Rimes), but what about the girls who sought to graduate straight from True Directions? Here’s what we found out. Despite some publicized legal issues and some films no one saw over the last decade, the actress is decidedly making a comeback. She’ll be reprising her role from American Pie in American Reunion, and was just cast alongside Kristen Wiig in Imogene. She may have been a face of the ’90s (The Faculty, She’s All That, Girl, Interrupted), but Clea has taken on several roles since BIAC that shows she can play against type. It seems she’s turned her focus to television, making guest appearances on almost ever hit drama on TV, most recently The Event and CSI: Miami. Katrina went on to star in a few episodes of TV shows, including a stint on the infamous lesbian episode of Fastlane. (She played “Neve, the Butch.”) Other shows included Judging Amy, The District and Blind Justice. Besides her TV work and acting in short films in the ’00s, she has since returned to DePaul University in Chicago and is writing poetry. Who would have known Katharine was a blonde? Looking completely different from her BIAC persona, Katharine went on to work on a number of film and TV projects, including Mulholland Dr. and Tell Me You Love Me. In the next year, she stars in the film Blur and alongside Mischa Barton in Ben Banks. You probably know exactly what Melanie’s been up to, because she’s been in some of your favorite shows and movies. (The L Word, anyone?) With no signs of slowing down, Melanie is in six new films, including the highly-anticipated The Perks of Being a Wallflower. No word on if she’ll be back on Two and a Half Men with all the changes going on, but she was certainly a breath of fresh air on the show. Besides her most recent stint directing and producing Drop Dead Diva, Jamie has worked on episodes of Pretty Little Liars, United States of Tara and 90210. She’s also released the films Itty Bitty Titty Committee and The Quiet, and is now at work on her new feature (written by Guinevere Turner), Breaking the Girl. It’s hard to believe But I’m a Cheerleader was released 12 years ago, and that the ex-gay movement is still in effect. The satirical film was forced to tone down some of its sexiness in order to receive an R-rating, and yet it still broke the mold for queer-themed films. It had a happy ending and it also received wider distribution than most other lesbian films at the time – and even today, which is why we remain so thrilled when a film with major lesbian characters hits theaters outside of gay and lesbian film festivals.

I think it’s a great sign that most of the actors involved with the film have played gay characters at other times in their careers, and have been able to continue working in film and TV. Babbit has managed to maintain a career on both sides as well, and has been part of some of the best lesbian-tinged television of the last few years. Together, they created a film that used stereotypes to show how ridiculous stereotypes are, and that’s not always such an easy thing to get across.

Do you keep up with the cast of But I’m a Cheerleader? When is the last time you watched the film?

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