What happened to the cast of Step Up? From a messy divorce to debilitating health woes and a failed kidnapping plot – the varied fates of the stars as dance film turns 20

Romance, hip-hop, music and Noughties street style – Step Up had it all.

The American flick became a box office hit when it released in 2006, with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan in leading roles.

It grossed $114.2million (£84.73million) and spawned four sequels as well as a TV series.

But it was the original film with Channing and Jenna that remains the fan-favourite two decades later, thanks to their character’s on-screen undeniable chemistry.

Channing’s once-troubled character Tyler Gage is a self-taught hip-hop dancer who crossed paths with a privileged ballerina, Nora Clark (Jenna) while doing community service at her school.

The dance drama follows the love story between Tyler and Nora and their budding chemistry when he becomes her new dance partner.

And their love story spilled into real life, with Channing and Jenna marrying in 2009 and welcoming a daughter Everly in 2013 – before splitting in 2018.

The lives of the original cast have all lived varied lives since starring in the film 20 years ago.

From a messy divorce to debilitating health woes and a failed kidnapping plot, what happened to the cast of Step Up?

Channing Tatum (Tyler Gage)

Channing Tatum, now 46, became a household name thanks to his role as Tyler Gage in Step Up.

He was famed for his Noughties street style, showing off his muscular frame in a sleeveless top or wearing an oversized graphic T-shirt with loose sweatpants and a basketball hat worn backwards.

Since his breakout role in the 2006 movie, Channing has transitioned into an accomplished Hollywood actor and producer.

His dancing roots in Step Up saw him land a leading role in Magic Mike in 2012.

Channing has starred in a wave of box office hits from 21 Jump Street to She’s The Man and the G.I. Joe franchise.

Step Up was where he found love with his co-star Jenna Dewan. The former couple struck up a romance on set and married three years later.

Channing and Jenna, who share 13-year-old daughter Everly, shocked the world when they announced their separation in 2018.

They officially cited ‘irreconcilable differences’, explaining that they simply grew apart as individual people. 

Following their divorce, Channing moved on with the English singer Jessie J, whom he dated from 2018 to 2020. 

In 2021, he and Zoë Kravitz began dating, and the couple got engaged two years later. 

He went on to play a mysterious billionaire in Zoë’s directorial debut, the psychological thriller Blink Twice, but the couple ended their engagement and split the same year. 

Channing is currently in a relationship with his much younger girlfriend Inka Williams, 26. 

Jenna Dewan (Nora Clark)

Jenna, now 45, previously worked as a backing dancer for Janet Jackson, P!nk and Christina Aguilera before she moved into acting.

After her breakthrough role in Step Up, Jenna pursued a career in hosting and judging for shows including NBC’s World Of Dance, Fox’s Flirty Dancing and CBS’s Come Dine With Me.

She most recently has starred in ABC series The Rookie and Superman & Lois.

Jenna has directed her focus onto motherhood and her new relationship with Steve Kazee. 

Amid her and Channing’s long and contentious divorce proceedings, Jenna moved on with Steve and now has two children, son Callum, four, and daughter Rhiannon, two.

The couple’s divorce settlement was delayed due to disagreements over royalties from the Magic Mike franchise, which Channing co-financed with director Steven Soderbergh.

The franchise, inspired by his own experience as a stripper, includes two sequels, an HBO reality show and a Las Vegas live show.

Their $7million investment turned into a $167million global hit.

After years of stalled negotiations, Channing and Jenna reached a binding settlement, resolving their dispute over intellectual property and earnings.

Mario Dewar Barrett (Miles Darby)

Mario Dewar Barrett, now 39, shot to fame when he was just a teenager, thanks to his incredible vocals.

The R&B singer scored his first record deal at just 14 years old, despite his difficult childhood and released his self-titled debut album the following year to commercial success.

Mario went on to find global stardom and a Grammy nomination for his now signature song, Let Me Love You, written by singer Ne-Yo and went on his first world tour supporting the iconic Destiny’s Child.

While he’s also enjoyed success on the silver screen, with roles in commercially successful films and shows opposite the likes of Hilary Swank, Taraji P Henson and Channing.

He appeared as Miles Darby in Step Up, which went on to spawn the Step Up franchise.

Speaking to Nylon about the role, he said: ‘I just remember Step Up was the first movie that I did and meeting Ann Fletcher at the casting in L.A.—she was like, this fireball of energy and we just clicked.

‘We were talking about music and performing arts, and because the school that the movie was based off of was a performing arts school in Baltimore there’s a lot of discussion there, and I think that part was just literally made for me and it just worked out.

‘And I enjoyed the fact that I was able to play a musician but also act as well and not play Mario but play Miles, my character. That was based off of Quincy Jones.’

Outside of his musical and acting pursuits, Mario also enjoyed a stint on season six of Dancing With the Stars in 2008. 

Mario has faded slightly from public view in the two decades since he began his career, with cancelled albums, disagreements with management and record label issues.

However, last year, the hitmaker made a comeback, after winning rave reviews for his performances on last year’s The Masked Singer, and releasing his first new album in six years.

Drew Sidora (Lucille ‘Lucy’ Avila)

Drew Sidora, now 41, who played Nora’s best friend Lucy in Step Up, has had a varied career since her breakthrough role.

She had a recurring part in Disney’s That’s So Raven as Chantel and starred in 20 more films.

In recent years, Drew has focused on motherhood as well as starring on The Real Housewives Of Atlanta. 

The actress and Bravo reality star is currently embroiled in a bitter divorce battle with husband Ralph Pittman.

It has been quite contentious between Drew and her 43-year-old husband as she filed for divorce over three years ago in February 2023 and has yet to be finalised.

