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1. Heather Locklear
Photo Credits – Getty Images
After Melrose Place’s final episode aired in 1999, Heather Locklear transitioned to Spin City, where she portrayed Caitlin Moore. However, the actress’s life hasn’t always been rosy and perfect. Locklear has participated in a number of widely publicized recovery programs and has been arrested twice, once for domestic assault and once for her role in a hit-and-run. After allegedly experiencing a mental breakdown, allegations appeared in 2018, claiming Locklear was in a “psychiatric hold.” Despite difficulties, the actress has continued to have a respectably prosperous career.
2. Josie Bissett
172 episodes of Melrose Place featured Josie Bissett, who occasionally co-starred with her ex-husband Rob Estes. Following her time on Melrose Place, Bissett was cast in various TV movies and spent five seasons as a cast member of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Additionally, the actress appeared in the 2009 Melrose Place revival. In 2016, she collaborated once more on The Wedding March for the Hallmark Channel.
3. Courtney Thorne-Smith
Alison Parker, a transplant from the Midwest with a strong flair for drama, was played by Courtney Thorne-Smith on Melrose Place. After leaving MP, Thorne-Smith went on to star in Ally McBeal for five years before moving on to According to Jim. Thorne-Smith, though, paid homage to Melrose Place in an episode of Fresh Off the Boat in 2016, going back to her roots. As the lead character in the network’s Emma Fielding Mystery series, the actress has maintained a residence at the Hallmark Channel since 2017.
4. Vanessa Williams
Rhonda Blair, a character played by Vanessa Williams, was removed from Melrose Place after just one season. Williams expressed her disappointment at the fate of her character to TV Guide, saying, “I think they didn’t make an effort to prepare themselves [to write for a black character] by hiring a black writer or asking me stuff.”
5. Andrew Shue
You’ve probably seen Andrew Shue’s work from after Melrose Place without even realizing it. After six years of portraying Billy Campbell on MP, Andrew Shue rose to fame as one of the founders of CafeMom, a site dedicated to parenting-related topics. Being naturally entrepreneurial, Shue later founded Do Something with his boyhood friend Michael Sanchez, a company that encourages young people to take action by performing community service.
6. Grant Show
You might wish to send Grant Show your congratulations if you enjoyed Melrose Place. After all, it was Show’s Jake Hanson character who started the whole thing. As real fans of Melrose Place are aware, Jake Hanson was the bad-boy carpenter who helped Jackie Taylor and Mel Silver in getting ready for their Beverly Hills, 90210 weddings. Before the fictional Hanson was transferred from the legendary zip code to Melrose Place, he eventually fell in love with Kelly Taylor.
7. Kristin Davis
Kristin Davis gained fame for her role as the pregnancy-faking Brooke Armstrong on Melrose Place before bringing Charlotte York to life on HBO’s S*X and the City, the BFF every one of us deserves. Davis has enjoyed a variety of post-MP endeavors in addition to the successful run of SATC and its follow-up movies, such as voicing Miss Spider on the animated series Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends and playing Ginny Taylor-Clapp on the transitory CBS comedy Bad Teacher.
8. Doug Savant
Doug Savant’s Matt Fielding from Melrose Place was a pioneer in how openly g*ay characters were depicted on television in a way that felt less exploitative and more genuine. Savant’s character frequently had some really harsh responses from Fox executives since he didn’t match the image of g*ay characters that had come before him, as Melrose Place writer Darren Star noted in an interview with the Television Academy. “Before that, if you had a g*ay character on television, it would be an issue for that character to say, “Oh, my God. “He is g*ay,” “Star said. “And in this instance, the hero simply had a life. He was living it to the fullest.”
9. Jack Wagner
Jack Wagner, a veteran of the soap opera industry best known for his portrayal as Frisco Jones on ABC’s legendary daytime serial General Hospital, portrayed Dr Peter Burns on Melrose Place after joining the cast in the fourth season of the program. Wagner continued to enjoy success after the Melrose Place series ended in 1999, appearing on daytime television, on Broadway in Jekyll & Hyde as the lead actor and eventually returning to his iconic role as Frisco Jones on General Hospital in 2013.
10. Lisa Rinna
Lisa Rinna first gained national attention as Taylor McBride on Melrose Place, joining the group in the fifth season before finding herself at the heart of all the drama on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Since then, the actress has been almost everywhere. She even spent time on Broadway with her husband, Harry Hamlin, playing the famous Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago. Along with competing for the coveted mirrorball trophy on Dancing with the Stars, Rinna also launched a line of apparel for QVC and made guest appearances on The Middle, Entourage, and Days of Our Lives.
12. Marcia Cross
Fans of Melrose Place will no doubt recall the scene where Marcia Cross’s Dr Kimberly Shaw character removes her stunning red wig to expose a severe scar she acquired as a result of a terrifying car accident. Cross left the program in season five, but her iconic wig will endure in the memories of fans of 90s television (along with the incident in which she accidentally detonated an apartment complex, sheesh).
12. Kelly Rutherford
Megan Lewis, played by Kelly Rutherford, appeared on Melrose Place in 1996. Prior to securing Lily van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl, Rutherford had post-series recurring roles on The District, E-Ring, and Threat Matrix. Reckless, Quantico, and Jane the Virgin were some of her most recent TV performances.
