Tammy Wynette and George Jones are two of country music’s most iconic figures, and for a brief, stormy period they were one of its great love stories too. Their marriage produced unforgettable music that sounded like their real lives—full of passion, heartbreak, longing, and loss. But behind the harmonies and “Mr. and Mrs. Country Music” billing was a volatile relationship marked by love, addiction, reconciliation, separation, and creative magic.

Boomers sometimes wonder how millennials could miss entire eras of classic rock. Millennials wonder the same thing—just in reverse. These bands have sold out tours, racked up billions of streams, and soundtracked entire phases of millennial life. And no, they don’t sound like the Beatles. That’s kind of the point.

When A Bronx Tale was released in 1993, Lillo Brancato Jr. looked like a sure thing. He was young, charismatic, and held his own opposite Robert De Niro—something many actors far more experienced have struggled to do. Hollywood took notice, and the industry seemed ready to slot him into the next wave of serious leading men.

There’s a reason so many adults can still quote cartoon dialogue from memory. The 2000s weren’t just a strong decade for animated TV—they were a creative explosion where writers, artists, and networks stopped playing it safe and started trusting kids (and adults) to handle smarter jokes, bigger emotions, and stranger ideas. These shows didn’t talk down to their audiences. They grew with them, shaped their humor, and quietly became cultural cornerstones.

Fame in the 2000s moved fast, burned bright, and rarely asked for permission. One hit show, one chart-topping song, or one viral moment could turn someone into a household name overnight. Then the spotlight shifted. Some stepped back by choice. Others watched attention drift elsewhere. This list revisits familiar faces who once dominated screens, radios, and tabloids, then quietly slipped out of daily pop culture conversation. Scroll slowly, test your memory, and prepare to say, “Oh wow, I forgot about them,” more times than expected.

An absolute titan of the music industry, Chuck Berry’s contribution to contemporary sound is indisputable. With a road to stardom equally decorated by success and controversy, the father of rock forces each of us to ask ourselves whether we can separate the art from the artist.