Where is the “Rugrats” cast now? See the voices behind the lovable characters on its 35th anniversary
Where is the “Rugrats” cast now? See the voices behind the lovable characters on its 35th anniversary
Madeline Boardman, Britt HayesTue, August 11, 2026 at 12:40 PM UTC
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‘Rugrats’Credit: Everett
It’s been more than 30 years since Rugrats debuted on Nickelodeon, and we still can’t get that theme song out of our heads.
Rugrats premiered on Aug. 11, 1991, introducing viewers to the world of Tommy Pickles and his toddler friends Chuckie, twins Phil and Lil, and tiny terror Angelica. Told from a baby’s perspective, the Nickelodeon classic kept the action at ground (or carpet) level, offering a hilarious exploration of how tykes perceive and process adult concepts. And there was plenty of grown-up humor, too — some of the show’s funniest moments involve the parents, who are often stressed to the max, making Rugrats appealing to both kids and parents alike.
Production initially ended in 1994 after three seasons and 65 episodes, but thanks to the popularity of reruns and a pair of holiday-themed specials — “A Rugrats Passover” and “A Rugrats Chanukah” — Nickelodeon revived the series. Following the debut of season 4 in 1997, Rugrats made the leap to the big screen with a series of movies, starting with 1998’s The Rugrats Movie and the 2000 sequel Rugrats in Paris: The Movie. The series even spawned a spinoff, All Grown Up!, which followed the main characters 10 years later.
After nine seasons and 172 episodes, Rugrats officially came to an end in 2004. Since then, several of the actors behind your favorite characters have gone on to lend their voices to other animated shows — some of which you might even be watching with kids of your own. Below, we’re catching up with the cast of Rugrats to see what they’ve been up to in the decades since the show ended.
01 of 18
E.G. Daily (Tommy Pickles)
Elizabeth Daily, the voice of Tommy PicklesCredit: Nickelodeon; Randy Brooke/WireImage
Elizabeth Daily, credited on the series as E.G. Daily, was the baby in charge, Tommy Pickles. The actress voiced the diapered protagonist throughout the original series, returning to the character on Rugrats Tales from the Crib,All Grown Up!, and the Paramount+ reboot.
A veteran actor and talented singer, Daily’s live-action credits include classics like Valley Girl (1983), Streets of Fire (1984), and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure(1985). In the ’90s, Daily lent her voice to Darkwing Duck, Duckman, and Recess. She also voiced Buttercup on The Powerpuff Girls. You might also remember her as Phoebe’s musical frenemy in season 3 of Friends.
Since the original series ended, Daily has continued acting, appearing in the Rob Zombie films The Devil’s Rejects (2005) and 31 (2016), as well as the 2020 musical remake of Valley Girl. She remains a prolific voice actor, with credits including Pound Puppies, Avengers Assemble, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
02 of 18
Christine Cavanaugh (Chuckie Finster)
Christine Cavanaugh voiced Chuckie FinsterCredit: Nickelodeon; Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage
Christine Cavanaugh originated the role of Chuckie Finster in Rugrats’ 1991 debut and went on to voice the bespectacled redhead for more than a decade. During her run, she also voiced the title character on Dexter’s Laboratory, Oblina on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, and Jay Sherman’s son Marty on The Critic. In 1995, Cavanaugh provided the voice of the eponymous pig in Babe. She didn’t return for the 1998 sequel, Babe: Pig in the City, in which the character was voiced by Cavanaugh’s Rugrats costar, E.G. Daily.
Cavanaugh’s live-action credits were fewer compared with her voice work, but you might’ve seen her on episodes of Salute Your Shorts, Everybody Loves Raymond, and The X-Files. She also had a small role in Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire (1996).
In the early 2000s, Cavanaugh retired from acting, leaving Rugrats in 2002. She died in 2014 at her home in Cedar City, Utah. She was 51 years old.
