See the Flamin' Hot Cast of Desperate Housewives Then and Now
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Originally appeared on E! Online
Even two decades later, the jury is still out on whether the juiciest Desperate Housewives drama was on camera or behind the scenes.
Such is the wisteria-scented mythos that sprung up around the Emmy-winning ABC series, which starred Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan as the denizens of a picture-perfect suburban enclave that was the scene of more scheming, backstabbing, bed-hopping and bad decision-making than might be considered appropriate for one zip code. And, of course, there were normal activities, like child-rearing, carpooling and monthly book-clubbing.
Oh, and wine-drinking. Lots of that.
But while the rumors of discord on the set will forever be part of the lore, as the 20th anniversary of the show's October 2004 premiere approaches (R.I.P. Mary Alice), it's important to remember what the vibe was like back then.
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When the five O.G.s posed together for Vanity Fair in 2005, even the cover teased, "You wouldn't believe what it took just to get this photo!"
Which isn't to say that everyone got along every single day all the time. But also, if you were a formidable woman in the '00s then obviously you were feuding with someone.
"People ask me that a lot, like, 'Were you guys really fighting?' and I was like, 'God, I forgot that was a thing,'" Longoria told Dax Shephard on a November episode his Armchair Expert podcast. "It was a thing. It was a big thing!"
Referring to her fellow female leads, she recalled, "They all had such a better handle on fame, on that narrative...I'm like, 'You guys, they're saying we're fighting!' And they're like, 'Yeah, well that's just a narrative they do on women because we're over 40 in a television show.'"
As for the scripted shenanigans, Longoria was a graduate of 303 episodes of The Young and the Restless, so a character arc that took her character Gaby Solis from bedding the gardener to getting her own HSN show—really testing the boundaries of in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, till death do us part along the way—didn't faze her in the slightest.
Longoria's triumphant real-life trajectory, meanwhile, took her to the Oscars for the first time as a presenter just last year. This year, however, her feature directorial debut Flamin' Hot—the inspired-by-a-true-story tale of how Flamin' Hot Cheetos came to be—is Oscar-nominated for Best Original Song. Becky G will be performing the film's contender, "The Fire Inside," during the March 10 ceremony.
So since we know what Longoria is up to, it's also time to check in with the rest of the Desperate Housewives lineup and see the sprawling cast then vs. now:
Teri Hatcher
Since saying goodbye to Susan Mayer when Desperate Housewives wrapped in 2012, Hatcher has had recurring roles on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Odd Couple and Supergirl, while providing the voice of Dottie in the Disney animated film Planes and its sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue.
An avid home chef, she won a special Holiday Celebrity episode of Chopped season 17. In 2018, she debuted a YouTube channel called Hatching Change that features the segments "Van Therapy" and "Don't Eat 'It' Out of a Box."
Her fallout with the four other leads of the show continues to be a topic of conversation, more recently returning to the fore in the aftermath of Felicity Huffman's arrest, with Eva Longoria and creator Marc Cherry seemingly referencing her alleged diva antics on the set.
But in December 2021, we got the reunion we had been waiting for. Teri reunited with James Denton for Hallmark Channel's holiday movie A Kiss Before Christmas.
Felicity Huffman
After her time on the ABC hit, Huffman starred in the shows American Crime (which earned her three consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie), Get Shorty and When They See Us, while appearing in films including Big Game, Cake and Otherhood.
The longtime wife of Shameless star William H. Macy had her personal life come to the forefront when she was revealed to be among dozens of parents charged by the FBI and U.S. Attorney General's office in March 2019 in a nationwide college entrance exam cheating scandal.
Accused of paying someone $15,000 to pretend to be daughter Sophia and take her SAT exam for her, she was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud. She formally pleaded guilty to honest services fraud and was later sentenced to 14 days in jail. She reported the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif. on October 15, 2019 and was released two days early because her release date fell on a weekend.
Since her release, she's kept a low profile and is set to make her acting return in ABC's The Good Lawyer.
Eva Longoria
The erstwhile Gabrielle Solis went on to appear in films like Lowriders, Overboard and Dora and the City of Lost Gold, star in NBC's short-lived Telanovela and executive produce Marc Cherry's Desperate Housewives follow-up Devious Maids on Lifetime as well as ABC's short-lived Grand Hotel. She's also begun a robust directing career, helming episodes of the aforementioned series, as well as Jane the Virgin, Black-ish and The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia, among others.
An activist and a businesswoman who's launched her own clothing line and been a vocal, founding member of Time's Up, Longoria began dating and, in 2016, married José Antonio "Pepe" Bastón Patiño, president of Televisa, the largest media company in Latin America. The couple welcomed a son, Santiago "Santi" Enrique Bastón, in 2018.
Marcia Cross
Since starring as Bree Van de Camp in all eight seasons of the show, the former Melrose Place star appeared in a 2015 episode of Law & Order: SVU before joining ABC's Quantico in a recurring capacity through 2018.
In September of that year, she revealed that she'd successfully completed treatment for anal cancer, which she later shared was linked to the throat cancer her longtime husband Tom Mahoney was diagnosed with in 2009, possibly through the same type of HPV.
