The Cast Of Sugar & Spice
Emma Martin Quick Links
Sugar & Spice was a teen film released in January 2001. Although most of the viewers loved this film, the critics were not too kind, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a low rating of 28%. However, one of the best things about this film was how women were in charge, since Francine McDougall was the director, Wendy Finerman was the producer, and Mandy Nelson was in charge of the script, acting instructions, and scene directions. Furthermore, the main characters were six girls, part of a squad of cheerleaders.
Since this film came out before George W. Bush had officially begun his first term in office as the 43rd president of the United States, it sure looks like it hit the big screens such a long time ago. Therefore, for those who never got to watch it, here's what the film is about.
Two teenagers in high school, Jack and Diane, the star football quarterback and the head cheerleader, got pregnant while still in school. They moved out of their parents' homes (well, they got kicked out) and got a place of their own. However, life as adults was not so easy and they found themselves short of cash.
Jack tried his best to get and keep a job while Diane called on her team of cheerleaders to help her rob a bank. It seemed like a crazy plan at first, but the girls soon found themselves planning the perfect crime. They carried out their operation with a few hitches but eventually succeeded. The drama leading up to the robberies, the execution, and outcome is what makes the film so interesting.
The cast of this wonderful film moved on to become great in their own ways, and the film has become a bit of a cult classic. Here is a bit of information about where the cast went after the film.
Mena Suvari
Mena Suvari played the role of Kansas Hill, one of the cheerleaders who embraced the idea of robbing banks to make some money. In order to find weaponry and get tips on how to conduct the robbery, Kansas went to the women's penitentiary to visit her mom. Her mom gave her valuable advice and sent her to a man they referred to as the Terminator, a bug exterminator who used to sell illegal weapons and ammunition.
Mena Suvari is a fashion designer, a model, and of course, an actress. She first appeared in a few episodes of Boy Meets World and High Incident between 1995 and 1997, and in films such as Snide and Prejudice (1997), American Pie (1999), American Beauty (1999), American Virgin (2000), and American Pie 2 (2001) among others.
Some of the films she has appeared in recently include American Reunion (2012), The Opposite Sex (2014), and I'll Be Home For Christmas (2016), among others. She has also appeared in a few TV episodes of Six Feet Under (2004), Chicago Fire (2013), as well as in Inside Amy Schumer (2016) and many others.
Melissa George
Melissa George played a character named Cleo Miller in the film, who most people remember as the stalker. Cleo was one of the four cheerleader squadmates who joined Diane plan to rob a bank. She was also a talented cheerleader who had made it to the A-squad at Lincoln High.
Melissa George was born in Australia, although she also has American citizenship. Melissa was formerly a model and a national roller-skating champion, before venturing into acting. Melissa was one of the main actors in Home and Away, one of the most popular soap operas from Australia between 1993 and 1996. She was part of two films, Dark City (1998) and The Limey (1999) before appearing in Sugar & Spice.
Since 2001, Melissa has been involved in great series including Thieves (2001), Friends (2003), Charmed (2003), Alias (2003-2004), Grey's Anatomy (2008-2009), The Good Wife (2013-2014), and Heartbeat (2016), among others. Some other notable films she has been in include 30 Days of Night (2007), Between Us (2012), and Felony (2013) among others.
James Marsden
James Marsden played the role of a character named Jack Bartlett, the star quarterback who got Diane pregnant and moved out of his parents' house to live with her in an apartment. He faced challenges keeping a job but did well as a video rental store attendant. Jack and Diane faced money problems since they couldn't keep up with paying the rent, yet a baby was on the way.
Diane and her crew of robbers didn't disclose any of their plans to Jack because they knew he couldn't keep a secret. Diane later told Jack the source of all the money she had was the result of winning the lottery, and we ended up seeing Jack become a senator and the couple living well with their children after high school.
James Marsden was part of TV shows such as Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993), The Nanny (1993), and Second Noah (1996-1997), although his role as Cyclops in the X-Men films is what made him so famous. Some of his most recent projects include the on-going series Westworld, and the 2017 films Shock and Awe and Henchmen.
Rachel Blanchard
Rachel Blanchard played the role of Hannah Wald, who was one of the cheerleaders in the school's A-squad. In addition to being a great cheerleader and "The Virgin" in the squad, Hannah was one of the cheerleaders who formed the group that went out to rob a bank.
Rachel was born in Ontario, Canada in March 1976, and she started acting when she was eight years old, first coming on the scene in a McDonald's commercial in The Kids of Degrassi Street, a children's show in Canada. She landed her first major movie role in 1991 when she played the role of Tania in On My Own. However, by 1991 she had been part of numerous TV shows, including The Littlest Hobo, War of the Worlds, and The Hitchhiker among others.
