What happened to the Ugly Betty cast? The varied fates of the stars - from an Oscar nomination to an arrest for battery - as show turns 20

This month marks 20 years since Ugly Betty first aired on ABC.

The beloved comedy series followed style disaster Betty Suarez, played by America Ferrera, as she tried to navigate the glamorous but cutthroat industry and fashion magazine, Mode. 

Created by the late Silvio Horta, it won three Emmys and two Golden Globes during its four year run.

While many of its stars went on to have a hot streak after the show wrapped up in 2010, some cast members had trouble booking projects.

From landing an Oscar to being arrested for battery, the cast have had their own varied fates.

Here, the Daily Mail takes a look at what the stars are up to two decades on.

What happened to the cast of Ugly Betty? The varied fates of the stars, from being arrested for battery, to an Oscar nomination to a four-year hiatus

After Ugly Betty wrapped up America Ferrera went on to have a successful career, evening earning an Oscar nomination 

America Ferrera - Betty Suarez

America made her acting debut in Real Women Have Curves and  featured in films such as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Lords of Dogtown before landing  Ugly Betty. 

Yet her performance as the awkward 22-year-old Betty Suarez won the hearts of critics and fans alike and earned her an Emmy, beating out industry veterans like Tina Fey (30 Rock), Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine) and Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds).

After she also won a Golden Globe, her work was praised by U.S. Congresswoman Hilda Solis for, 'helping to break down stereotypes and provide a role model for young Latinas,' and the actress was named to Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2007 and 2024.

After the show went off the air, the actress went on to voice Astrid in the 2010 DreamWorks Animation hit How to Train Your Dragon, which she reprised for the film sequels and the animated series Dragons: Race to the Edge.

She returned to the small screen in 2015, playing the beloved Amy on NBC's hit comedy series Superstore.

That series ran six seasons and 113 episodes before it came to a close in 2021.

She played Gloria in the 2023 blockbuster film Barbie, which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Eric Mabius - Daniel Meade

Eric Mabius was arrested for battery in 2025 but prosecutors later dropped the charges 

Eric Mabius started his career with smaller roles in movies like Cruel Intentions, Resident Evil and an arc on The L Word before landing the role of Daniel Meade on Ugly Betty.

Meade was the son of Mode magazine publisher Bradford Meade (Alan Dale), who is named as the new editor-in-chief after the death of his father's mistress, Fey Sommers. 

After Ugly Betty went off the air, Eric went on to star in the Hallmark Channel series Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

While it only lasted one season, it also spawned a slew of TV movies, with Mabius returning as Oliver O'Toole in 11 of them.

He also had a seven-episode arc on NBC's Chicago Fire in 2015 and starred in the 2019 Hallmark movie It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.

Eric most recently starred in the 2022 Hallmark movie Haul Out the Holly with Lacey Chabert and he stars in the upcoming TV series Head Trip.

In 2025, he was arrested for battery and resisting law enforcement in Florida in February following a bar altercation. 

However, prosecutors officially dropped the charges in May 2025, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has sealed the case.

Eric was wed to Ivy Sherman from 2006-2018 and the former couple share two sons.

Tony Plana - Ignacio Suarez

Tony actor also transitioned from performing to directing, taking the helm for a 2000 TV movie The Princess and the Bario Boy with Marisol Nicols and Edward James Olmos.

Tony Plana was no stranger to the small screen when he landed the role of Betty's father, Ignacio, starting his career in 1978 with a guest-starring spot on What's Happening!!

He had roles in An Officer and a Gentleman, Valley Girl, Three Amigos, JFK and a slew of TV guest starring spots before his first major TV role in Bakersfield P.D. in 1993.

The Havana, Cuba native kept working throughout the 90s in movie and TV roles such as 187, The West Wing and The Closer before starring in Ugly Betty.

He continued working in Pain & Gain, Alpha House, Colony, Roman J. Israel, Esq., Lethal Weapon, Mayans MC, The Punisher and Playing With Fire, with a major arc on Madam Secretary from 2014 to 2019.

He also joined Amercia for a few episodes in NBC's Superstore and played 80s TV journalist Geraldo Rivera in the 2019 movie Bombshell.

The actor also transitioned from performing to directing, taking the helm for a 2000 TV movie The Princess and the Bario Boy with Marisol Nicols and Edward James Olmos.

He also directed episodes of Resurrection Blvd., Greetings from Tuscon, The Brothers Garcia and Desperate Housewives.

He starred in the movie A Snowy Day in Oakland on Prime Video and the HBO series White House Plumbers, where he played Eugenio Martinez.

Ana Ortiz - Hilda Suarez

Ana Ortiz most recently played Isabel Salazar in the TV series Love, Victor and Alexandra Romanov in History of the World, Part II

Ana Ortiz only landed her first series regular role five years earlier - playing Santa Clemente in the short-lived 2001 series Kristin starring Kristin Chenoweth.

She also starred in seven episodes of the war drama series Over There before playing Betty's older sister Hilda Suarez on Ugly Betty.

While the siblings often clashed on the show, Hilda is also very protective of Betty and the rest of the family.

She revealed in an interview that she originally tried out for the Betty role, stating she went into the interview, 'super plain,' adding, 'I just put on some glasses and kept my hair kind of flat and layered on the clothing.'

Ana even kept working on other projects throughout the series, lending her voice to Anna Ramirez on the 2008 animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight.

She also starred in the 2008 TV movie Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story and the 2009 movie Labor Pains with Lindsay Lohan while working on Ugly Betty.

