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Twenty-five years after Clueless dropped into theaters on July 19 amidst a summer dominated by Bad Boys and Batman Forever, its grip on pop culture has only tightened. Still a permanent presence on cable and streaming services, the 1995 classic never truly left the cultural consciousness or the day-to-day lives of its fervant cult following that continues to grow with every generational cycle. Written and directed by Amy Heckerling, Clueless continues to resonate because there’s so much happening beneath its trim, 97-minute surface for anyone to admire. It’s a glossy teen comedy, biting high school satire, deeply satsifying rom-com, and subversive literary adaptation all at once.
Heckerling spent months studying real Los Angeles high school students to perfect the Valley Girl vernacular at the heart of Clueless. Loosely based on Jane Austen’s Emma, the teen comedy was the writer-director’s attempt to translate the classic tale of youthful hubris and misconstrued romance into something appetizing for the MTV crowd. “The plot was so brilliantly laid out in Emma,” Heckerling once said of her inspiration. “I tried to take all the things that were in this sort of pretty 1800s world and see what that would be like if it was in Beverly Hills.”
Yet Clueless wouldn’t work nearly as well as it does without Alicia Silverstone, who stars as Cher Horowitz, the film’s as-if-spouting protagonist who attempts to use her popularity for a myriad of good causes—from matchmaking to spearheading the Pismo Beach Disaster relief effort. “I found Cher on the page to be materialistic and unappealing. And really annoying, to be honest,” Silverstone recently told Vogue over the phone from Los Angeles. “But I realized that was just me judging her. Once I started working on her I found all the heart and all the love.”
The actor-activist has kept busy in the years since Clueless with a bevy of roles across stage and screen, including a series of vegan health books and a recent turn on Netflix’s charming Baby-Sitters’ Club reboot. Twenty-five years after first strutting onscreen in a burst of yellow plaid, Silverstone caught up with Vogue to talk about the legacy of Cher Horowitz, her memories of working with Brittany Murphy, and whatever happened to all those fabulous outfits.
Legend has it that Amy Heckerling took notice of you after she saw you in Aerosmith’s “Cryin” video and “just went cuckoo bananas.” What do you remember from your first meeting with Amy?
She had a strong Bronx accent that was really funny to me because I was such a California girl. I remember sitting way across from her at a table with my manager at my side. Amy loves to tell this story of me drinking from a cup with a straw because I wouldn’t lift the cup up to my mouth. I had it on the table and would just bob my head up and down to get the straw. She just thought that was the cutest thing she’d ever seen which, honestly, I don't even see what's cute about it because I still do that now (laughs).
How much of Cher was written on the page and how much would you say Amy allowed you to create on your own?
Amy allowed me to do whatever. She was the type of director, and these are the best directors, who hire the person they think is right for the job and just let them fly.
Was it intimidating having such little direction as the lead?
I was so young and scared but now I really appreciate when a filmmaker just trusts you. Amy wouldn’t say very much to me. I would try to ask her lots of questions because I was taking it all very seriously, and she'd usually just say “Oh dawl, you got it, babe!" She'd always call me dawl in that thick, drawn-out New York accent. Lots of dawl’s but not a lot of specific instructions!
Was that frustrating?
At first it made me really shy. I would ask her lots of questions and I wouldn’t get much of an answer, but eventually I just trusted her process. She had faith in me and my performance. But it's all in the page so there was no ad-libbing, although I did mess up some words that she found quite brilliant. What was the famous one? The “Hatey-yuns”?
Amy gets a kick out of telling that story about you mispronouncing “Haitians” during the debate class scene and making sure nobody corrected you. What happened when you found out how it was actually pronounced?
Thankfully I was only 17 so hopefully we can forgive and forget. I sadly don't think I'd ever even heard of the Haitians at that time either, which is probably embarrassing. There was another word I got wrong too but she corrected me on that one because it was so ridiculous.
Do you remember which one it was?
I remember doing a scene outside with Stacey Dash where we were walking to class or something. What was it… Ooh I think it was heifers!
How’d you pronounce it?
I don't know! It may have been heifers, but I may also just not have known what it was. Most of the time I didn't even know what Cher was talking about. Most of the dialogue was a different language. Amy knew all the street words and had her finger on the pulse of the latest underground everything. I was the exact opposite and knew nothing.
During the Clueless press cycle, you talked about how you grew up with a lot of girls like Cher. How much of her was drawn from real people in your life?