After her appearance in Sugar & Spice, she appeared in great films such as Where the Truth Lies and Overnight, and successful series such as 7th Heaven, Flight of the Conchords, Fargo, and You Me Her.
Marley Shelton
In the film, Marley Shelton played the role of Diane Weston, the head cheerleader of Lincoln High's A-squad, and the mastermind behind the robberies. Diane was obviously the most popular girl in school, and her relationship with Jack Bartlett, the star football quarterback, made her the girl every other girl wanted to be. However, these two got pregnant and moved in together.
Although Jack managed to get a job, these two struggled to raise the rent money, and things weren't looking up because they would struggle even more as soon as their baby was born. Therefore, Diane and four other cheerleader squadmates came up with the perfect plan to rob a bank.
Marley appeared in other films such as Grindhouse (2007) and Scream 4 (2011), and she played the leading role in 2014's lifetime show The Lottery. Marley married Beau Flynn, a producer she met when filming Bubble Boy and they have two daughters. She was once arrested for driving under the influence, pleaded no contest, and paid a fine of $240 and earned two years' probation.
Marla Sokoloff
In the film Sugar & Spice, Marla Sokoloff played the role of a cheerleader named Lisa Janusch. Lisa is the narrator in the movie and the head cheerleader of the B-squad in Lincoln High, which explains why she is jealous and bitter towards the A-squad. When the cheerleaders robbed the store, they didn't know Lisa was in there, and she found out who they were since she could recognize the cheerleader stunts they used to beat the security cameras and get away with the money.
Before appearing in this film, Sokoloff was famous for playing Gia on the hit sitcom Full House, as well as playing Lucy Hatcher in The Practice, a legal drama show from 1998 to 2004. Since starring in this film, she has been involved in numerous successful projects including Scents and Sensibility (2011), The Fosters (2014), and A Happening of Monumental Proportions (2017). Sokoloff married Alec Puro in November 2009, and they have two daughters.
Alexandra Holden
Alexander Holden played the role of Fern Rodgers, the daughter of the bug exterminator who people referred to as the Terminator. Fern wasn't one of the original cheerleaders; she only joined the team because her father refused to sell any guns to the team unless they let his daughter participate in the robbery.
The first film Alexander was part of was The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997) and appeared in other films such as Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 (1998), and Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), before appearing in Sugar & Spice. Some of the TV series she took part earlier in her career include a few episodes on Once and Again (2000), Friends (2000), and Ally McBeal (2001).
Some of the most recent notable projects she has been part of include Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story (2015) and a few episodes of CSI and NCSI: Los Angeles, in 2014.
Sara Marsh
In Sugar & Spice, Sara Marsh played the role of a character called Lucy Whitman. Lucy was one of the original A-squad cheerleaders who decided to commit the robbery, so she was in on the operation. After rehearsing the robbery and going through their winter ball choreography, Lucy backed out because she received a scholarship from Harvard.
However, just before robbing the supermarket, which was their first hit, Lucy came back to the group, having made a decision to help them out. Of course, having received a Harvard scholarship was enough evidence of her being the brains of the group.
Sara is an actress who, after appearing in Sugar & Spice, also appeared in How to Kill a Mockingbird (2002), Best Man Down (2012) as well as in the TV movie Love Always, Santa (2016). She was also part of short films including High School Drifter (2008), A Noble Quest (2014), and Stuck in Mute (2015).
Jake Hoffman
In Sugar & Spice, Jake Hoffman played the role of a character named Ted. Hoffman was born in March 1981, in Los Angeles, California. Having graduated from New York University Film School in 2003, he pursued a career in acting and directing, a career he is thriving in today.
He has directed numerous music videos and has also written and directed short films. However, he focuses more on acting, a field where he has more than 26 years of experience. Some of his earlier appearances are in films such as Rain Man (1988), Hook (1991), and Liberty Heights (1999).
After appearing in Sugar & Spice, he was part of many other films including Barney's Version (2010), Enter the Dangerous Mind (2013), and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). On TV, he has played roles in many series including Undeclared (2001), Californication (2012), Two Wrongs (2013), as well as in Ray Donovan (2016).
William Earl Brown
In Sugar & Spice, W. Earl Brown played the role of a character named Hank Rogers, or the Terminator, a bug exterminator who, in addition to getting rid of bugs, sells illegal weapons and ammunition. After Kansas' mother sent her daughter to Hank for all the arms and ammo they would need, he refused to sell them what they needed unless they let his daughter, Fern Rogers, join the squad and participate in the heist. They accepted his terms and got what they needed.
