Degrassi The Next Generation: Where Are They Now?

Started from the bottom, now the whole team's here.

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Degrassi: The Next Generation was possibly the greatest teen drama of all time.

Some of the cast members have gone on to be super successful. (Sup, Aubrey Graham Drake?) While others pretty much disappeared. Keep reading to see what they're up to now. It's like the high school reunion you've always wanted!

Jimmy Brooks // Aubrey "Drake" Graham

Via Tumblr / Wikipedia

Then: Before Drizzy Drake, he was Jimmy — a Michael Jordan/Jackson wannabe (Remember his ripped pants at the '80s dance?). Rick shot him in one of the saddest episodes ever. Then he became Wheelchair Jimmy. He even rapped a little...until Ashley edited him out of her songs. Probably regrets that now, eh?

Now: Drake embraces his Degrassi days. He mentioned it in a few songs ("This ain't the son you raised who used to take the Acura 5 a.m. then go and shoot Degrassi up on Morningside") and when hosting SNL. He's had major musical success, including Grammy nominations. He hangs with Lil Wayne, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj.

Emma Nelson // Miriam McDonald

Via dolphin-pants.tumblr.com / Instagram

Then: In the very first episode, Emma got Catfished by a creepy guy she met online. She rocked dolphin pants and crimped hair. Later, she got gonorrhea after a promiscuous streak in the ravine. Then out of nowhere, she married Spinner (even though she should've ended up with Sean, obvs).

Now: She's still an actress. She's still BFFs with Cassie Steele Manny Santos and posts Insta photos with her regularly. She recently confirmed rumors that she had an eating disorder during the show's early years. She provided this advice: "To any young girl or any person at all who has ever questioned herself... You are beautiful and loved exactly as you are!" Well said!

Craig Manning // Jake Epstein

Via mysocalledcloset.tumblr.com / thestar.com

Then: In season 2, Craig was the new guy with a secret—his dad beat him. He moved in with his step dad Joey (from the original Degrassi Junior High) and half-sister Angela. He cheated on Ashley with Manny, then played her an apology song. But a cute song wasn't enough to fix things, since he got Manny pregnant. Then he was diagnosed as bipolar, snorted cocaine, and became a musician.

Now: Looks like his musical talent paid off! Jake is currently on Broadway in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical." Before that, he played Peter Parker in the Broadway production of "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark." If you go see his show in NYC, maybe you can meet him afterward (aka my 7th-grade dream come true!).

Manny Santos // Cassie Steele

Via degrassi.wikia.com / Instagram

Then: Originally Manny was the innocent girl who loved stuffed animals named Mr. Moo Moo. Then she was sick of being "cute," so she wore underwear outside her pants. Craig was always kind of a jerk to her ("It's not the locker I don't like. It's you."), but she pursued him anyway. She had an abortion in an episode banned in the US. Later, she became an actress and pretended to be engaged to Jay.

Now: Cassie is a singer-songwriter and released 3 albums. She recently tweeted that Shenae Grimes (aka Darcy!) is helping with her new music video. She's also set to star in an MTV horror movie called The Dorm. Before that, she was in the The L.A. Complex, but the series wasn't renewed.

Gavin "Spinner" Mason // Shane Kippel

Via degrassi.wikia.com / Twitter

Then: Oh, Spinner! He mooned everybody at a basketball game and put bugs in the cafeteria food as a prank. His most regrettable prank? Playing a role in Rick's paint-and-feathers incident, which led to Jimmy getting shot. Luckily, him and Jimmy eventually became buddies again. (To this day, they're still pals!)

Now: Shane is in an alternative rock band called Dear Love. You can buy their album on iTunes. He tweeted about how the band participated in a Degrassi trivia night, but did "embarrassingly bad." Also, he recently did a Reddit AMA and it was glorious! One of the highlights? He commented on Degrassi's cheesiness: "There were so many cheesy moments, I ran out of crackers years ago."

Paige Michalchuk // Lauren Collins

Via degrassi.wikia.com / Instagram

Then: New year, new look, new Paige. She called everybody "hon" and named a band after herself—Paige Michalchuk & the Sex Kittens (PMS for short!). She was a brat in the beginning, but became more humble eventually. She was raped and tried to press charges in court (unfortunately unsuccessfully). Later on, she went to college, but had a breakdown and her turkey dinner exploded everywhere.

Now: She stars on MTV Canada's 1 Girl 5 Gays. It's a talk show where she asks five gay men 20 questions about love and sex. She also regularly hangs with Adamo Ruggiero (aka Marco), which is basically the best news ever! She's also pals with Paula Brancati (who played Jane on the show).

Sean Cameron // Daniel Clark

Via degrassi.wikia.com / Twitter

Then: Misunderstood, bad boy Sean was best known for his jean jackets, eyebrows, and the fights he started in school. He once punched a guy and made him deaf in one ear. Even though he was a troublemaker, dating Emma helped show his sensitive side. Later, he became a hero for wrestling the gun out of Rick's hand in the shooting. He also fell for Ellie in the Breakfast Club episode.

Now: You may have recognized his cameo in the movie Juno. Currently he is a news reporter for This Is Fusion—a station from ABC-Univision. It's pretty cool seeing him deliver news and being a journalist (but it's impossible to forget his bandana Degrassi days).

