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What’s the cast of Glee up to now? From Lea Michele’s return to Broadway and Chris Colfer’s children’s books, to Mark Salling’s legal drama and the deaths of Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera

Glee stars Kevin McHale and Lea Michele. Photos: @kevinmchale, @leamichele/Instagram; AP, AFP
Glee stars Kevin McHale and Lea Michele. Photos: @kevinmchale, @leamichele/Instagram; AP, AFP

Fox musical drama Glee became a sensation when it was released in 2009 and put its cast firmly in the spotlight – nearly 10 years after the show’s end, only a few are still acting regularly

Get ready to relive the class theatrics and the show tunes. Glee was a blockbuster series set in a high school, following the music and drama of the New Directions glee club. The show premiered on Fox in 2009 and thrust its cast – which included talents such as Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and Cory Monteith – into stardom.

Mark Salling, Kevin McHale, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, Dianna Agron, Jenna Ushkowitz, Lea Michele and Amber Riley on the set of Glee at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, in 2009. Photo: Getty Images
Mark Salling, Kevin McHale, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, Dianna Agron, Jenna Ushkowitz, Lea Michele and Amber Riley on the set of Glee at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, in 2009. Photo: Getty Images

Since the show’s end in 2015, the cast’s fortunes have been a mixed bag of stratospheric highs and deep lows. Some, like Lea Michele and Darren Criss, have enjoyed Broadway triumphs and award-winning roles; some have been embroiled in scandal; others have died.

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Whether you’re an OG diehard fan or a newcomer, here’s an update on where the cast is in 2024.

Lea Michele

Actress Lea Michele accepts the Choice TV Show: Comedy award for Glee at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards. Photo: Getty Images/AFP
Actress Lea Michele accepts the Choice TV Show: Comedy award for Glee at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards. Photo: Getty Images/AFP
Lea Michele was already a Broadway star when she joined Glee, having made her debut at the age of eight in the role of young Cosette in Les Misérables. As Rachel Berry in Glee, she earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Lea Michele and husband Zandy Reich attend the Family Equality Los Angeles Impact Awards 2019. Photo: Getty Images
Lea Michele and husband Zandy Reich attend the Family Equality Los Angeles Impact Awards 2019. Photo: Getty Images

Since the show, Michele has released four albums and two New York Times bestselling books, but she’s also been involved in several controversies. For more than a decade there have been rumours that the actress can’t read, a theory stemming from late co-star Naya Rivera’s memoir, which discussed Michele’s refusal to improvise on set. In 2020, she was forced to apologise after several former Glee co-stars accused her of “traumatic microaggressions” while working.

Michele married fashion company co-founder Zandy Reich in 2019. The couple had a son, Ever Leo, in 2020 and a daughter, Emery Sol, this summer.

Cory Monteith