Mean Girls cast: All actors and characters

Cameron Frew
The cast of Mean Girls

Get in loser, we’re telling you all about the Mean Girls cast and characters, from the Plastics to the Art Freaks and everyone in between.

Mean Girls is a sacred text of the 2000s; there’s not one millennial or Gen-Zer out there who doesn’t know the significance of October 3rd, the Burn Book, wearing pink on Wednesdays, and why “fetch” will never happen.

While the 2024 Mean Girls musical movie doesn’t match the cultural impact of the original, there are a few cameos in the remake worth watching for.

But if you’re going to check it out, then now’s the perfect time to learn more about the cast that started it all. Here’s the full list of the Mean Girls cast and characters!

Contents

Cady Heron: Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron

Lindsay Lohan plays Cady Haron, the main character in Mean Girls who arrives at North Shore High School and befriends Janis and Damian, before falling into the orbit of the Plastics.

Lohan is also known for roles in The Parent Trap, Just My Luck, and Machete. After taking a break from acting amid various personal issues, she’s since launched a bit of a comeback, launching her own Lindsay Lohan Beach Club reality series and starring in Netflix’s Falling for Christmas last year. More recently, she came back in style in Netflix’s rom-com, Irish Wish.

Regina George: Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams as Regina George

Rachel McAdams plays Regina George, North Shore royalty and the wealthy, fearsome leader of the Plastics.

McAdams has a huge list of credits to her name, having starred in The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, Red Eye, The Family Stone, About Time, Spotlight, and last year’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. She also plays Christine Palmer, a colleague of Doctor Strange, in the MCU.

Karen Smith: Amanda Seyfried

Amanda Seyfried as Karen

Amanda Seyfried plays Karen Smith, a member of the Plastics who’s especially ditzy — but compared to Regina, her heart is always in the right place. She also has one of the funniest lines in the movie: “If you’re from Africa, why are you white?”

Mean Girls was Seyfried’s movie debut, and she’s since starred in the Mamma Mia series, Big Love, Jennifer’s Body, Les Misérables, Ted 2, First Reformed, and The Dropout.

Gretchen Wieners: Lacey Chabert

Lacey Chabert as Gretchen Wieners

Lacey Chabert plays Gretchen Wieners, the third member of the Plastics who’s constantly at odds with Regina. She’s rich and popular, but constantly insecure about whether or not anyone actually likes her.

Since Mean Girls, Chabert has starred in Dirty Deeds, the 2006 Black Christmas remake, and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, as well as more than 30 Hallmark Channel movies.

Janis Ian: Lizzy Caplan

Lizzy Caplan as Janis Ian

Lizzy Caplan plays Janis Ian, one of the “Art Freaks” who befriends Cady shortly after she arrives. However, she holds a bitter grudge against Regina and wants to take her down.

Caplan has also starred in Masters of Sex, Hot Tub Time Machine, Now You See Me 2, The Night Before, Castle Rock, and this year’s Fatal Attraction remake.

Damian Leigh: Daniel Franzese

Cady, Janis and Damian in Mean Girls

Daniel Franzese, Janis’ best friend who’s “too gay to function.” He also two iconic lines from the movie: “You go, Glen Coco!” and “She doesn’t even go here!”

Franzese is an actor and comedian who’s since starred in Looking, Recovery Road, and Conviction, as well as appearing on RuPaul’s Celebrity Drag Race. He also hosts the Yass, Jesus! podcast.

Aaron Samuels: Jonathan Bennett

Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls

Jonathan Bennett plays Aaron Samuels, Regina’s ex-boyfriend and Cady’s crush. Unlike Regina, he’s a nice enough guy, but gets caught up in the war between the girls.

Bennett has since starred in Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Van Wilder: Freshman Year, and The Haunting of Sharon Tate. He also appeared in Ariana Grande’s ‘thank u, next’ video, which was a tribute to Mean Girls, and starred in Hallmark’s first Christmas movie with an LGBTQ+ couple as its leads, The Holiday Sitter.

Ms. Sharon Norbury: Tina Fey

Tina Fey as Ms Norbury in Mean Girls

Tina Fey, who also wrote Mean Girls, plays Ms. Sharon Norbury. She’s a math teacher at North Shore, and most certainly not a drug dealer.

Fey is an actress and comedian who rose to fame on Saturday Night Live, before creating 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as starring in Date Night, Megamind, Sisters and Soul. She also reprises her role in Mean Girls: The Musical.

Principal Ron Duvall: Tim Meadows

Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall in Mean Girls

Tim Meadows plays Principal Ron Duvall, the head teacher at North Shore High School.

Meadows also rose to fame on Saturday Night Live, and he’s starred in Semi-Pro, Grown Ups 2, Trainwreck, and Hubie Halloween. Like Fey, he returns to play the role once more in Mean Girls: The Musical.

June George: Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler in the Mean Girls cast

Amy Poehler plays June George, Regina’s mom — but she’s not a regular mom, she’s a “cool mom.”

Poehler is best known for playing Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation, as well as starring in They Came Together, Inside Out, Sisters, The House, and Wine Country.

Betsy Haron: Ana Gasteyer

Ana Gasteyer and Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls

Ana Gasteyer plays Betsy Heron, Cady’s mother. As Cady’s personality changes after becoming assimilated in high school, Betsy struggles to keep up.

Gasteyer was a Saturday Night Live cast member between 1996-2002, as well as starring in Robot & Frank, That’s My Boy, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Happiest Season, and American Auto.

Chip Heron: Neil Flynn

Neil Flynn and Ana Gasteyer in Mean Girls

Neil Flynn plays Chip Heron, Cady’s father. Clearly not used to having to deal with typical teen girl antics, Chip tries his best to be a responsible parent when Cady’s consequences catch up to her.

Flynn memorably played the janitor in Scrubs and Mike Heck in The Middle, as well as appearing in That ’70s Show, Smallville, The Fugitive, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Kevin Gnapoor: Rajiv Surendra

Kevin G in Mean Girls

Rajiv Surendra plays Kevin Gnapoor, or “Kevin G” as he refers to himself in his raps, the hormonal Mathletes president who has a thing for Janis.

He’s not acted much since, but in 2016, Surendra published his memoir, The Elephants in My Backyard, which chronicles his failed bid to win the lead role in 2012’s Life of Pi.

Mean Girls is streaming on Paramount Plus now. We have plenty of guides for the new 2024 musical version, including details on the 2024 Mean Girls box office, the Mean Girls 2024 cast, and the Mean Girls 2024 soundtrack.

About The Author

Cameron is Deputy TV and Movies Editor at Dexerto. He's an action movie aficionado, '80s obsessive, and Oscars enthusiast. He loves Invincible, but he's also a fan of The Boys, the MCU, The Chosen, and much more. You can contact him at cameron.frew@dexerto.com.