THE terrifying Sanderson sisters cast a spell over movie-goers in the first Hocus Pocus film almost 30 years ago.
Now the wicked witches – played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy – are stirring up more toil and trouble in a long-awaited sequel, which drops on Disney+ today.
The 1993 classic saw the child-killing sisters conjured up by an ancient curse, three centuries after they were executed for witchcraft in Salem.
Teenager Max, his eight-year-old sister Dani and pal Allison have to steal the witches’ book of spells, with the help of a magical cat, to stop them from becoming immortal.
The three main stars have returned for the sequel, Hocus Pocus 2, which sees the Sandersons accidentally awakened to wreak havoc on the world.
From surrogate kids to a cannabis business, here’s what the stars of the original flick have been up to since.
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Sarah Jessica Parker
The actress had already appeared in the movies Footloose and LA Story when she donned her witch’s hat as Sarah Sanderson.
She went on to land her most famous role, Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City, in 1998, starring in 94 episodes and two films, as well as the reboot, And Just Like That, last year.
Sarah, who previously dated Robert Downey Jr, married Ferris Bueller star Matthew Broderick in 1997.
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The couple share son Jack, now 20, and twin daughters Marion and Tabitha, born in 2009 to a surrogate mother.
While the pair remain happily married, there have been bumps along the way.
In 2008 a US magazine reported the actor had been cheating on his wife with a 25-year-old woman.
The couple didn’t comment at the time but in 2013, SJP addressed the rumours, telling Harper's Bazaar: "People have asked me about my marriage, 'How do you make it work,' and I say, 'We don't talk about it.' That's not really true. It's sort of a nasty response."
She added: “I love Matthew Broderick. Call me crazy, but I love him.”
SJP, 57, had a toxic spat with Sex and The City co-star Kim Cattrall in a dispute over money.
When SJP was made exec producer of the series, with a salary of £270k per episode, furious Kim asked for more money causing a rift with her co-stars who “wouldn't even sit with [Kim] at mealtimes".
By the time they made Sex and The City 2 in 2009, SJP and Kim were reportedly no longer speaking, making everyone on set "uncomfortable".
Yesterday it emerged SJP abruptly left the New York Fashion Gala, where she was due to be honoured, because of a “sudden devastating family issue”.
Bette Midler
Screen legend Bette, who starred as Winifred, is one of the US’ most celebrated singers and actresses, with two Oscar nominations and four Golden Globe wins to her name.
As well as smash movies including Beaches, The Rose and Parental Guidance she has recorded a string of hits including Wind Beneath My Wings, fronted an award-winning comedy series, Bette, and starred in numerous Broadway shows.
With an estimated net worth of £220m, she has put her funds to good use over the years, funding the New York restoration project, a non-profit organisation which aimed to revitalise neglected parks in poor areas, and putting money towards custom-built homes for wounded servicemen.
An LGBTQ icon, she found herself in hot water earlier this year when she was forced to defend comments about women's rights that activists slammed as transphobic.
“They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators’, and even ‘people with vaginas’!" the 76-year-old actor tweeted.
Bette has been married to comedian Martin von Hasleberg since 1994 and they have a 35-year-old daughter, Sophie.
Kathy Najimy
The American actress, who plays Mary Sanderson, has starred in hit movies including Soapdish, Sister Act and The Wedding Planner during her 30 year career.
She also starred alongside Kirstie Alley in the long-running sitcom Veronica’s Closet and wrote the feminist play The Kathy and Mo show, with Mo Gaffney.
Alongside her acting work, Kathy is well-known for her activism, championing issues such as women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and body positivity issues.
Having had an abortion at 18, she is a strong advocate of women’s right to choose.
This week, in response to the recent banning of abortion in numerous US states, she appeared in a powerful public service video by the National Abortion Federation for the #ItsYourCall campaign.
She is married to actor and singer Dan Finnerty and has one daughter, singer Samia Finnerty.
Thora Birch
Thora Birch was a successful child star when she landed the role of eight-year-old Dani.
Her parents, both adult movie actors, were persuaded to let her audition for roles after a babysitter spotted her natural acting ability aged four.
After Hocus Pocus she starred as Harrison Ford’s daughter in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger before taking a three year break from the screen, resurfacing to play Kevin Spacey’s disillusioned daughter in the 1999 movie American Beauty.
But her career took a nose dive shortly afterwards.
In 2010 she was fired from the off-Broadway theatrical revival of Dracula after it was alleged her father and manager Jack had physically threatened one of the other actors. The sacking left her, she said, "in a state of shock".
She has since blamed her problems on Hollywood’s failure to accept her as she was, and her own refusal to “conform”.
"I tried to walk a fine line between being alluring and somewhat glamorous but maintain a strong identity and pursue things that were a little more thoughtful, and I guess nobody really wanted women to do that at that time," she told the Guardian.
Now unrecognisable from the child star she was, the 40-year-old has recently starred in The Walking Dead and is currently starring in Wednesday, the Addams Family spin off.
Omri Katz
Omri Katz starred as teenager Max, who leads sister Dani to the witches’ old house to meet his crush, Allison, before they raise the witches.
He had previously become a child star by playing John Ross Ewing in Dallas, and Marshall in the series Eerie, Indiana.
After briefly appearing in a few projects, including The John Larroquette Show, Katz retired from acting in 2002 and became a hairdresser.
He lives in Los Angeles with partner Michelle Watters and runs a hash company The Mary Danksters, which is billed as “Exotic Craft Cannabis Cultivators.”
Omri is not appearing in Hocus Pocus 2.
Vinessa Shaw
Max’s love interest, Allison, was a breakthrough role for the then 17-year-old.
After Hocus Pocus, Shaw enrolled in Barnard College but continued acting, starring alongside Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut.
In 2014 she landed a recurring role in long-running US series Ray Donovan. She is married to Kristopher Gifford and the pair have one son.
She was keen to reprise her role in the Hocus Pocus sequel, but does not appear in the film.
Jason Marsden
Although he never appeared on screen, Jason Marsden provided one of the most memorable performances – as the voice of cat Binx.
Disney fans also know him as the voice of Goofy's son, Max Goof, and Kovu from Lion King 2: Simba's Pride.
His extensive voice acting career also saw him voicing numerous characters in Disney series during the 90s and 00s, and Cartoon Network series like Teen Titans.
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