Bridget Jones's Diary: Where are they now?

THEN: After her breakthrough in 1996's Jerry Maguire, Renée Zellweger won the famed title role of Bridget Jones. For her portrayal of a 32-year-old British woman struggling with her career, her love life, and her weight, Zellweger was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar at the 2002 Academy Awards. 

NOW: The years following Bridget Jones's Diary saw Zellweger at the height of her career. She was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress again with her role as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago (2002) and she went on to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Cold Mountain (2003). Following her win, the actress reprised her role in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), and starred in the critically praised Cinderella Man (2005) and Miss Potter (2006). In 2010, Zellweger took a hiatus from acting, but made her big-screen return in Bridget Jones's Baby in 2016. Three years later, she portrayed the iconic Judy Garland in 2019's Judy, for which she won a second Oscar. She then hit the small screen in the NBC true crime limited series The Thing About Pam.

THEN: Colin Firth had fans all over the world swooning with his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice — and did so again as Mark Darcy in the Pride and Prejudice-inspired film Bridget Jones's Diary. Initially standoffish and seemingly rude, Mark soon finds himself charmed by Bridget and wins her over in the end. 

NOW: Firth's film career continued strongly after Bridget Jones's Diary, with roles in The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), Girl With a Pearl Earring (2003), Love Actually (2003), Mamma Mia! (2008), Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy (2011), and 2015's Kingsman: The Secret Service. He was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for A Single Man in 2010 and won for The King's Speech in 2011. Firth returned as Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Baby in addition to reprising his role as Harry in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018). In 2022, he earned an Emmy nomination for his performance as Michael Peterson in the HBO Max limited series The Staircase.

THEN: Hugh Grant was already known as a romantic comedy leading man thanks to the '90s hits Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Nine Months (1995), Mickey Blue Eyes (1999), and Notting Hill (1999), but as the womanizing Daniel Cleaver, this was the rare instance when he didn't get the girl. 

NOW: Grant continued to rake it in at the box office after Bridget Jones's Diary with the 2002 rom-com Two Weeks Notice, the critically acclaimed About a Boy the same year, and the 2003 modern holiday classic Love Actually (also starring Colin Firth). He also joined the star-studded casts of Music and Lyrics (2007), Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009), and Cloud Atlas (2012). Numerous awards organizations have honored Grant in the 2010s and '20s, for such projects as Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), Paddington 2 (2017), A Very English Scandal (2018), and The Undoing (2020).

THEN: Veteran screen and stage actor Jim Broadbent charmed American audiences with his turn in Bridget Jones's Diary. After appearing in Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Richard III (1995), and The Borrowers (1997), he played Bridget's father, who often commiserates with Bridget over her mother's shenanigans. 

NOW: The year 2001 was a busy one for Broadbent. In addition to Bridget Jones's Diary, he had key roles in Moulin Rouge! and Iris, the latter for which earned the star the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He also became one of many actors from Bridget Jones's Diary to join the Harry Potter franchise in 2009, when he portrayed Professor Horace Slughorn in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The Oscar winner reunited with Grant in the two Bridget Jones sequels, as well as Cloud Atlas and Paddington 2, and continues to stay busy in projects big (Game of Thrones) and small (The Duke).

THEN: After portraying the mother of the Dashwood sisters in Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility in 1995, Gemma Jones joined Bridget Jones's Diary as Bridget's mom. As Pam Jones, she has a penchant for gifting ugly Christmas sweaters and playing matchmaker. Bored with her life, she leaves her husband to have an affair with a shopping channel presenter, but later returns home.

NOW: Jones continued her television work by appearing on many BBC series like Spooks, Merlin, Last Tango in Halifax, Teacup Travels, and in the TV movie Marvellous, for which she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress. On the big screen, she joined the cast of Harry Potter (along with Shirley Henderson) for The Chamber of Secrets (2002) as Madam Pomfrey, and kept the gig throughout the film series. Additional films include Rocketman (2019), Ammonite (2020), Benediction (2021), and Emily (2022), alongside her work as Aunt Anne Lister on the TV series Gentleman Jack.

