Probably one for the girls this one…and some boys that won’t ever admit to watching it…yes it’s time to find out where on earth the ridiculously beautiful identical twins from Sweet Valley High went.
Sweet Valley High was a nineties teen show based on the hugely successful book series of the same name.
Remember it now?
Created in 1983 by Francine Pascal, the book series followed the lives of a pair of identical twins, Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield living in Sweet Valley, California. Elizabeth was the ‘good’ twin – kind, humble and good at school work whereas Jessica was selfish, frivolous and flirtatious.
The book series ran for 20 years releasing a whopping 152 books, written by a team of several ghost writers.
The books were criticised for its portrayal of young teens, in particular teenage girls. They were also criticised for their unrealistic plotlines. Jessica managed to deal with the death of five boyfriends (cursed much?) whilst Elizabeth fell in love with both a Parisian Prince and an English Viscount (floozy). Oh and the pair managed to battle a werewolf in London too!
In 1994, the television series brought Sweet Valley to our screens and introduced Cynthia and Brittany Daniel to the masses.
The series ran for 88 episodes between 1994 and 1997 and was undoubtedly also scrutinised for its portrayal of the ideal ‘beach blonde’ female form.
The show was cancelled in its fourth season after a move from Fox to UPN and suffering poor ratings. So where are the blonde bombshells these days?
Cynthia Daniel (Elizabeth Wakefield)
Cynthia retired from acting after Sweet Valley High to pursue a career in photography (click here for her website) but reappeared briefly for a cameo in 2002 alongside her sister Brittany in That 80s Show- their first onscreen reunion since Sweet Valley.
Cynthia is married to Dazed & Confused actor Cole Hauser and the couple have two sons, Ryland and Colt.
Here’s what she looks like now
Brittany Daniel (Jessica Wakefield)
On the other hand Brittany continued to seek the lures of stardom and has gone on to play small roles in many films and television shows.
Following on from her Sweet Valley success, Brittany secured recurring characters in teen drama Dawson’s Creek and That 80s Show, as well as appearing in Wayans Brothers flicks White Chicks and Little Man.
More recently Brittany had a recurring role in Kelsey Grammer-produced comedy-drama The Game a spin-off from Girlfriends, a long-running sitcom on the UPN/CW network. The series was recently cancelled.
Here’s what she looks like now
Sweet Valley High: The Movie
It was recently announced that Oscar-winning screen writer Diablo Cody from Juno fame had been taken on board to write the movie adaptation of Sweet Valley High. Critics are unsure of Cody recreating the books into a film as they feel she cannot do so without using her infamous Codyspeak, ie dialogue resembling her own voice as evident in Juno.
Universal Pictures is still in negotiations to pick up the movie rights to the Sweet Valley High series, and there are as yet no details of cast or crew as yet.
Jennifer’s Body, Cody’s next offering features Megan Fox as, surprisingly, the most popular girl in school and a man-eater…literally…and if that’s anything to go by then Sweet Valley High: The Movie will definitely be interesting to say the least! Like totally.
UPDATE: Francine Pascal has released a new Sweet Valley book entitled Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later. As the title suggests it finds the girls decade later in their late twenties. Apparently ‘Elizabeth is still sensitive, thoughtful and responsible, while Jessica is more emotional, selfish and materialistic.’
