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Who doesn’t love “Hocus Pocus”? Fans have waited nearly three decades for a sequel to the classic kid-friendly spooky flick that marathons around Halloween — and their wish has finally been granted! To celebrate the release of the second installment of the Disney franchise — “Hocus Pocus 2,” which premieres on Disney+ on Sept. 30, 2022, and once again stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson sisters — Wonderwall.com is checking in on the cast to find out how their careers (and looks!) have changed since they played Salem residents back in 1993!
Keep reading for more…
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Bette Midler starred as witch Winifred Sanderson, the oldest Sanderson sister who serves as their leader.
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After “Hocus Pocus,” Bette Midler made appearances on huge shows like “Seinfeld,” “The Nanny” and “Murphy Brown” in the ’90s and jumped back onto the big screen in 1996’s “The First Wives Club.” From there, the already prolific actress landed her own TV show, “Bette,” which ran from 2000 to 2001. In addition to acting on shows like “Veep” and “The Politician” in more recent years, Bette landed a starring role in the Broadway revival of “Holly, Dolly!” in 2017 — a performance that earned her a Tony Award for best actress in a musical. She’s been married to artist Martin von Haselberg, with whom she shares adult daughter Sophie von Haselberg, since 1984.
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Kathy Najimy brought the laughs as witch Mary Sanderson, the middle Sanderson sister who has a knack for smelling children.
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Kathy Najimy has worked steadily since starring in “Hocus Pocus.” She returned to her role as Sister Mary in the sequel to “Sister Act,” “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit,” in late 1993 and appeared in tons of films after that including “The Wedding Planner,” “The Guilt Trip” and “Dumplin’.” She also did voice work for kid shows like “Pepper Ann” and “Hey Arnold!” and voiced Peggy Hill on “King of the Hill” from 1997 to 2010. More recently, she popped up in the 2021 Christmas romantic comedy “Single All the Way.” Kathy has been married to actor-singer Dan Finnerty since 1998. The have one child, daughter Samia, who was born in 1996.
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Rounding out the Sanderson sisters was Sarah, played by Sarah Jessica Parker. The youngest and prettiest of the witch siblings used her talent for singing to attract young children.
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Sarah Jessica Parker famously moved on to star as the iconic Carrie Bradshaw on HBO’s “Sex and the City” from 1998 to 2004, reprising the role for the 2008 and 2010 “SATC” films and the HBO Max spinoff series “And Just Like That…” which premiered in 2021. Aside from bringing the stylish writer to life, Sarah launched SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, a luxury shoe collection, in 2014. She also returned to her HBO roots for the show “Divorce” from 2016 to 2019. Sarah has been married to Matthew Broderick since 1997. They share adult son James and twin daughters Loretta and Tabitha.
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Omri Katz played Max Dennison, a Los Angeles teen forced to make the move to Salem with his family. Reluctant to settle in the creepy town, Max ends up bringing back the Sanderson sisters on Halloween night by lighting the Black Flame Candle.
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Omri Katz stuck around Hollywood for a little while after “Hocus Pocus.” He played Tony on “The John Larroquette Show” from 1993 to 1995. From there, he starred as J.R. Ewing in the 1996 TV Movie “Dallas: J.R. Returns” and acted on episodes of “Freaks and Geeks” and “General Hospital” before taking on his very last role in the short film “Journey Into Night” in 2002 before retiring from acting. Omri launched an online cannabis apparel store, The Mary Danksters, in 2020. He’s seen here with his partner, Michele Watters.
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Little Dani Dennison was played by Thora Birch. The 8-year-old was a pest to older brother Max, tagging along and becoming the first potential victim of the Sanderson sisters.
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Thora Birch had already made a name for herself as a child actress by the time she starred as Dani in “Hocus Pocus” when she was 11. Her biggest film to date was 1999’s Academy Award-winning “American Beauty,” which earned her a BAFTA nomination for best supporting actress. Thora, who earned an Emmy nom for her performance in 2003’s “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story,” has worked steadily on and off over the last two decades, memorably popping up on season 10 of “The Walking Dead” andfew Lifetime movies. Next up, she’ll direct and appear in a Lifetime movie about murdered van life vlogger Gabby Petito. In 2018, Thora married talent manager and philanthropist Michael Benton Adler.
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Vinessa Shaw played Allison, Max’s crush who grew up in Salem. Her family owns the Sanderson cottage, which is where all the trouble begins.
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Vinessa Shaw went on to land a small role in Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” in 1999 alongside Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. After snagging parts in films like “40 Days and 40 Nights” and “The Hills Have Eyes,” she appeared on “Ray Donovan” in 2014.Off screen, Vinessa’s taken on the role of mom: She welcomed son Jack in 2018 with husband Kristopher Gifford.
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What’s a Halloween-themed movie without a zombie? Doug Jones played Winnie’s ex-boyfriend Billy Butcherson, the man who rises from the dead to help the witches chase Max, Allison and Dani.
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Doug Jones has had some pretty impressive roles since coming out of the grave as Billy — but you might not recognize him! Like his role in “Hocus Pocus,” most of his work is done while wearing prosthetic makeup: He notably acted in 2006’s Academy Award-winning flick “Pan’s Labyrinth” and 2017’s “The Shape of Water.” He also appeared in “Hellboy” and its sequel, making it six films to date that he’s done with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.
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