Fox’s musical drama Glee became hugely popular when it first aired in 2009, putting its cast in the public eye. Nearly 10 years after the show ended, only a few cast members are still acting regularly.
Get ready to revisit the high school drama and catchy songs. Glee was a hit series set in a high school, focusing on the music and drama within the New Directions glee club. The show debuted on Fox in 2009 and quickly made stars of its cast, including Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, and Cory Monteith.
Since the show ended in 2015, the cast’s paths have taken many turns, from huge successes to tragic events. Some, like Lea Michele and Darren Criss, have had Broadway successes and won awards. Others have been involved in controversies, and some have passed away.
Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer, here’s an update on what the cast is doing in 2024.
Lea Michele
Lea Michele was already a Broadway star before Glee, having started at age eight as young Cosette in Les Misérables. As Rachel Berry on Glee, she earned nominations for an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
Since Glee, Michele has released four albums and two New York Times bestselling books, though she’s also faced controversies. For more than ten years, rumors have swirled that she can’t read, a theory based on co-star Naya Rivera’s memoir, which mentioned Michele’s refusal to improvise on set. In 2020,
Michele apologized after former Glee cast members accused her of “traumatic microaggressions.”
Michele married Zandy Reich, the co-founder of a fashion company, in 2019. They have two children: a son, Ever Leo, born in 2020, and a daughter, Emery Sol, born this summer.
Cory Monteith
Cory Monteith played Finn Hudson on Glee, the popular high-school quarterback with a kind heart and impressive singing ability. He became a fan favorite and a heart-throb on the show. Monteith once said he thought he had been mistakenly cast on Glee since he had never sung professionally before.
He found love with co-star Lea Michele, and the two dated until Monteith’s death in 2013. He was honored in Glee’s fifth season after his passing.
What are the Glee cast members doing now?Chris Colfer
Chris Colfer, fresh out of high school, became widely recognized for his role as Kurt Hummel on Glee, winning a Golden Globe for his performance. After the show, Colfer appeared in films, including Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016), and made guest appearances on TV shows such as Julie’s Greenroom and Hot in Cleveland.
Today, Colfer focuses on writing children’s books. His first book, The Wishing Spell, was released in 2012 and started The Land of Stories series. He’s since written almost 20 books.
Colfer has been in a relationship with actor and producer Will Sherrod since 2013.
Darren Criss
Darren Criss became very famous when he joined Glee as Blaine Anderson in the show’s second season. Around the same time, in 2010, he released his solo album Human and has since released three EPs. Criss’ role as murderer Andrew Cunanan in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace earned him both an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
Criss married film producer Mia Swier in 2019. The couple has a daughter named Bluesy Belle and welcomed their second child, a son named Brother László, in June.
Kevin McHale
After playing Artie Abrams on Glee, Kevin McHale hosted a British TV comedy panel show called Virtually Famous for three years. In early 2020, he reunited with his Glee co-star Jenna Ushkowitz to host the Showmance podcast, which focused on recapping Glee episodes. The podcast ended unexpectedly later that year after the passing of co-star Naya Rivera.
In 2018, McHale came out as gay with a playful tweet about Ariana Grande’s song “No Tears Left to Cry.” He is currently in a relationship with actor Austin McKenzie, whom he met on the set of the miniseries When We Rise in 2016.
What are the Glee cast members doing now?Jenna Ushkowitz
Jenna Ushkowitz had been involved in entertainment since 2000, but her big break came when she played Tina Cohen-Chang, the goth who pretends to have a stutter, on Glee. After the show ended, she returned to Broadway and performed in Waitress. She has also been onstage in Spring Awakening and The King and I.
Ushkowitz has also succeeded as a producer, winning Tony Awards for her work on the Broadway show The Inheritance and for her revival of the musical Once on This Island.
She married philanthropist David Stanley in 2021, and they had a daughter named Emma in 2022.
Amber Riley
Amber Riley, who was famously rejected on American Idol, made her TV debut as high school diva Mercedes Jones on Glee. While still on the show, Riley won the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars in 2013.
After Glee, Riley played Effie White in the London West End premiere of Dreamgirls in 2016, where she earned multiple awards for her performance. She also released an EP called Riley in 2020 and won The Masked Singer in 2022.
Mark Salling
Mark Salling became well-known for playing the bad boy Noah “Puck” Puckerman on Glee. After the show ended, he focused on his music career, releasing a solo album and working with his band, Camp Coyote. However, serious legal problems soon stopped his career.
In January 2012, his ex-girlfriend, Roxanne Gorzela, filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault. A few years later, Salling was arrested for possessing child pornography and pled guilty in December 2017. Amid this legal trouble, Salling died, apparently by suicide, the next month.
What are the Glee cast members doing now?Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron played the head cheerleader Quinn Fabray on Glee. Since then, she has mostly worked in film. Last year, she starred in the Hulu thriller Clock, and she was in the Netflix miniseries drama The Chosen One.
In 2022, Agron completed her third residency at New York’s Café Carlyle, where she performed jazz classics from the 1960s and 70s. Since 2021, Agron has been in a relationship with Belgian painter Harold Ancart.
Naya Rivera
Naya Rivera began acting at the age of four with a role in the CBS sitcom The Royal Family. However, it was her role as the tough cheerleader Santana Lopez on Glee that made her famous.
After Glee, Rivera had roles in TV shows like Devious Maids and Step Up: High Water and published a memoir, Sorry Not Sorry, in 2016.
In July 2020, Rivera drowned at the age of 33 while boating with her son at Lake Piru in California.
Heather Morris
Heather Morris played the funny and naive cheerleader Brittany S. Pierce on Glee. Before joining the show, she was a talented backup dancer, performing in music videos and touring with artists like Beyoncé.
After Glee, Morris stayed involved in television comedy and dance. She competed in the 24th season of Dancing with the Stars in 2017 but was eliminated in the sixth week. She won The Masked Dancer UK in 2022. Morris and her husband, Taylor Hubbell, have two sons named Elijah and Owen.
What are the Glee cast members doing now?Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison started his career on Broadway before moving to television. On Glee, he played the Spanish teacher and glee club leader Will Schuester.
After Glee, Morrison returned to Broadway in the 2015 musical Finding Neverland and took roles in TV shows such as American Horror Story: 1984, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Good Wife.
In June 2023, Morrison shared a photo with his son, Revel, and daughter, Phoenix.
In April 2022, it was announced that Morrison would be a judge on the 17th season of the Fox dance competition show So You Think You Can Dance. However, he was fired two months later for allegedly sending inappropriate text messages to a female contestant.
Morrison married his long-time partner, Renee Puente, in 2014. They have two children: son Revel, born in 2017, and daughter Phoenix, born in 2021.
Jane Lynch
Before playing the sneaky cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on Glee, Jane Lynch was already gaining attention for her roles in Christopher Guest’s mockumentary films and appearing in popular TV shows like Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, and Weeds.
Lynch, who has won five Emmy Awards, hosted the NBC celebrity show Hollywood Game Night from 2013 to 2020. In 2016, she starred in her own TV show, Angel from Hell, but the show was cancelled after its first season because it didn’t do well with audiences.
In April, Lynch appeared on the quiz show The Weakest Link. Lynch divorced her partner of three years, Dr. Lara Embry, in 2013 and married Jennifer Cheyne in 2021.