Nicollette Sheridan
Part of the original cast, Sheridan's Edie Britt was killed off the series during its fifth season after escalating tensions between her and Cherry that ultimately resulted in a $20 million lawsuit against the producer and ABC Television with the actress claiming wrongful termination, assault and battery, gender violence, discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and age, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. With the show's four other female leads vowing to support Cherry, the original trial was deemed a mistrial, with Sheridan's attempts at an appeal denied.
Since leaving the series, she's starred in a trio of Hallmark films and briefly joined the cast of The CW's Dynasty as the iconic Alexis Carrington before departing 15 episodes into the show's second season.
In December 2015, she married Aaron Phypers and quickly filed for divorce the following July.
Steven Culp
After starring as Bree's husband Rex in the show's first season, Culp appeared on shows as varied as NCIS, Grey's Anatomy, Scream Queens, Arrow, How to Get Away With Murder, and American Horror Story: 1984 among others. He also portrayed Congressman Wenham in Marvel's 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
In 2006, his half-sister Kathryn Harvey was murdered along with her husband Bryan and their two daughters Stella and Ruby. Of the two men who were convicted for their murder, one, Ricky Gray, was executed by lethal injection in 2017, while the other, Ray Dandridge, is serving three life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Ricardo Antonio Chavira
After eight seasons spent playing Carlos Solis, Chavira rebounded with a series regular role in the very short-lived NBC comedy Welcome to the Family, yanked off the schedule after only three episodes in 2013. Since then, he's had recurring roles on Scandal, Jane the Virgin and The Santa Clarita Diet.
In October 2019, after his former co-worker Huffman was sentenced to just 14 days in federal prison for her role in the college admissions bribery scandal that rocked the country, he took to Twitter to express his disappointment at the light punishment, citing Huffman's white privilege as the source of the leniency.
James Denton
The erstwhile Mike Delfino moved his wife Erin O'Brien and their son Sheppard and daughter Malin out of Glendale, Calif. and to Chanhassen, Minn. In 2015, he landed a starring role in the Hallmark Channel's series adaptation of its popular film franchise The Good Witch. He's also recurred on Devious Maids and guest-starred on NCIS: New Orleans.
Doug Savant
Since his eight seasons as Lynette's husband Tom Scavo, Savant has kept busy making the guest-star rounds on TV shows as varied as Criminal Minds, 9-1-1, Lucifer and NCIS.
Brenda Strong
As the show's omnipresent and deceased narrator Mary Alice Young, Strong was heard often but seen little during time on the show. Since then, she's been much more visible. She starred as Ann Ewing in TNT's 2012 revival of Dallas before recurring as Lex and Lena Luthor's mother Lillian on Supergirl and elevating a recurring role in season two of Netflix's 13 Reasons Why into a regular one for the following season. She's also guested on Scandal, The 100, Fear the Walking Dead and All Rise, among others.
In May 2015, she married director-actor John Farmanesh-Bocca four years after divorcing first husband and father of her son Zakery Henri, Tom Henri.
Madison De La Garza
Joining the show as Gabrielle and Carlos' daughter Juanita after the time jump between seasons four and five, De La Garza remained with the show through its series finale. Since the show wrapped in 2012, the younger half-sister of Demi Lovato has grown up (she turned 18 in December 2019) and appeared in the films Caged No More and Gnome Alone and the shows Good Luck Charlie and Bad Teacher.
She recently got candid about the hate she received over her appearance while on the show, which she said led her to develop an eating disorder.
"I would spend hours and hours reading comments," she recalled. "They said things like they wanted me to die because of what I looked like. It was like, ‘Ugly fat cow. And I hope you get cancer and die because you're so fat.' And just horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible things. And this is when I was 6, 7, 8 years old."
"My first memories of trying to starve myself, I was 7 years old," she continued. "A lot of it came from reading those comments. My family had no idea that this was going on. My mom had no idea that I was seeing these things, that I was reading these things, because I was very, very sneaky about it."
Richard Burgi
As Susan's ex-husband Karl Mayer, Burgi's tenure on the show saw his status fluctuate often. Beginning as a recurring guest star in season one, he was promoted to series regular in season two, demoted to guest in three and four, recurring in five and six, and returning as a guest in eight. Since the show wrapped, he's guest-starred on Hawaii Five-0, General Hospital and Devious Maids, among other shows.
Dana Delany
After initially declining the role of Bree, Delany joined the show in season four as the mysterious Katherine Mayfair and left after season six to star in her own ABC series, Body of Proof. When the medical procedural was canceled after three seasons, she landed lead roles in short-lives series Hand of God and The Code. In 2016, she also served as the primetime guest host on Turner Classic Movies, filling in for Robert Osborne.
Andrea Bowen
After four years on the show as a series regular, Bowen spent the rest of the show's run appearing in various limited capacities as Susan's daughter Julie. When the show wrapped, she went on to star in the teen comedy G.B.F. and landing the lead role in a handful of Lifetime and Hallmark films. She also guest-starred in a 2013 episode of Scandal. Bowen has also continued her voice work as English version of Aerith Gainsborough in the video games Final Fantasy Explorers, Mobius Final Fantasy, and Kingdom Hearts III.