Ashley Kerwin // Melissa Mcintyre

Via degrassi.wikia.com / Facebook

Then: When the show started, Ashley was the type-A, perfect class president. Then she took ecstasy and had a rough night. She lost all her friends and turned goth. She dated Craig, but then he cheated on her. So she made t-shirts with his face in flames and sang revenge songs.

Now: According to her Twitter bio, she is "a force to be reckoned with." She still performs music, whether solo gigs or in a band. (But no band beats Hell Hath No Fury!) She occasionally tweets at her former TV stepbrother Toby (Jake Goldsbie). #SiblingBonding

James Tiberius "J.T." Yorke (R.I.P.) // Ryan Cooley

Via degrassi.wikia.com / Twitter

Then: Nope, in case you were wondering, I'm still not over J.T.'s death. Before he was stabbed, he was the class clown. He was always cracking jokes and making fun of Liberty. Until later, when the two fell in love and he got her pregnant. Then he stole and sold drugs from the pharmacy where he worked.

Now: He's a self-proclaimed "tech enthusiast." He voices a character on a show called BeyWarriors: BeyRaiderz—which despite its name, has nothing to do with Beyoncé. He also does voice work on the Canadian animated series Oh No! It's an Alien Invasion.

Terri McGreggor // Christina Schmidt

Via dumbbaby.net // Instagram

Then: Poor Terri! Things never really went her way. Although she was sort of psychic and could read tarot cards—that was pretty cool. She also had success as a plus-size model. But she dated Rick, who was abusive. She didn't listen to her friends and then he pushed her on a rock. She had a concussion for a little while and we never saw her again.

Now: Is that Khloe Kardashian? It's not? Oh, they just take super similar selfies. Like her character, she's had success with modeling in real life. She also has a ridiculously adorable son that she posts photos of on Instagram.

Marco Del Rossi // Adamo Ruggiero

Via sodahead.com / Instagram

Then: We first met Marco when he beat Spinner and Jimmy in the '80s dance competition. He tried dating Ellie for a little bit, but couldn't hide the truth anymore. He came out to her and then dealt with bullying/homophobia at school. He dated Paige's brother Dylan. He became class president and graduated as valedictorian.

Now: He's an advocate for the LGBT community and has spoken out against bullying. He recently teamed up with the Grain Farmers of Ontario and participated in an event about "cool careers in agriculture." Also, he refers to Lauren Collins as his "wifey," so all is right in the world.

Hazel Aden // Andrea Lewis

Via degrassi.wikia.com / Instagram

Then: Hazel was always Paige's sidekick. She lied about her Muslim heritage and told people at school she was Jamaican instead. She got detention for looking up porn. It was worth it, though, because that's when she first bonded with Jimmy, who she dated for awhile until he chose Ellie instead.

Now: She has her own web series called Black Actress. She does a video blog on her website. Also, she sings and released two albums. Oh, and she was in one of the best Disney Channel Original Movies—Cadet Kelly. Never forget!

Toby Isaacs // Jake Goldsbie

Via degrassimaincharacters.blogspot.com / Twitter

Then: He was always sort of a dork, but Toby was lovable in his own way. He was super smart. He dated Spinner's sister Kendra. They bonded over anime. He tried to go out for the wrestling team, but developed an eating disorder when trying to cut weight. He also was on the school's quiz team.

Now: He takes photos with lobsters on his face. He's pretty funny on Twitter. He works for The Score, a mobile sports site. He does hockey podcasts. He has a new web series called Extremely Nice Boys.

Liberty Van Zandt // Sarah Barrable-Tishauer

Via fanpop.com / LinkedIn

Then: "As edgy as a butter knife," Liberty was a know-it-all who always followed the rules. Despite having dyscalculia, she was still the smartest girl in class. She loved J.T. since the beginning of the show, even though he found her annoying at first. She wound up having his baby and giving it up for adoption. Last we heard, she got drunk at college and went streaking across campus.

Now: Apparently she isn't acting anymore. Instead of racking up roles on her IMDB page, she's been working on her LinkedIn. She's a "Creative Digital Media Professional." (Unfortunately we're 3rd degree LinkedIn connections, so I can't see more of her résumé.)

Ellie Nash // Stacey Farber

Via degrassiisdrama.tumblr.com / Twitter

Then: With hair-dye and piercings, Ellie was the punk girl. She dealt with a lot at home. Her mom's alcoholism and father's deployment overseas led to her self-harming behavior. She was a writer and pursued journalism in college. She always had a thing for Craig, but he pretty much treated her like dirt.

Now: She describes herself as an "Actress. Writer. Ginger" on Twitter. She also appears to single-handedly be leading a "Drake For Mayor" campaign on Twitter. The good news is the two of them are still friends. She saw his concert and he posted a photo of them together. She also tweets photos from her world travels.

Mia Jones // Nina Dobrev

Via degrassiisdrama.tumblr.com / au.ibtimes.com

Then: Originally from Lake Hurst, Mia came to Degrassi when the two schools merged. She had a daughter named Isabella. She was on the cheer team. She was the "meatball sub" to Liberty's boring "oatmeal." She was dating J.T. when he died. Later she pursued a modeling career and left the show.

Now: Unless you've been living under a rock, you know what Nina has been up to. She stars on the CW's The Vampire Diaries and dated Ian Somerhalder. She was on the cover of Cosmo. She was in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. She walks red carpets regularly.

Whatever it takes, they'll make it through.

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