20 popular 2000s celebrities who have disappeared

Few teenagers were more popular in the 2000s than Lauren Conrad. After rising to fame on Laguna Beach and maintaining her star power through The Hills, Conrad effectively disappeared from Hollywood. She still works as a businesswoman. She just stays out of the limelight. 

Whether you wanted to know about him or not, everybody was aware of Andy Milonakis in the 2000s. His MTV sketch comedy show, The Andy Milonakis Show, was all that and a bag of chips for a few years. Unfortunately, his popularity was short-lived. 

Frankie Muniz couldn’t have been bigger in the 2000s if he’d tried. But it seems that acting wasn’t the path he wanted to follow. He retired from the entertainment industry to pursue a career in racing. 

Josh Hartnett had every teenage girl in the ‘00s absolutely in love with him, but when the decade ended, he all but fell off the face of the earth. And it wasn’t that he stopped acting. He didn’t. He just declined in popularity. But get excited, because Hartnett is making a comeback. 

Cameron Diaz was the It Girl in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, but she retired from acting in 2014 and left California. Diaz has since returned to acting in a limited capacity, but she’s nowhere near as popular as she once was. 

Shane West shot to stardom in the early 2000s after starring in A Walk to Remember alongside Mandy Moore. He kept acting, finding roles in successful TV shows, but his star power definitely faded. 

Ian Somerhalder shot to stardom at the end of the 2000s thanks to his work on the hit series The Vampire Diaries. But once that was over, he got out of dodge in order to raise a family and focus on his businesses. 

Rapper Xzibit was best known in the 2000s for hosting the wild MTV series Pımp My Ride, in which people’s clunker cars were made even more unusable by being fixed up with chocolate fountains and yoga studios. The world hasn’t paid Xzibit as much attention since the show’s cancellation. 

Angus T. Jones was a child star in the 2000s thanks to his starring role in the hit sitcom Two and a Half Men. After the show ended, Jones largely stopped acting and left the public eye. 

Adam Richman made everyone in the ‘00s believe that any amount of food could be consumed in one sitting. But since Man v. Food ’s cancellation, the most famous professional eater is Joey Chestnut. 

Teddy Dunn was a popular character actor in the 2000s, best known for his work on Veronica Mars. His time in Hollywood was limited, and after his last professional credit, he switched from entertainment to law and now works as an attorney. 

If Hogan Knows Best had been released in the 2020s, Brooke Hogan would be the world’s most successful influencer. She’s still popular on social media and releases music, but she’s not quite as relevant as she once was. 

Amanda Bynes defined teen comedy in the 2000s. But being a child star took the ultimate toll on Bynes, and she left the entertainment industry in the early 2010s. The people would love to see her make a comeback, though. 

Paula DeAnda released huge hits in the ‘00s, with “Walk Away (Remember Me)” serving as her biggest song. She’s not quite as popular now, but she still gets some love on streaming services. 

Dido was a popular singer-songwriter in the early 2000s, thanks to her turn-of-the-century album, No Angel. Dido is still writing and recording music today, but she doesn’t have the same commercial appeal. 

Tony Hawk has proven that there’s only room in this country for one super-famous skateboarder. Ryan Sheckler tried, but he, for whatever reason, didn’t have the staying power of Hawk. 

Akon was on every song in the mid- to late-2000s. His unique voice sounded good on everything. He dipped in popularity in the 2010s and has been more prominent for his cryptocurrency than his music as of late. 

Stacie Orrico had some hit songs in the early ‘00s, too, most notably “Stuck.” These days, she’s more of a millennial memory than a celebrity (though an iconic memory). 

Willa Ford was an icon in the early ‘00s, releasing music and making appearances in both film and television. Ford is no longer part of the entertainment industry and instead works as an interior designer. 

Ryan Cabrera was more famous for his relationships with fellow ‘00s stars Ashlee Simpson and Audrina Patridge than he was for his music career, but he was famous nevertheless. He still performs, just to less acclaim than before.