03 of 18
Nancy Cartwright (Chuckie Finster)
Nancy Cartwright also voiced Chuckie FinsterCredit: Nickelodeon; Tara Ziemba/Getty Images
Nancy Cartwright took over for Christine Cavanaugh in 2002, voicing Chuckie Finster through the end of the series’ run and reprising the role on All Grown Up! and the 2021 reboot. By the time she joined the cast of Rugrats, Cartwright had been voicing Bart on The Simpsons for 15 years, beginning in the show’s early days on The Tracey Ullman Show. In addition to Rugrats, she lent her voice to animated shows like Alvin and the Chipmunks, My Little Pony ‘n Friends, Goof Troop, and Animaniacs.
Around the same time she joined Rugrats, Cartwright was cast as Rufus in the animated series Kim Possible, later reprising the role for the 2019 movie. These days, Cartwright is still voicing Bart on The Simpsons and in various tie-ins, including video games and a theme park ride at Universal Studios.
04 of 18
Kath Soucie (Lil and Phil DeVille)
Kath Soucie voiced Lil and Phil DeVilleCredit: Nickelodeon; Fernando Leon/Getty Images
Kath Soucie took on a dual role, voicing twins Lil and Phil DeVille. Throughout the original series, she also voiced characters on animated shows like Tiny Toon Adventures, Captain Planet, Gargoyles, and a slew of Cartoon Network classics. Soucie reprised her roles as Phil and Lil for the Rugrats movies, All Grown Up!, and Paramount+’s Rugrats reboot.
Among her extensive credits are Kim Possible, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Young Justice. Her video game credits are just as vast and include Star Wars: The Old Republic and Fallout 76.
05 of 18
Tara Strong (Dil Pickles)
Tara Strong voiced Dil PicklesCredit: Nickelodeon; Jennifer Lourie/Getty Images
Rugrats found its Dil Pickles in Tara Strong. The veteran voice actress joined the show in 1997, voicing supporting characters before taking on the role of Dil, Tommy’s younger brother. Strong continued to voice the Pickles’ new baby All Grown Up! and the Paramount+ reboot.
She wrapped her run as The Powerpuff Girls’ Bubbles in 2005 and went on to land roles on Family Guy, The Fairly OddParents, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Young Justice, and Teen Titans Go! More recently, you’ve heard Strong as the voice of Miss Minutes on Marvel’s Loki and as Mainframe in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). She also stars in the hit kids’ series Gabby’s Dollhouse.
06 of 18
Cheryl Chase (Angelica Pickles)
Cheryl Chase voiced Angelica PicklesCredit: Nickelodeon; Chris Polk/FilmMagic
Cheryl Chase voiced the bossy toddler Angelica Pickles. The Ren & Stimpy alum, who also voiced baby Pubert in Addams Family Values (1993), played Angelica again in the Rugrats movies, All Grown Up!, and the reboot series.
Angelica has remained Chase’s signature role, which she has voiced across various has Rugrats series, crossovers, and video games. In 2024, she also voiced several characters in a new Ren & Stimpy revival.
07 of 18
Cree Summer (Susie Carmichael)
Cree Summer voiced Susie CarmichaelCredit: Nickelodeon; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Cree Summer joined Rugrats in its second season, voicing Susie Carmichael, an ally who often protects the tots from Angelica’s wrath. Well known for her role on A Different World, the actress also voiced Penny on Inspector Gadget and Elmyra Duff on Tiny Toon Adventures. Summer continued to play the rugrat through the final season, reprising the role in the Rugrats films, the spinoff, All Grown Up!, and the Paramount+ reboot.
A prolific actress with hundreds of credits to her name, Summer has lent her voice to Batman Beyond, Codename: Kids Next Door, the adult animated series Drawn Together, the Guardians of the Galaxy Series, and DC Super Hero Girls. Her film credits include Toy Story 4 (2019) and The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).
In addition to her voice work, Summer has maintained a successful live-action career, with recurring roles on the FX series Better Things and the hit ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary.
08 of 18
Dionne Quan (Kimi Finster)
Credit: Nickelodeon; Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Dionne Quan voiced Kimi Finster, Chuckie’s younger stepsister, introduced in 2000’s Rugrats in Paris: The Movie before joining the series.