There were some girls in my life who were extremely materialistic. I grew up with a mom who was so practical and absolutely loathed extravagance. She had a real distaste for materialism and all that came with that kind of behavior, so I would notice that quality in people I grew up with. I can think of some specific girls in my life who were really mean and materialistic. Just really bitchy girls. I wasn't trying to be like them because I didn't think Cher was like that, but there were moments where Cher could be that when she’d walk through the hallways judging everybody. Like when she takes Tai around the school pointing out the different social circles.
So Cher was almost a parody of the sort of Beverly Hills princess you knew all too well?
Exactly. When I was younger I had long hair that I would have to flip out of my eyes really dramatically because that’s what you do when you have long hair and it's in your face. But a bunch of girls I grew up with did not like this about me and always seemed so annoyed when I flipped my hair. I remember making an effort to do that hair flip with a lot of attitude whenever I was walking as Cher. Like in the scene where I'm shopping with Dion, Stacey and I are walking and I would take a quick moment in the mirror to flip my hair. I just remember thinking This is like a heightened version of what those girls thought I was.
Who out of the core cast would you say was the most similar to their onscreen counterpart?
Paul Rudd maybe? He's just a good guy who's smart and lovable and all those good things that make up Josh. Brittany Murphy was not like Tai. I don’t know Stacey Dash well enough to say for certain whether she’s like Dionne, but I'm guessing not much.
I read that Amy Heckerling’s grandparents were step-siblings and that’s how she talked down studio executives who were worried about Cher and Josh ending up together. What did you make of that plotline at the time?
I don't remember having any point of view on it. I mean I know we're not blood, so it's not like illegal in that way. But it is really weird when you think about it (laughs). I mean it's a funny thing to grow up that way, but then again they weren't related. It’s very unusual, but it's cool!
What do you remember from your first meeting with Brittany Murphy?
I just remember thinking she was so great for the part. I can't remember how many girls came in to audition for Tai that day and I don't know if I saw a few girls for it or just her, but I remember Brittany being really adorable. She's so good at the little accent because she had one already, but I think she just pushed it to new heights. I found her so wonderful and I said to Amy right away “I think she's the one! She was the best one you guys!” hoping they would agree. She was like “Uh yeah duh. Of course she was the best, she’s the one.”
You were both the only members of the core cast who were actual teenagers at the time of filming. Did you bond at all as up-and-comers at the center of this big studio movie?
I remember her mom was on set a lot. I brought my mom around a little bit and we would all spend time together. But I don't think we had any intellectual idea about us being up-and-comers in a big movie because we didn't know we were in a big movie. Maybe other people knew, but I was so innocent and never really paying attention to career stuff at all. I was just doing another job. It was a really great acting part that was different because… Well, first of all I didn't know I was funny.
That’s why I was surprised Amy thought you were right for Cher just based on the “Cryin” video.
Everything I'd done up until that point had been a drama. Clueless was the first comedy I ever did. I found Cher on the page to be materialistic and unappealing. And really annoying, to be honest. Just everything I sort of loathed. But I realized that was just me judging her, and once I started working on her I found all the heart and all the love. She loves her daddy so much! And she's trying to be a supportive friend, so I just sorta put all of my love and heart into this character with these other aspects that were cringeworthy.
You’re in practically every frame of Clueless. Did you get the chance to enjoy the experience or was it mostly all work?
I was the lead in this and I had sixty-four costume changes, so I didn't have a life. All the actors would come and go, which is the fun way of making a movie. You come in, you do your thing, and you leave. But I was there alllllllllllll the time, so for me it was very much a job. No part of it felt very social.
What was your personal style going into the film? From what I’ve read it sounds like you had zero interest in fashion at the time, which is pretty ironic given the legacy of this character.
That’s the funniest part of the whole thing for me. I just didn't understand it at the time. I saw Clueless about four years ago at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for an outdoor screening. It was an incredible experience because my son was seeing it for the first time with 4,000 people outdoors and that was beautiful, but I also brought the costume designer Mona May. It was the first time I’d seen it in a long time and I was just hitting her the whole time like Oh my god! Because every single costume was like a Broadway entrance. It's like when your favorite star comes onstage for the first time and you lose your mind.
I watched it the other night and you really do clock each and every single one of Cher’s outfits whenever a new one appears.
Every costume is so brilliant. But what's funny is that that’s how I feel now. At the time I was so annoyed because my fashion sense was so bleh. Every audition I went on I wore jeans and the same green Gap t-shirt with a little pocket. I wore the same thing all the time because I grew up believing an interest in fashion was materialistic and I wasn't interested. I knew that wasn’t what was gonna make up a person. As I get older I appreciate wanting to look and feel good. But when I was a kid I didn't feel that way or even understand it because I just didn't care. I wasn't trying to be cute, I was just trying to survive.