The two share two children together – ten-year-old son Machai and eight-year-old daughter Aniya – and Sidora has a son named Josiah, 13, from a previous relationship. 

More recently, a judge ordered that she vacate the home she shares with Ralph but Drew has since revealed that she does not have the ‘financial resources’ for a new property and that she and her oldest child will be ‘homeless’ if the court’s decision is not reconsidered.

Back in March 2023, it was revealed that the two had split after nine years of marriage. 

Both parties say the marriage is ‘irretrievably broken’ with Drew listing the date of separation as February 23, while Ralph says it was February 19 – just days after the pair were seen looking smitten at his birthday party in a February 13 post. 

Rachel Griffiths (Director Gordon)

Rachel Griffiths, now 57, earned herself an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress when she starred as Director Gordon in Step Up.

The Australian actress then went onto star in TV show Brothers & Sisters where she earned two Emmy nominations.

After her breakthrough role in Six Feet Under, Rachel went onto have her three children Banjo, 21, Adelaide, 19, and Clem, 15, with her husband Andrew Taylor.

More recently, Rachel has directed episodes of the TV series Nowhere Boys and the feature-length Michelle Payne biopic Ride Like a Girl.

The film, the story of the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, was nominated for Best Film, Best Actress (for star Teresa Palmer) and Best Score at the 2019 AACTA Awards.

Damaine Radcliff (Marcus ‘Mac’ Carter)

Damaine Radcliff, now 47, starred as Marcus ‘Mac’ Carter in the 2006 hit.

He went on to star in sports drama Glory Road, and now he is more likely to be found behind the camera.

Damaine was the executive producer on Rambo: Last Blood in 2019 and a year later on Tesla.

Josh Henderson (Brett Dolan)

After starring as Brett Dolan in Step Up, Josh Henderson landed a role in Desperate Housewives as Austin McCann. 

He was also cast in 90210, among other teen films and TV shows, but his personal life overshadowed his acting.

Over the years, Josh has had plenty of high-profile romances.

His former girlfriends include Ashlee Simpson, Kendal Sheppard, Brittany Snow and Audrina Patridge.

Kendal claimed in 2008 that he was the father of her first born son, which he has denied.

Back in 2018, Josh was arrested on suspicion of breaking into his neighbour’s Los Angeles home.

The charges were soon dropped due to insufficient evidence. 

Alyson Stoner (Camille)

Alyson Stoner, who came out as queer in 2018 and uses they/them pronouns, shot to fame when they were just six years old.

The American actress, now 33, is known for their roles in beloved family movie Franchise Cheaper By The Dozen, as well as Camp Rock, the Step Up movies and cameos across other Disney programmes.

However, behind the screens, Alyson encountered situations no child should ever, including rape, sexualisation and stalkers, which has been recounted in their new memoir Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything. 

With them becoming a household name thanks to their nostalgic roles, it resulted in Alyson falling victim to a horrific kidnap plot, The Guardian reports.

Their team had sent them out to meet what they thought was a terminally ill fan in a touching gesture, however, it soon became apparent it was a foiled plot to abduct the actor.

When it came to gruelling auditions, by the time Alyson hit puberty, they realised how they were being sexualised when meeting top executives.

Stoner explains: ‘For a young female body in particular, what I noticed was this sudden expectation that you will know how to sexualise your portrayals.

‘That was just such a bizarre and horrific experience, to be in room after room with adult casting directors, knowing that I, at 13 or 14, am expected to seduce them.’ 

Throughout their childhood in the limelight, they revealed how those around them insisted they stay shaded from the sun, avoid their pale skin ‘getting darker’.

However, Hollywood’s obsession with the ‘perfect’ body image eventually took its toll on Alyson in their mid-teens as they hit breaking point.

The actor revealed how they undertook a punishing intense workout regime, coupled with a strict calorie deficit which eventually led to their menstrual cycle stopping at 17.

It was then that Alyson sought professional help, however, those around them advised them not to enter rehab as they reminded them of their rapidly expiring status as a child star in the industry.

Alyson also recounted in her book how they were raped after a wellness event by a man who was allegedly ‘well-adored in the community’.  

‘The world blurred as my mind completely disconnected from my body,’ Stoner, who starred alongside Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato in the Camp Rock film franchise, wrote in their memoir, per Us Weekly.

‘The last image I saw was a poster on the wall of a ravenous feline leaping for its prey. Then I blacked out and he raped me.’ 

Alyson still works as an actor now, and recently returned to Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb following its reboot by the media giant. 

Heavy D (Omar)

Jamaican-born Heavy D was one of the founding members of Heavy D & the Boyz in the late 1980s before branching off as a solo artist.

As well as Step Up, he has appeared in many films including Tower Heist and Law & Order.

The actor died in November 2011, aged 44, after collapsing outside his home in California.

His cause of death was later revealed as a pulmonary embolism due to deep vein thrombosis in his leg. 

Deirdre Lovejoy (Katherine Clark)

Since Deirdre’s pivotal role in Step Up and US drama The Wire, she has gone on to play a range of different roles, on both the small and big screens.

Among her TV credits are Netflix original show Orange Is the New Black. 

Deirdre, now 64, has also appeared in shows including American Horror Story: Asylum, Bones and Girls.

Meanwhile, she has acted in movies including The Post and Bad Teacher.

While her acting career has been prolific, like many of the shows other stars, she remains best known to many for her work on The Wire.

However, her career was nearly derailed in the Noughties when she suffered from debilitating health woes. 

In 2009 she dealt with series of unexplained seizures that affected her memory and her ability to walk and talk for almost a year. She also experienced hallucinations during this time 

This medical crisis severely impacted her mobility and memory, but after she recovered it inspired her autobiographical solo stage show, Bird Elephant China.