In a PEOPLE interview from December 2000, Quan opened up about her experience as a voice actress with optic nerve hypoplasia, which left her visually impaired. When she was 12, Quan’s father took her to a voice teacher. “It just opened up a whole new world,” said Quan, who remained on Rugrats through its final season and went on to voice Kimi in Rugrats Go Wild and All Grown Up!
In addition to Rugrats, Quan voiced Trixie Tang on the hit Nickelodeon series The Fairly OddParents and Yasmin in the Bratz animated series and movies. More recently, Quan took over the role of Toph Beifong in the 2026 animated film Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender.
09 of 18
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Melanie Chartoff (Didi Pickles)
Credit: Nickelodeon; Earl Gibson III/WireImage
A TV vet known for her roles on the sitcoms Parker Lewis Can’t Lose and Newhart, Melanie Chartoff took on the role of Didi Pickles, a teacher and the mother of Tommy and Dil. She spent 13 years on the show, also voicing Didi’s mother, Grandma Minka. She reprised her role as Didi for All Grown Up! and the Rugrats movies.
Chartoff appeared on episodes of Seinfeld, Ally McBeal, and Desperate Housewives, and voiced characters in the Jumanji animated series and the Cartoon Network fave OK K.O. Let’s Be Heroes! With fellow voice actor and Rugrats star Michael Bell, Chartoff invented the Grayway Rotating Drain, which recycles used water from showers and sinks for other household uses.
She’s also the author of Odd Woman Out: Exposure in Essays and Stories, and her writing has appeared in The Huffington Post and McSweeney’s.
10 of 18
Jack Riley (Stu Pickles)
Credit: Nickelodeon; Paul Redmond/WireImage
Chartoff found her onscreen other half in Jack Riley, who voiced Stu Pickles. The actor portrayed Didi’s husband and Tommy and Dil’s father throughout the series, reprising the role for the Rugrats movies and All Grown Up!
Riley was a prolific actor before joining Rugrats, having appeared in several Robert Altman and Mel Brooks films, including The Long Goodbye (1973) and Spaceballs (1987). He played Elliot Carlin on The Bob Newhart Show and appeared in episodes of Diff’rent Strokes, Night Court, and Seinfeld.
Riley had a recurring role on FX’s Baywatch satire Son of the Beach and guest-starred on episodes of That ’70s Show and Yes, Dear before his death in 2016 at the age of 80.
11 of 18
Phil Proctor (Howard DeVille)
Credit: Nickelodeon; Michael Boardman/WireImage
Phil Proctor voiced Howard DeVille, father of twins Phil and Lil, throughout the series and in the Rugrats movies and All Grown Up!
During his tenure, Proctor also lent his voice to numerous Pixar films, including Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 (1999), and Monsters, Inc. (2001). On the small screen, Proctor voiced characters on the animated shows Taz-Mania and The Wild Thornberrys, and was the announcer on Big Brother seasons 3 through 5.
Proctor also voiced Drunken Monkey in five Dr. Dolittle movies, including several direct-to-video sequels. His other voice credits include Fly Me to the Moon (2008) and Inside Out (2015), as well as video games like Batman: Arkham Knight and Final Fantasy XV.
12 of 18
Michael Bell (Chas Finster)
Credit: Nickelodeon; FilmMagic
Michael Bell primarily voiced Chas Finster, Chuckie’s dad, but he was also the voice of Angelica’s dad, Drew, and Tommy’s Grandpa Boris. Among his early film voice credits was 1977’s Star Wars, in which he provided the voice of Commander Vanden Willard. His extensive credits include the animated films The Wind in the Willows (1983) and The Transformers: The Movie (1986), and many classic ’80s cartoons, including The Smurfs, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, and The Transformers.
Bell voiced Chas, Drew, and various other characters on Rugrats and All Grown Up!, and later lent his voice to animated series including The Batman, Transformers: Rescue Bots, and Star Wars Rebels. He also narrated episodes of E! True Hollywood Story and he provided additional voices for the 2021 Pixar film Luca.
