Buffy the Vampire Slayer is so not Twilight. For fans of that supernatural series who have never seen the pop-culture-iconic, hilariously scripted, butt-kicking original teenage girl dealing with a town full of vamps, well, it’s about time you met your maker. This high school epic—and the TV show it later inspired—is ultimately “about growing up,” creator Joss Whedon told Entertainment Weekly. To put the character’s impact into perspective, Buffy ranks No. 3 on EW’s 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years (only Harry Potter and Homer Simpson outrank her; Tony Soprano is No. 4). So where is the original Buffy cast now?

We all know the familiar story of the has-been—too many canceled shows, a sex scandal gone awry, a drug addiction they couldn’t kick, or the rut of being typecast. See how this humble bunch triumphed over career adversity and got a second chance at stardom.