THEN: Shirley Henderson played Jude, Bridget's best friend. She and their circle of pals often go to the pub to discuss Bridget's problems and love life. Prior to Bridget Jones, Henderson appeared in Trainspotting (1996) and Topsy-Turvy (1999), which also starred Jim Broadbent.

NOW: Shortly after Bridget Jones's Diary, Henderson snagged her most high-profile role: Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter films. She also appeared in Marie Antoinette (2006) and Anna Karenina (2012). In 2013, Henderson was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for Southcliffe. She reprised her role as Jude in Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones's Baby, and returned to play Gail again in T2 Trainspotting (2017). Henderson lent her trademark voice to Babu Frik in Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and played Agatha Christie in the 2022 film See How They Run.

THEN: In his feature film debut, James Callis played Bridget's friend Tom, an '80s one-hit wonder who continues to live off his fame. 

NOW: Callis picked up one of his most notable roles in the mid-2000s when he was cast as Dr. Gaius Baltar on Battlestar Galactica. He followed it with a recurring role on the Syfy series Eureka and also made guest appearances on several U.S. TV shows like Arrow, Key & Peele, CSI, and Rick and Morty over the years, with more substantial roles on Castlevania and Blood & Treasure.

THEN: Sally Phillips played Shazza, one of Bridget's best friends who loves to use the F-word a lot. Phillips had several comedic roles prior to the film, including a gig as one of the three lead performers on the English sketch show Smack the Pony.

NOW: Phillips went on to pick up a recurring role as Tilly on comedian Miranda Hart's show Miranda and later co-wrote the film The Decoy Bride starring David Tennant and Alice Eve in 2011. She also had a memorable recurring guest role on HBO's Veep, where she played the prime minister of Finland. In 2016, she returned for Bridget Jones's Baby in addition to playing Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. She has bounced between TV and film since, including a three-episode arc on FX's Breeders.

THEN: Embeth Davidtz played Natasha, the put-together attorney who has her eyes set on Mark Darcy. Her professional and aloof demeanor was a change for those who recognize her as the loving Miss Honey from 1996's Matilda.

NOW: Following Bridget Jones's Diary she played the lead role in Junebug (2005), appeared as Annika Blomkvist in David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011), and portrayed Peter Parker's mother Mary in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). On TV, she has had recurring roles on Mad Men, Californication, Ray Donovan, Grey's Anatomy, and The Morning Show. She also had a part in the M. Night Shyamalan film Old (2021), as well as 2022's Not Okay.

THEN: A prolific star, James Faulkner had dozens of TV credits before he appeared in Bridget Jones's Diary. He was introduced at the beginning of the film as Uncle Geoffrey — who's not actually her uncle, and gets a little handsy.

NOW: In the years since Bridget Jones, Faulkner made appearances in I Capture the Castle (2003), The Good Shepherd (2006), Hitman (2007), The Bank Job (2008), and X-Men: First Class (2011). Memorable TV roles include Lord Sinderby on Downton Abbey and Randyll Tarly on Game of Thrones, with smaller appearances on such shows as The Alienist and Slow Horses.

THEN: Celia Imrie played Una Alconbury, a friend of Bridget's mother. She throws a garden party that was originally themed "Tarts and Vicars," so Bridget shows up in a Playboy bunny costume after not getting the memo about the change of plans. 

NOW: Imrie added to her already lengthy résumé with several more film, TV, and theater roles following Bridget Jones's Diary. She made big-screen appearances in Calendar Girls (2003), Wimbledon (2004), Imagine Me & You (2005), Nanny McPhee (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, alongside Firth. In 2005, Imrie won a Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in Acorn Antiques: The Musical! Imrie had a long-lasting role on FX's Better Things as Phyllis, mother of Pamela Adlon's Sam Fox.