Bell is the father of actress Ashley Bell, best known for the 2010 horror film The Last Exorcism and its 2013 sequel. He is the godfather of actor Steve Guttenberg.
13 of 18
David Doyle (Grandpa Lou)
Credit: Klasky-Csupo/Courtesy Everett Collection; ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images
By the time he landed the role of Grandpa Lou on Rugrats, David Doyle had been a working actor for more than three decades. In addition to playing John Bosley on the original Charlie’s Angels TV series, he appeared in Elaine May’s 1971 comedy A New Leaf and the 1978 sci-fi thriller Capricorn One. Doyle mostly worked in television, appearing in episodes of Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, and General Hospital.
In addition to Rugrats, Doyle voiced characters on ’90s animated shows including Sonic the Hedgehog and The Magic School Bus. He died in 1997 at the age of 67.
14 of 18
Joe Alaskey (Grandpa Lou)
Credit: Nickelodeon; Mark Sullivan/WireImage
Joe Alaskey took over for Doyle following his death. The prolific performer, who voiced Yosemite Sam in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, voiced Grandpa Lou from 1997 until the series ended in 2004. During his tenure on Rugrats, Alaskey voiced various Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, in numerous movies, video games, theme park attractions, and TV shows, including Duck Dodgers.
Alaskey continued working steadily as a voice actor, with credits including various Tom and Jerry movies and The Garfield Show, until he died of cancer in 2016.
15 of 18
Tress MacNeille (Charlotte Pickles)
Credit: Nickelodeon; Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
Tress MacNeille joined Rugrats in its second season as Angelica’s mother, Charlotte Pickles. She voiced the brassy businesswoman in the Rugrats movies and All Grown Up! while also voicing various characters on Hey Arnold! andDot Warner on Animaniacs and its spinoffs.
MacNeille has had an exceptionally prolific voice-acting career — she’s voiced numerous characters, including Agnes Skinner, on The Simpsons since 1990; has portrayed several characters in the animated sci-fi comedy Futurama since 1999; and has been the voice of Daisy Duck in various Disney movies, shows, and video games since 1999.
16 of 18
Julia Kato (Kira Finster)
Credit: Nickelodeon; Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Julia Kato made her debut as Kimi’s mom and Chuckie’s stepmom, Kira, in 2000’s Rugrats in Paris: The Movie before joining the series the following year. She reprised the role in All Grown Up! and went on to provide additional voices for the Cars series Mater’s Tall Tales, while also appearing on the sitcom One Day at a Time and the Korean series Rookie Cops.
17 of 18
Debbie Reynolds (Lulu Pickles)
Credit: Nickelodeon; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Debbie Reynolds graced Rugrats with her presence for two years, voicing Grandpa Lou’s second wife, Lulu, from 2000 to 2002.
The legendary Singin’ in the Rain star also had a recurring role on Will & Grace, voiced characters on Family Guy and The Penguins of Madagascar, and appeared in One for the Money (2012) and Behind the Candelabra (2013). Reynolds died in 2016, one day after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher.
18 of 18
Tony Jay (Dr. Lipschitz)
Credit: Nickelodeon; Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Rugrats found its Dr. Lipschitz in voice actor Tony Jay, who played the child psychologist for 10 episodes over the course of 11 years. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Jay’s work took him all over the world, spanning stage, television, and film. He provided the voice of the Supreme Being in the 1981 cult classic Time Bandits, the villainous Judge Claude Frollo in the 1996 Disney animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and had a recurring role in the ’80s Beauty and the Beast series, as well as appearances on Twin Peaks.
During and after his run on Rugrats, Jay was credited as the narrator in 1999’s Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and the 2002 Disney animated film Treasure Planet. He continued stacking voice credits in animated series throughout the ’90s and 2000s, including ReBoot, Mighty Ducks, and Disney’s House of Mouse. Jay died in 2006 at the age of 73.
Where can I watch Rugrats?
Rugrats is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
