Where are the cast of Mamma Mia! now?
Ready to feel old? Mamma Mia! turns 18 today.
The UK premiere was on June 30, 2008, with a cinema release on 10 July, followed by a US and worldwide release on 18 July, 2008.
What followed was a global sensation, with Meryl Streep making us all want to don denim dungarees again and to frolic on a Greek island in the sunshine - it's no surprise it raked in $611 million at the box office worldwide.
The stage show version of Mamma Mia! had been a smash hit ever since it began in the West End on 6 April, 1999, and being transformed for the silver screen introduced a whole new audience to the music of ABBA.
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We were also treated to some truly special singing and dancing moments from 007 himself, Pierce Brosnan. No, we didn't see that one coming, either.
Alongside Streep and Brosnan, it starred the likes of Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Dominic Cooper, Christine Baranski and the legend that is Julie Walters.
18 years is a long time, so where are they all now?
Meryl Streep
Hollywood icon Meryl Streep has had many incredible roles throughout her career, such as the terrifyingly domineering Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada.
Her role as Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! is still regarded with huge affection by many, with her wild curls and denim dungarees becoming a signature style from the film.
She belted out the title track and stole the hearts of viewers, and went on to appear briefly in the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and it's reported that Streep wouldn't say no to a third 'if the script was right'.
Since the film's release in 2008, she went on to star in The Devil Wears Prada and its sequel, there was more singing in another musical with Into the Woods, as well as Florence Foster Jenkins, Don’t Look Up, and the second season of Big Little Lies.
Streep split from her husband Don Gummer in 2023, revealing they had quietly split some six years earlier.
She has since been romantically linked to her Only Murders In The Building co-star Martin Short.
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda was cast as Sophie Sheridan, a girl in search of her father on a Greek island.
She went on to earn an Emmy for her role in The Dropout, and like Streep, she also starred in another musical, playing the role of Cosette in Les Misérables in 2012.
Also like Meryl, she loved the film so much she said she would be up for a third bite of the cherry, telling Stephen Colbert, “Definitely third Mamma Mia!, definitely no third child."
Speaking of children, the star has two with her husband Thomas Sadoski, who she wed in 2012.
They are parents to a daughter, Nina, and a son, Thomas Jr.
Amanda recently caused controversy with comments following the death of political activist Charlie Kirk, with her needing to hire a bodyguard for the hate she received.
Pierce Brosnan
Arguably the scene-stealer of Mamma Mia!, nobody expected to see James Bond singing and dancing and having the time of his life while playing the role of the ever-so-charming Sam Carmichael.
He was unfortunately the winner of a Razzie award for the quality of his vocals, taking home the Worst Supporting Actor prize.
Priscilla John, one of the casting directors for the film, told Business Insider that it was all part of his charm: "They all loved him because he didn't sing very well. He sang like all our dads, and that was the criteria really. Everybody was free to sing, and they didn't have to be trained singers," John said. "They just needed to sing in key, as if they were having a ball."
He went on to star in The Ghost Writer and Spinning Man, and Black Adam.
His creative talents also extend to art, and he opened an exhibit in 2023 featuring a collection of paintings, sketches and silkscreens.
Colin Firth
Better known as Mr Darcy and also for his iconic roles in the Bridget Jones films, Colin Firth played the role of British businessman Harry.
Since his musical role, he went on to win a Best Actor Oscar after playing King George VI in 2010’s The King’s Speech.
Firth also starred in the Kingsman franchise alongside Taron Egerton, and reunited with Renée Zellweger for the Bridget Jones sequels, as well as Operation Mincemeat and Disclosure Day.
His long-term marriage to Livia Giuggioli sadly ended in 2019, with the divorce becoming official in 2021.
They share two sons together, Luca and Matteo.
He is now linked to Eleonora Perboni, who he appeared on the Disclosure Day red carpet with.
Stellan Skarsgård
The third and final fling of Donna's is Bill Anderson, played by Stellan Skarsgård.
Viewers get more than an eyeful of Bill, who it seems is not shy.
Stellan went on to star in the likes of Dune and Thor on the big screen, and for TV he starred in HBO’s Chernobyl.
Just this year, he received his first ever Oscar nomination for his role in Sentimental Value.
A supremely talented family, five of his eight children are also actors.
He married his wife, Megan Everett-Skarsgård, in 2009.
When he picked up the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for Sentimental Value, he paid tribute to her: "I've got to thank my wife. She's been amazing — a sort of brutal support, a tough lover and very educational, and also, my children have been very educational. I'm playing a father who is a bad father. My children have really taught me what a bad father is."
He suffered from a stroke in 2022 which impacted his short term memory and speech, and he now has to use an earpiece to receive his lines onset.
Dominic Cooper
Dominic Cooper plays Sophie's husband-to-be, Sky.
Having starred in theatre previously, Mamma Mia! was his big break onto the silver screen, and he got much more screen time in the sequel.
He went on to star in the likes of An Education and My Week With Marilyn, as well as receiving critical acclaim as Jesse Custer in AMC's Preacher (2016–2019) and as young Howard Stark in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and Agent Carter (2015–16).
He used to be flatmates with James Corden and is the godfather to his first child.
Cooper and Seyfried dated in real life from 2008 to 2009 after starring in the film together, but Cooper is now in a relationship with fellow actor Gemma Chan since 2018.
Christine Baranski
Broadway legend Christine Baranski brought the comedy (and the glamour) as Tanya Chesham-Leigh.
She also appeared in the sequel, before going on to star in smash-hit series such as The Good Wife and the spin-off, The Good Fight, and Nine Perfect Strangers.
She was married to actor and playwright Matthew Cowles from 1983 until he sadly died in 2014.
There were recent rumours that Baranski, 73, was dating a singer, King Princess, 26.
King's real name is Mikaela Straus, and as well as being an actor, she is a fledgling musician.
The age gap raised eyebrows after the pair met on the set of season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers, and appeared hand in hand on the red carpet for the reopening night of Mamma Mia! on Broadway.
King shared the photos on Instagram with the caption 'Love is love', but neither has officially confirmed anything beyond a friendship.
Julie Walters
Julie Walters played Rosie, who surprised viewers with a stormy affair with Bill.
An acting legend, she has won four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award.
She went on to be made a Dame for her services to the industry in 2017 by Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2020, she went on to reveal she had previously been diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer, and shared that she had undergone surgery and chemotherapy and was now cancer-free.
She has been with Grant Roffey since 1985, and they married in 1997 and have been together ever since.
While she says she has retired from acting due to back pain and problems since her cancer treatment, she has said she could be enticed back by the prospect of a third Mamma Mia! film.
Island
The film was set on a fictional Greek island called Kalokairi, but it was filmed on Skopelos, an island in the Aegean Sea.
Many locals were roped in and taught the songs phonetically.
Many of the scenes were actually filmed at Pinewood Studios in England, and some other scenes were filmed on the neighbouring island of Skiathos.
Skopelos was originally called Peparethos or Peparethus.
Topics: Entertainment, TV And Film, Celebrity
Jen Thomas