In addition to being an actor, William Earl Brown is a musician, writer, and producer. He started acting in 1991, appearing in a film called Backdraft, and a year later in The Babe. On TV, he appeared in a number of episodes of Angel Street (1992) and in at least two on The Untouchables (1993).
Some of his most recent film and TV appearances include Black Mass (2015), Spaceman (2016), American Crime (2015), and Preacher (2016).
Sean Young
In Sugar & Spice, Sean Young played the role of a woman who we only got to know as Mrs. Hill. In the film, Mrs. Hill was the mother of Kansas Hill, one of the cheerleaders planning the robbery. She was behind bars at the women's penitentiary.
After watching heist films in order to get ideas on how to rob a bank, the squad needed to get their hands on weapons, and their best source of information was Mrs. Hill. She lived up to their expectation by sending them to the bug exterminator, who was the guy who supplied them with everything they needed to pull off the job successfully.
Sean Young rose to stardom many decades ago, owing to her appearances in films such as Blade Runner (1982), Dune (1984), Tender Is the Night (1985), Wall Street (1987), Cousins (1989), A Kiss Before Dying (1991), and Poor White Trash (2000), among many others. She married Robert Lujan in 1990 and they divorced in 2002, but then they remarried in 2011, and have been together ever since.
Conan O'Brien
Although he didn't technically act in Sugar & Spice, Conan O'Brien appeared in the film, and although he made a brief cameo, it's impossible to miss him. Cleo, who was the stalker, had a weird crush on Conan, despite never having met him in person. However, at the end of the film, when credits are rolling up and we see where the characters ended up, we saw a picture of Conan with Cleo, meaning she did manage to find her crush.
With regard to appearing in films, Conan always appears as himself and only takes up another character when voice acting. Tomorrow Night (1998) was probably the first film he made a cameo in but has since then appeared in films including Vanilla Sky (2001), Bewitched (2005), Now You See Me (2013), and Sandy Wexler (2017) and so many others as himself.
When David Letterman retired in May 2015, Conan became the longest-serving late-night talk show host in the US, and you can always catch him every night on his show Conan, which he has hosted since 2010.
Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder had one of the shortest appearances on Sugar & Spice. He appeared as himself in an MTV News break, a cameo that has earned him a spot on this list. Kurt is a columnist, author, film critic, and TV personality. In his earlier years, he was drafted in the US Army and joined its journalism school. His skill and experience made it possible to work at Circus magazine soon after.
Many years before this film, Kurt had served as the editor of Rolling Stone in the 1980s, a tenure many referred to as legendary. As a writer, he has contributed to Esquire, Time, Details, Reason, and New York. In the late 1980s, Kurt joined MTV and when The Week in Rock expanded to become MTV News, he was part of the first anchors and correspondents at the time.
Since he's not an actor, he appears in films and series as himself, so he probably has the easiest time in all his roles. Some of the shows he has appeared as a guest star include Kenan & Kel, Girlfriends, Saturday Night Live, Portlandia and many others.
Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer appeared in Sugar & Spice, but his role had nothing to do with the film since we saw him hosting his show. News of how the girls robbed the bank was so huge that it cut Jerry Springer's show right after he introduced his episode for the day, which was about transvestites claiming to be pregnant.
Most people know Jerry Springer as the TV presenter he has been since 1991, but he had accomplished so much in life before starting the show. Jerry used to be a lawyer, he was the 56th Mayor of Cincinnati, and he was Robert F. Kennedy's political campaign adviser before his assassination.
Since 1994, The Jerry Springer Show has become one of the most successful shows, owing to its focus on everyday people confronting each other on TV on issues related to prostitution, homosexuality, adultery, hate group membership, and other controversies. In 2005, a UK version of the show aired and in 2015, the Jerry Springer podcast debuted on his website.
Adam Busch
Some people might have missed Adam Busch in the film Sugar & Spice, but that's just because he played a minor role. His role was so small we never got to know his name, and only remember him as the geeky guy in the movie.
However, his small role doesn't mean he can't act, because even before appearing in this film, he was a regular on the TV show The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo (1996-1997), and appeared in at least one episode of Law & Order (1998), and The Fugitive (2001). He also appeared in films such as Léon: The Professional (1994), and Magic Rock (2001).
However, Busch is most famous for playing the role of Warren Mears on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2001-2003). He played recurring roles in The Jury (2004), Point Pleasant (2005), as well as in his recent role in Colony (2016-2017) as Mr. Carson.
