Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Brian Richards | Social Media | March 18, 2026
The last time people on social media were feeling very nostalgic, it was earlier this year, and they were looking back to 2016. Many of them shared their photos and their memories of themselves from back then, along with expressing what they were doing and how they were feeling during that time. Others found it difficult to participate in that trend, as they were of the belief that there were very few good things to talk about from 2016, especially since that was the year Hillary Clinton lost the Presidential election to the cruel and incompetent f-ckmuppet who is currently sitting in the White House, and turning the country into a flaming catastrof-ck with seemingly no end in sight. But I digress.
For the past week or so, people on social media have been feeling nostalgic once again, though this time it was for an entire decade, and not a particular year. Some celebrities have been answering the question/prompt, "What were you doing back in the Nineties?" And many of those celebs (and some fans acting on their behalf) were more than happy to respond. (WARNING: Almost all of these videos feature the opening notes of "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls, so unless you really like that song, you may want to scroll through the rest of this article with the volume turned down or off.)
If you're Black and grew up in the Nineties, you already know it was damn near impossible to not notice Halle Berry when she first began appearing onscreen. Jungle Fever was her first film, but it wasn't until Strictly Business and Boomerang that gave her name recognition, but also made many a Black woman obsess over getting her iconic pixie cut the same way that white women lined up to get "The Rachel."
Giancarlo Esposito has stayed booked and busy since the late Sixties, and he has come a long way since the days of him yelling at Sal about him not having any brothers on the wall of his pizzeria. The fact that he has becomes quite the silver fox is just one reason why there has been long been a contingent of fans who have been begging Hollywood to put him in a vampire movie opposite Gina Torres, where they can play husband and wife who are serving looks when they're not drinking blood.
Reagan Gomez made her onscreen debut on The Parent 'Hood, which aired on The WB (a.k.a. the greatest television network in all of existence), and went on to become a delightful presence on Twitter long before it became the CSAM-infested, misinformation-peddling Nazi bar that it is today.
Another Black celebrity who had many of her fans feeling weak in the knees like SWV back in the Nineties was Maia Campbell, who is best known for her role as Tiffany on the NBC-to-UPN sitcom In the House.
Why yes, I am listening to the classic song "B.P.E. (Big Pu--y Energy)" while writing about Renée Elise Goldsberry, and yes, I'm still mad at Netflix for not renewing Girls5Eva for five more seasons:
Let us all give thanks that Walter E. Jones has many reasons to look back on what he was up to in the Nineties, and none of those things involve showing any sort of love to the horrible job that his barber did to his hair:
When you see or hear Jasmine Guy's name being mentioned, it's highly likely that your first thoughts will either be of her on A Different World as Whitley crying out for DENZEL!, or Whitley having Dwayne Wayne crash her wedding and hit her with the "Baby, please! Please!," or any of her scenes in Harlem Nights. Either way, Jasmine kept us fans feeling very well-fed.
Whether she was pulverizing Arnold Schwarzenegger's wrinkleberries in Total Recall, or showing just how she really didn't like to wear underwear in Basic Instinct, the Nineties are when Sharon Stone awakened something in a lot of us.
You're a real one if you remember when Tiffani Thiessen officially took the "Amber" out of her name so that she could be taken a little more seriously after Saved by the Bell:
There was a time when you couldn't throw a Tamagotchi without hitting a daytime talk show on television. And for better or worse, Ricki Lake and her eponymous talk show is what helped make all of that possible, while also being addictive as hell for those of us looking for something to watch after getting home from school.
Cara Buono is best known for her role as Karen Wheeler on Stranger Things and as Dr. Faye (a.k.a. the best partner Don Draper ever had before he completely fumbled it like always) on Mad Men, but pop culture nerds remember one of her earliest roles being in the 1992 film Gladiator with Cuba Gooding Jr. (long before he became known for yelling a quote about babies and oral sex on camera that Dustin absolutely will not let me put here) and the late, great Brian Dennehy:
Before Jennifer Garner traveled around the world to wear the finest of wigs while kicking her enemies' asses, and asked us what's in our wallets, she was being cheated on by Noel on Felicity, and helping Detective Curtis cheat on his wife on Law and Order.
Sadly, there are no photos shared by Isabella Rossellini of her enjoying a Big Beef and Cheddar sandwich from Arby's:
I still remember how much Tim Meadows surprised me with his range as an actor when he starred opposite Denzel Washington in Devil in a Blue Dress.
Let us think back to the good old days of Cynthia Nixon as Miranda on Sex and the City, and a whole lot less about Cynthia Nixon Miranda on the three-season-long hatewatch that was And Just Like That..., where her last appearance involved Miranda being elbow-deep in her clogged and sh-t-filled toilet.
Ever since I first watched Return to Oz on VHS as a little boy, and had the crap scared out of me by those damn Wheelers, Fairuza Balk has been one of my favorite actresses, and I just simply appreciate her blessing us with the "WANT ME TO KILL THEM?" GIF from The Waterboy that has gotten so much usage for so many reasons.
Pierce Brosnan could get it then, and he could still get it now.
Remember when the media went after Alicia Silverstone and said that she was too fat to play Batgirl in Batman and Robin? (sighs) I'm so happy and grateful that we've come a long way from seeing young women and their bodies being torn to shreds like this by strangers for clicks and views.
Nia Long had her hat thrown in the ring as well, and she didn't disappoint.
— JazzReads📚 (@jazzreads.bsky.social) March 10, 2026 at 7:35 AM
Sheryl Lee Ralph. Nothing else really needs to be said.
And last but not least: Sarah Michelle Gellar, whose name has been recently mentioned in the press for unpleasant reasons, but here was an opportunity for some of us longtime fans to look back at her classic role that grabbed our attention: Kendall on All My Children.
Someone even decided to take part in the prompt on behalf of the Playboy channel:
For those of us who do not have any photos from the Nineties saved on digital cameras (mine are saved in actual photo albums collecting dust somewhere in my mother's house), you are seen, and you are not alone.
A few people on Blacksky mentioned that they're just patiently waiting for Janet Jackson and Salli Richardson-Whitfield (actress/director/producer/the voice of Elisa Mazza on Gargoyles) to play along and do the Nineties challenge as well, because they would absolutely be worth the wait.
Anyone who has an account on any social media app knows that it can, and often does, tap-dance all over your very last nerve with how infuriating it can be, whether it's because of the other people using it, or the news stories we see that remind us yet again of the flaming catastrof-ck that is the world we live in. But being able to sit back and take a few brief trips in the Wayback Machine with some of our favorite celebs is at least one reason why social media doesn't deserve to be wiped out of existence just yet.
And now, for anyone and everyone who owns an automobile and drives it on a regular basis, here is where I end that article on an incredibly sad note.
