By Wonderwall.com Editors
5:00am PDT, Apr 5, 2022
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On April 5, 1987, television audiences were introduced to "Married… With Children" and the Bundys. Viewers were quickly sucked in — they couldn't stop watching the dysfunctional family and their neighbors. That's no exaggeration — the FOX series was one of the longest running live-action sitcoms in television history, with audiences following the gang over 259 episodes and 11 seasons. In honor of the 35th anniversary of the show's debut, Wonderwall.com is checking up on the actors and actresses who played Al, Peggy, Kelly, Bud and more to see how their looks and lives have changed…
RELATED: See the most wonderfully retro looks from early in Christina Applegate's career
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Ed O'Neill returned to TV on a short-lived "Dragnet" reboot in 2003 and popped up on a few shows like "The West Wing" but his biggest role after "Married… With Children" was as another family patriarch, ornery Jay Pritchett, on the wildly popular sitcom "Modern Family," which aired from 2009 to 2020. He earned three Emmy nominations for his work on the comedy as well as four Screen Actors Guild Awards as part of the excellent ensemble cast. In 2016, he voiced Hank the Octopus in "Finding Dory." The former football player, who's been married to actress Catherine Rusoff since the mid-'80s, earned his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2007 after years of training.
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Katey Sagal, seen here with her on-screen husband, played by Ed O'Neill, portrayed Al's lazy wife, Peggy Bundy, from 1987 to 1997.
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Katey Sagal has been a television darling since "Married… With Children" ended. She had starring roles on "8 Simple Rules," "Sons of Anarchy" (for which she won a Golden Globe Award) and "The Conners," among other shows. She's also done extensive voice work on "Futurama," "A to Z" and "Recess." She married her third husband, "The Shield" and "Sons of Anarchy" writer-producer Kurt Sutter, in 2004. They welcomed daughter Esmé in 2007; Katey's also a mom to two adult children from her second marriage. The actress, who worked as a backup singer for artists including Bob Dylan, Etta James and Tanya Tucker before finding fame on TV, released two albums after her "Married… With Children Days" and contributed to the "Sons of Anarchy" soundtrack.
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Christina Applegate played Al and Peggy's daughter, Kelly Bundy, a stereotypical dumb blonde.
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For Christina Applegate, playing Kelly Bundy was the launchpad to a long career. The frequent Emmy nominee (who won for a guest spot as Rachel's sister on "Friends") starred in hit films like "Anchorman" and "Bad Moms" and on television shows like "Jesse," "Samantha Who?" and "Dead to Me." She earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the Broadway revival of "Sweet Charity" in the aughts. Christina's also had her fair share of medical challenges over the years: She battled breast cancer in 2008 and in 2021 announced she'd been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She was wed to actor Johnathon Schaech for a few years after "Married… With Children" ended and later found love with Dutch musician Martyn LeNoble, whom she married in 2013 a few years after they welcomed a daughter together.
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David Faustino played Al and Peggy's son, Bud Bundy.
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After his days on "Married… With Children," David Faustino appeared in everything from "The Young and the Restless" to the parody film "Sharknado 4" to an episode of "Bones." He's also done a lot of voice work including on shows like "Winx Club," "The Legend of Korra" and "Dragons: Race to the Edge." The former child star was briefly married to actress Andrea Elmer in the aughts and in 2015 welcomed his first child, daughter Ava, with fiancée Lindsay Bronson. Their second, son Cassius, arrived in February 2022.
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David Garrison played Steve Rhoades, a stuffy banker who was married to loan officer Marcy Rhoades, who was played by Amanda Bearse (more on her in a minute). They were the Bundys' neighbors.
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David Garrison's most noteworthy role remains Steve on the FOX sitcom, though he's since enjoyed guest appearances on shows like "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," "30 Rock," "Law & Order" and many more. His true love, however, was always musical theatre. The Tony Award nominee, who left "Married… With Children" to return to the stage, has appeared in a slew of shows including "Wicked" — he played The Wizard in the Broadway production and originated the role in the touring company in the aughts — and, more recently, Broadway's "The Visit" and "The Great Society."
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Amanda Bearse's Marcy Rhoades D'Arcy was also Al's nemesis as well as Peggy's best friend.
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"My acting career really ended with 'Married… With Children,' for the most part," Amanda Bearse told Go WeHo in 2016. "And that was so that I could be taken seriously as a director. And I was for a long, long time." She ended up leaving Hollywood to raise daughter Zoe, whom she adopted in the '90s while on "Married… With Children." Amanda, who in 1993 publicly revealed that she's a lesbian, was the first primetime actress to come out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. She married Carrie Schenken in 2010 and later returned to directing and also explored teaching, working at the Seattle Film Institute.
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Ted McGinley starred as Jefferson D'Arcy, a scammer who became Marcy Rhoades' second husband.
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Ted McGinley's most memorable post-"Married…with Children" roles were on "Sports Night" in 1998 and 1999 and "Hope & Faith" from 2003 to 2006. The "Happy Days" and "Dynasty" alum has acted steadily since then, often as a guest star on various TV shows, though he's also enjoyed longer runs on series including "Transformers: Robots in Disguise" (as a voice actor) from 2014 to 2017 and on both "No Good NIck" and "The Baxters" in 2019. Ted's been married to actress Gigi Rice, with whom he has two children, since 1991.