Vanessa Williams
After starring as late Wisteria Lane addition Renee Perry in the show's final two seasons, Williams starred in the short-lived series 666 Park Avenue and Daytime Divas, recurred on The Good Wife, and guest-starred on Broad City, Difficult People, Modern Family and The First Wives Club. She's also continued to provide the voice of Ms. Brown, the brown M&M, since 2012 and launched her own clothing line in 2012. In 2015, she married her third husband, Jim Skrip.
Jesse Metcalfe
Starring as hot gardener John Rowland in the show's first season launched Metcalfe to fame. Since then, he's starred in the film John Tucker Must Die, the shows Dallas and Chesapeake Shores, and a handful of made-for-TV movies. In March 2007, he entered rehab for treatment for alcoholism. In January 2020, it was revealed that he and fiancée Cara Santana had split after about 13 years together.
Mark Moses
As Mary Alice's shady husband Paul Young, Moses starred in the show's first two seasons before returning to Wisteria Lane in season seven a series regular all over again. Since the show wrapped, the actor appeared in the films Cesar Chavez and Bombshell, continued making appearances as Duck Phillips on Mad Men through the show's finale in 2015, and guest-starred on shows as varied as Homeland and Grey's Anatomy, among many more.
Cody Kasch
After starring as Mary Alice's son Zach in the first two seasons and later returning as a guest in seasons three and seven, Kasch went on to guest-star in shows like Law & Order: SVU, CSI and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and appear in films Chain Letter and The Last Rescue.
Shawn Pyfrom
With his eight seasons playing Bree's son Andrew behind him, Pyfrom went on to appear in an episode of Rizzoli & Isles, the TV movie Killing Lincoln, and the films Hard Surfaces, Rudy's Canvas and Model Citizen. After Philip Seymour Hoffman's 2014 overdose and death, Pyfrom admitted that, as of February that year, he was five months into recovery himself.
Kyle MacLachlan
After starring as Bree's second husband Orson in seasons three through six, MacLachlan quit the show in 2010 so he wouldn't have to keep up his constant cross-country commute from New York City. (He did return as a guest star in the show's final two seasons, however.) Since his time on the show, he's appeared in films like Inside Out (providing the voice of Riley's dad Mr. Anderson), The House with a Clock in Its Walls, and Tesla, recurred on shows like Portlandia and Agents of SHIELD and returned to his seminal role of Dale Cooper for Showtime's Twin Peaks revival in 2017 (earning a Golden Globe nod for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film).
Alfre Woodard
After joining the series as new Wisteria Lane resident Betty Applewhite for the show's much-maligned second season, Woodard has kept busy, starring in short-lived shows including My Own Worst Enemy, Three Rivers, and State of Affairs before joining Netflix's Marvel TV universe as the villainous Mariah Stokes in Luke Cage. She starred in Apple TV+'s See. On the film side, she's starred in films like Beauty Shop, The Family That Preys, 12 Years a Slave, Annabelle and The Lion King.
Neal McDonough
Since starring as Edie's creepy husband Dave Williams in season five of the show, McDonough has appeared on show like Agents of SHIELD, Justified and Altered Carbon while bringing to life the iconic role of Damian Darhk across the Arrowverse. In 2011, he appeared as Dum Dum Dugan in Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger. He's since appeared in films including Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Proud Mary and Sonic the Hedgehog.
Since leaving the show, he and wife Ruvé Robertson grew their family from four to seven, welcoming London Jane in 2010, Clover Elizabeth in 2011 and James Hamilton in 2014. A devout Catholic who refuses to film sex or kissing scenes, McDonough claimed his faith got him fired from the lead role in ABC's short-lived 2010 drama Scoundrels over his refusal to film certain scenes.
Drea de Matteo
After spending one season on Wisteria Lane, the show's sixth, as Angie Bolen, the Sopranos vet joined the cast of Sons of Anarchy through its 2014 finale, appeared in the films Free Ride and Dark Places, and guest-starred on The Mindy Project and Agents of SHIELD. From 2016-18, she co-starred on NBC's cop drama Shades of Blue and recurred on ABC's A Million Little Things.
In April 2011, she and longtime partner Waylon Jennings welcomed their second child, son Waylon Albert "Blackjack" Jennings. (Daughter Alabama Gypsyrose Jennings was born in 2007.) Their relationship ended shortly thereafter. In 2015, she became engaged to Whitesnake bass guitarist Michael Devin just months after a gas explosion and raging fire that destroyed three East Village, Manhattan buildings took her home of 22 years.
Kevin Rahm
After appearing as Lee, one half of Wisteria Lane's resident gay couple, for the show's final five seasons, Rahm continued recurring on Mad Men, guested on Bates Motel and Madam Secretary and co-starred on Lethal Weapon. He also appeared in the films Nightcrawler and Clinical. Shortly before the Desperate Housewives series finale aired, he married cardio-thoracic surgeon Amy Lonkar on April 28, 2012. The pair welcomed a daughter two years later.
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