Ana would go on to star as Marisol Suarez in the hit Lifetime series Devious Maids and voiced Rafa in Elena of Avalor.

She most recently played Isabel Salazar in the TV series Love, Victor and Alexandra Romanov in History of the World, Part II.

Becki Newton - Amanda Tanen

After Ugly Betty ended its run, Becki went on to have arcs in Love Bites, How I Met Your Mother, The Goodwin Games, Weird Loners, Tell Me A Story and Divorce

Becki Newton had just a handful of guest-starring spots to her name before she landed the role of Mode receptionist Amanda Tanen.

She appeared in episodes of Guiding Light, Cold Case, American Dreams, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Charmed before starring in the ABC series.

Amanda is one of the many in the Mode offices who make fun of Betty when she first arrives, though she ultimately warms to her as time goes on.

She also learns in the Season 1 finale that she's actually the daughter of the late Fey Sommers and spends the rest of the show's run trying to track down her father.

Becki even performed and wrote a song called Gene Simmons Is My Daddy in an episode where her character thinks the longtime KISS frontman is her father.

While Gene would ultimately claim to be her father - resulting in a reality series - he later admitted in an episode that he only did so to get publicity.

After Ugly Betty ended its run, she went on to have arcs in Love Bites, How I Met Your Mother, The Goodwin Games, Weird Loners, Tell Me A Story and Divorce.

Most recently, she can be seen in the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer as Lorna Crane, starring alongside Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.

Michael Urie - Marc St. James

After Ugly Betty went off the air, Michael would go on to star in movies like The Decoy Bride and he returned to TV in the short-lived Partners with David Krumholtz, Sophia Bush and Brandon Routh.

Michael Urie's road to Ugly Betty started on the stage, attending the prestigious Julliard School in New York City.

He earned the John Houseman Prize for Excellence in Classical Theatre at the school, going on to star in the play WTC View and the 2005 film adaptation as well.

The actor also had small roles on Undressed and Uptown Girls before playing Marc St. James, the secretary to Wilhemina Slater.

Marc, like Amanda, spends most of the early seasons poking fun at Betty, and is determined to help his boss to take over Daniel's job.

However, Marc finds a bond with Betty's nephew Justin and their work relationship warms over the years as he comes out as gay.

It's revealed in the season finale that he's made the new creative director of Mode Magazine.

After Ugly Betty went off the air, he would go on to star in movies like The Decoy Bride and he returned to TV in the short-lived Partners with David Krumholtz, Sophia Bush and Brandon Routh.

Michael also had arcs on Modern Family and The Good Wife and he played Brian on Apple TV Plus' Shrinking with Jason Segel and Harrison Ford.

Most recently, he was back on the big screen in screen in Bradley Cooper's Maestro.

Mark Indelicato - Justin Suarez

After Ugly Betty went off the air, Mark stepped back from acting and enrolled in New York University to focus on International Relations and Gender Studies.

Mark Indelicato had just a brief role in a Chapplle's Show sketch, an episode of Hack and a short film to his credit when he landed the role of Betty's cousin Justin Suarez on Ugly Betty.

The character was partially based on series creator Silvio Horta's own experiences as a gay teenager being raised by a single mother.

Justin lives with his mother Hilda and aunt Betty and Ignacio, and while it was decided that the character was too young to fully explore his sexuality, it was confirmed in the final season that he was gay.

Instead of coming out to his family, Justin confides in Marc St. James first, and the character was believed to be one of the youngest gay characters on television at the time.

Justin Suarez has been considered by many critics and pundits as one of the best LGBTQ TV characters of all time.

After Ugly Betty went off the air, Mark stepped back from acting and enrolled in New York University to focus on International Relations and Gender Studies. 

He then briefly return to acting to star in the film White Bird in a Blizzard and the short-lived 2016 Freeform series Dead of Summer.

After a four-year hiatus, he returned in 2020 with an episode of Melange before playing Damien in HBO Max's Hacks.

Most recently, he played Jorge Diaz Jr. in the Amazon Prime Video series With Love.

Vanessa Williams  - Wilhemina Slater

After Ugly Betty ended its run, Vanessa moved on to another ABC series, Desperate Housewives, playing Renee Perry for two seasons between 2010 and 2012.

Vanessa Williams made history in 1984 as the first ever Black winner of the Miss America pageant, though her reign ended in scandal when Penthouse magazine bought and published unauthorized nude photographs of her, leading to her ceding the crown.

She started acting and signing shortly thereafter, with her debut album The Right Stuff in 1988 and continuing to act throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including her 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Eraser.

While she had a handful of guest-starring spots throughout the years, Ugly Betty was her first starring TV role, playing the conniving Wilhemina Slater.

Her character had been with the magazine for years and, after being passed over for the editor-in-chief role by Daniel, she tries anything and everything to make that job hers.

Vanessa earned three Emmy nominations for her portrayal, considered to be one of the best villains in TV history.

After Ugly Betty ended its run, she moved on to another ABC series, Desperate Housewives, playing Renee Perry for two seasons between 2010 and 2012.

She also starred in the short-lived ABC series 666 Park Avenue and had arcs in The LIbrarians and Milo: Murphy's Law, while voicing Amanda Waller in an animated Suicide Squad movie.

The actress voices numerous characters on the animated series T.O.T.S. and she stars in the upcoming movie Tripped Up.

Most recently she enjoyed a successful West End stint playing Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada musical.