Drew Barrymore, Melissa Joan Hart and More Celebrities Join Viral ’90s Throwback Trend
Stars including Drew Barrymore and Melissa Joan Hart are joining the viral ’90s throwback trend on Instagram.
The “What Were You Like in the ’90s” trend has celebrities posting nostalgic photo slideshows set to The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” and it has become one of the most charming moments on social media in recent memory.
Participants—mostly celebrities who were at the height of their fame during that decade—share a series of photos creating a short slideshow that plays alongside the music.
What makes this trend especially fun is the sheer number of recognizable names taking part. Among the famous stars who have joined in are Reba, Darius Rucker, Drew Barrymore, Scott Wolf, Brooke Shields, Joe Mantegna and Kevin Bacon—names that have spanned decades of television, film and music.
Fans of sitcoms will also recognize Marla Sokoloff, known for her roles on Home Improvement and Boy Meets World, and Kristin Davis of Sex and the City fame. Each post offers a unique window into what these beloved performers looked like at the peak of the 1990s—the hairstyles, the fashion and the unmistakable energy of that era.
One of the more endearing entries came courtesy of Sharna Burgess, wife of Brian Austin Green, best known for his roles in Beverly Hills, 90210. Burgess decided to make the tribute on his behalf.
She wrote as the Instagram caption: “You were never gonna make this for yourself @brianaustingreen so I (gladly) did it for you 😘 and DAMNNNNNNN 🤤”
Fellow 90210 alum Tiffani Thiessen, who played Kelly Kapowski on the ’90s sitcom Saved by the Bell and Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210, also posted the trend on Instagram. Her caption read: “Did someone say 90’s? 👋🏻”
For anyone who spent their evenings watching those iconic shows, seeing Thiessen and Green revisit that era is a particularly warm treat.
Drew Barrymore, one of the most recognizable faces of the 1990s, posted hers on February 24, writing: “Oh the 90s! I went down memory lane looking at these photographs.”
The response from fans and fellow celebrities was immediate. Singer SZA commented, “Blueprint ✨,” and another commenter wrote: “Literally the original ‘it girl’”
Even Melissa Joan Hart, best known for starring as the titular character in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Clarissa Explains It All, took part in the trend, posting several photos of her own unique ’90s fashion choices.
“The fashion was wild,” she wrote as the Instagram caption.
The response from her fans was overwhelmingly affectionate. Comments underneath her post included: “She WAS the 90s ✨✨,” “An entire generation of women wanted to be you. Icon,” and “Loved Clarissa BUT SABRINA!!!! ✨✨✨ THAT WAS MY GWORL!!”
Hart has also been candid about how rarely she revisits her own famous work. While chatting with People earlier this year, Hart revealed the last time she watched one of her old shows was “a few years ago.”
“I’ve never watched the shows, really, ever, except Melissa and Joey, because I had to live-tweet them. So I did watch those,” she shares at the Feb. 1 event. “But I recently watched, like a few years ago, when I had my podcast, I would watch an episode here and there for whoever was coming on, just to refresh my memory about certain things.”
“I don’t have memories of a lot of these things, so it’s fun to watch them back sometimes, but it’s also a little cringe. Sabrina is 30 this year, which is crazy,” she added.
At its heart, the “What Were You Like in the ’90s” trend is a celebration—not just of the celebrities themselves, but of a decade that holds deep sentimental value for millions of people. Whether you were raising kids during that era, watching these shows after a long day at work or simply enjoying the music and movies of the time, seeing these familiar faces revisit their younger selves is a genuinely feel-good experience.
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