Drop Dead Gorgeous was a 1999 dark comedy about the beauty pageant circuit. It was shot as a satire as a documentary crew followed beauty queens who competed in the Sarah Rose Cosmetics Mount Rose American Teen Princess Pageant. The movie had top-notch actors portraying judges, parents, and pageant hopefuls.
Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards portray rivals in the pageant circuit who go too far just to be named queen. It's been 23 years since the movie's release and most of its stars have gone on to do incredible work in TV and film.
Kirsten Dunst (Amber Atkins)
Kirsten Dunst starred as the protagonist, Amber Atkins. Amber was a beautiful pageant teen from Minnesota who just wanted to be like her idol, Diane Sawyer. Amber had the support of her mom and her mom's best friend while gunning for the title.
Dunst went on to star in Bring It On a year later and won acclaim for her work in Hidden Figures, Fargo, and Spider-Man. Recently, she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in The Power of the Dog. But no matter how successful she is, Drop Dead Gorgeous is still one of Dunst's best movies.
Denise Richards (Becky Ann Leeman)
Denise Richards had an incredible career in the '90s, starring in projects like Melrose Place and Starship Troopers. In Drop Dead Gorgeous, Richards played Rebecca "Becky" Ann Leeman. Becky was the quintessential wolf in sheep's clothing. She would do anything it took to be crowned the winner. It was in her favor that her mother Gladys was a part of the pageant committee and injured other contestants so her daughter could follow in her footsteps.
Richards starred in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in 2019 before leaving in 2020. More recently, she was Susan in FraXtur but she also has multiple projects in the works like The Guardians of Justice, Glow & Darkness, and Happy Hazel.
Ellen Barkin (Annette Atkins)
Ellen Barkin did a phenomenal job of playing Amber's mom, Annette Atkins. Annette was harsher than Amber and pushed her daughter to succeed in life. Annette was typically seen doing Loretta's hair and smoking but she followed Amber around to support her goal of becoming a winner of a beauty pageant.
Barkin has been acting since the late '70s and has been a part of films like The Fan and Ocean's Thirteen. Breaking News in Yuba County is one of her more recent films, as was her time in the TV series Animal Kingdom. According to her IMDb profile, Barkin has two new projects coming out this year.
Allison Janney (Loretta)
The iconic Allison Janney portrayed Annette's best friend and neighbor, Loretta. She was like a second mom to Amber when Annette found herself in the hospital, and Loretta helped Amber get where she needed to be in the circuit.
Janney has had phenomenal roles in her long acting career and her role as Loretta was one of her funniest. Outside of her shining parts in Juno, The Help, The Hours, and Hairspray, Janney won an Oscar for her work in I, Tonya, and has most recently wrapped up her role as Bonnie in Mom. Janney also has multiple works coming out and being produced in 2022.
Kirstie Alley (Gladys Leeman)
Legendary actress Kirstie Alley portrayed Becky's mom and former beauty queen, Gladys Leeman. Gladys was the antagonist of the film, killing beauty queen contestants so that her daughter had a better chance of winning. As a former pageant gal, Gladys knew what it took to win.
Alley has been in the industry since the late '70s and is known for her time in the Look Who's Talking franchise and Cheers. In 2016, she starred as Ingrid in Scream Queens, but her latest role was in the TV movie You Can't Take My Daughter.
Sam McMurray (Lester Leeman)
Sam McMurray played Becky's hardworking and bored father, Lester. It became obvious that Becky and Gladys were the apples of Lester's eyes but he was also the provider who gave them the lavish lifestyle they were looking for.
McMurray has been working since the '70s and has been in myriad films and shows. More recently, fans can see McMurray in The Fosters, Mom (alongside co-star Allison Janney), and United We Fall. His IMDb notes that he just recently completed the film Our Almost Completely True Story.
Amy Adams (Leslie Miller)
Six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams played Leslie Miller in Drop Dead Gorgeous. Adams knocked it out of the park as the ditzy, overly sexual beauty pageant contestant. Although this wasn't one of Adams' best roles, it's a special one for fans since it was her first.
Fans of Adams know that she's won awards for Junebug, American Hustle, and Big Eyes, to name a few. Her last film in 2021 was Dear Evan Hansen, and she's reprising the role of Gisele in Disney's Enchanted sequel, Disenchanted in 2022.
Alexandra Holden (Mary Johanson)
Alexandra Holden played the incredible Mary Johanson. Mary was a former Miss America's Princess and was excited to help out with the present pageant. Close friends with Amber, Mary shared her story of recovering from an eating disorder. In one of the more memorable scenes of the movie, Mary performed "Don't Cry Out Loud" in front of the audience.
Holden has been acting since the '90s and is most recognized for her roles in Drop Dead Gorgeous, The Hot Chick, and In a World. She's also been in TV series Rizzoli & Isles and Friday Night Lights. Fans can see more of Holden in this year's Other Monsters, in which she portrays Laura.
Laurie A. Sinclair (Michelle Johnson)
Laurie A. Sinclair is a musician and actor who hasn't been a part of the film world since 2008. Along with Drop Dead Gorgeous, Sinclair was in an episode of Californication and the film The Cure. In Drop Dead Gorgeous, she played the dark Michelle Johnson.
These days Sinclair goes by Rie Sinclair and is focusing on her music. According to her own website, she's an Emmy-nominated songwriter and has had her vocals on Lizzie McGuire, Nurse Jackie, Californication, and more.
Shannon Nelson (Tess Weinhaus)
Shannon Nelson played the dog-loving beauty contestant, Tess Weinhaus. Compared to the other contestants, Tess was socially awkward and loved yarn and beagles. Nevertheless, she added a great comedic element to the dark movie.
Nelson started working in film and TV in the '90s. Outside of Drop Dead Gorgeous, she's been in Gold, Pairings, Cannabis Mom's Club. Her IMDb profile notes that she hasn't been in anything since 2020 — a short titled Ruth.