I assume that means you didn’t enjoy the hours of costume fittings either?
I left every fitting thinking Oh my god, this is hell. I knew it was my job but I would just go Do we HAVE to try on another outfit? Don’t get me wrong I was very professional and would totally do my job. I’d just stand there for hours and let them dress me up like a doll. But I didn't quite get it.
What about once you saw all of the completed outfits in action while filming?
Mona and I are very close now and have so much respect for each other, but at the time I remember thinking God she's SO annoying. She was always all over me and yelling from off-camera. Hold your tummy in! You're creasing the fabric! She was always touching me! Everyone was always touching me and I was just so over it. Every day I’d just get frustrated thinking Why is there so much fuss around these stupid clothes?! Then I saw it. I was like Oh my god, that’s why, because it’s brilliant. Just genius.
How had your views on fashion changed by the time you finished shooting? You got to take home Cher’s entire wardrobe, which I assume would influence your personal style in some capacity.
Well somewhere along the way I fell in love with them all (laughs). I knew they were all pretty! As I was putting clothes on I would think Ooh that's a really cute outfit… But I also knew none of them made sense in the real world. So what happened was I wore all these things and by the end of the shoot I felt very attached to them and thought I'd wear them in real life. Remember all I had were jeans and a green t-shirt, so I thought these clothes were gonna change my life! Once I got home with all the things I just couldn't even figure out what to do with them because I wasn't interested again. I looked at them like Who would wear these clothes?
Did you wear any of them in public again?
Nothing. The only thing I wore again were the Mary Janes that Cher has. I wore those to my first appearance on the David Letterman show.
And now you've completely gotten rid of them?
Yeah, all gone. I gave them all away.
Did you keep any other non-costume related mementos from set?
Paul took a photo of Sampson, my rescue dog who was on set with me a lot. I still have that, which is beautiful. But I think that’s it. I don't think I have anything else, just a Paul Rudd original.
I noticed in a lot of interviews that you almost had to defend Clueless against journalists who kept trying to write it off as silly. You told the New York Times: “I see Cher as a great character role, and I’m so frustrated because I know adults won’t go see it. They’ll say it’s a kids’ movie.”
I do maintain that Cher was a character for me. I presume people like to think I'm like her, but anyone who knows me knows I'm not. I do possess the same facial tics and the same voice, but I was even kinda talking differently—at least I think I was. I just didn't identify with that kind of a gal. I just wasn’t dealing with clothes and kids and school because that wasn’t my world.
How did you react to fame when Clueless suddenly became such a sensation?
It was really intense. I didn't expect any of the reaction that we got. It was a lot, and I think if anything it all pushed me away from doing this job for a while and got me so much more into my activism. I eventually found my love of acting again, but at the time I didn't know anything about what I was stepping into.
Were there any responses to the film at the time that were particularly meaningful for you?
I was really well-received by the gay community after Clueless came out. They’ve always been my people. I don't know if it's just this film or my vibe that’s endeared me to them, but that has always been my favorite aspect of the film. Particularly what it means to gay boys.
I know plenty of gay men who thought they wanted to date Cher until Christian showed up and made us realize we actually wanted to be her best friend.
Christian Siriano is like my real-life Christian. Whenever we hang out he's basically like my boyfriend. We love each other so much and I'm sure some of that stems from him really admiring Clueless and what Cher meant to him and all of his friends growing up.
Have you found there’s any sort of common thread among fans who approach you about the film?
I’m always amazed at the longevity of Clueless. It's incredible that so many people love this film and not only continue to love it but continue to rediscover it. I'm sure I don't look the same but little kids will still come up to me asking Are you Cher? And I mean little little, you know? How cute is it that they've discovered Clueless because their parents are showing it to them? So many moms who were my age when it came out are so excited to show it to their sons and daughters now.
Why do you think audiences in 2020 get just as much out of the film now as audiences in 1995 did?
I think people identify with Cher's heart and her willingness to change and grow because of how silly she was. She was trying hard to evolve because of her sweet Josh. I don't know how to explain why or what made Clueless what it was, but I know it happened and I know that people continue to love it. And it never gets old, so that's the good news. People always say Oh you must be so sick of it. But what's there to be sick of? People liking the movie you're in? It truly doesn't get better.