From major Hollywood roles to modelling contracts, where cast of Desperate Housewives are now as work starts on reboot

The Sun

30-04-2025

Jess Lester, TV Reporter
Published: Invalid Date,
TWO decades since the Desperate Housewives first strutted down Wisteria Lane, the picture-perfect cul-de-sac will be back in business.
A spin-off of the series, which ran from 2005 to 2012, is in development with Disney – and there promises to be plenty more secrets and gossip behind the doors on those pristinely mown lawns.
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Currently titled Wisteria Lane, the reboot is described as a 'fun, dark, sexy soap ' with a cast of five main women – much like the original.
The cast is yet to be revealed, and it is not known if any of the original Housewives – Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Nicollette Sheridan – will be making a return.
But what have they been up to since those days?
Jess Lester finds out.
MARCIA CROSS, 63, played Bree Van de Kamp
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AFTER playing image- obsessed Bree in all eight seasons, Marcia has largely been out of the limelight since the series ended.
She was nominated for an Emmy for her role but believes appearing on the series was a blessing and a curse.
She revealed in 2023: 'I always assumed that after Desperate Housewives there would be a third act, but that has not happened yet.
'That's the double-edged sword of being an 'icon'. Everybody thinks you are that character, and by the time they forget about it, you're not on anybody's list any more.'
While she has made appearances in CSI, Law & Order and thriller series Quantico, Marcia has mostly remained off-screen.
In 2018, she revealed she had been battling anal cancer, using her platform to raise awareness of the disease and causes.
The feuds of Desperate Housewives
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SHE took home an Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance as high-powered businesswoman turned stay-at-home mum-of-five Lynette Scavo.
She also received critical acclaim – and a Golden Globe – for her role as transgender woman Sabrina Osbourne in 2005 film Transamerica, before starring alongside Jennifer Aniston in the 2014 drama Cake.
But her career suffered a significant setback in 2019 when she was involved in a college admissions scandal, admitting that she paid £11,000 to have her daughter's SAT exam answers corrected.
She was jailed for 14 days.
Since then, she has been making a slow return to acting, with guest roles on The Good Doctor and legal series Criminal Minds: Evolution.
EVA LONGORIA, 50, played Gabrielle Solis
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AS Gabrielle, she burst onto our screens by having an affair with her teenage gardener in the first episode.
Since then, Eva has starred in dozens of small TV series, as well enjoying the long-standing ambassador role for hair care firm L'Oreal.
Whilst still on Housewives, Eva featured in political thriller, the Sentinel and rom-com Over Her Dead Body with Paul Rudd.
She later guest-starred in mystery comedy drama Only Murders In The Building.
Ahead of the announcement of a Desperate Housewives reboot, the actress ruled out every re-appearing on the series.
She told an American talkshow: 'I can't sleep with any more people on that street. I have slept with every person on the street'.
TERI HATCHER, 60, played Susan Mayer
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STARRING as romantically challenged single mum Susan is arguably not Teri's most famous role.
She previously played Lois Lane in Nineties series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman and went on to be a Bond girl opposite Pierce Brosnan in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies.
In 2018, Teri launched her own YouTube channel, Hatching Change, where she shared personal recipes, cooking tips and lifestyle advice.
She has previously shared mixed feelings about the idea of a reboot.
Teri revealed she was always keen to be 'the first person' to sign up if it was ever brought back.
But she added it would be a hard role to navigate after the deaths of both her on-screen husbands – Karl Mayer in the sixth series and Mike Delfino in the final series.
NICOLLETTE SHERIDAN, 61, played Edie Britt
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SHE captivated audiences as Edie, whose provocative antics often stirred up drama between the women of Wisteria Lane.
But after being killed off during series five in 2009, she went on to sue channel ABC and showrunner Marc Cherry.
Nicollette alleged that Cherry had assaulted her and that she had then been sacked when she reported it to the network.
Her co-stars made statements in support of Cherry, and ABC said it had investigated similar claims by her and found them to be with no merit.
The case against Cherry was dismissed by a judge due to lack of evidence.
When it came to unfair dismissal, a jury failed to reach a verdict in her first trial but a court of appeal went on to determine she had been wrongly terminated.
In 2017, she re-started her career in the remake of Dynasty starring as Alexis Carrington, who was played by Joan Collins in the original. series.
JESSE METCALFE, 46, played John Rowland
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AS charming young gardener John, he had ladies swooning on and off-screen.
But Jesse has had ups and downs since leaving the series.
He entered rehab in 2007 for alcohol troubles, which he claimed were fuelled by Hollywood's world of 'instant gratification and decadence'.
After Housewives, he played the lead in 2006 teen comedy John Tucker Must Die and went on to appear as Christopher Ewing in the 2012 reboot of Dallas.
He also dated Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle from 2006 to 2008.
Despite being a fan favourite on Housewives, Jesse does not see himself returning as a hunk, joking: 'I could be one of the parents of the younger cast or something.'