The Spice Girls exploded onto the scene in 1996 with their hit "Wannabe" and introduced millions of impressionable young minds (including mine) to five-part harmonies, Union Jack mini dresses, platform sneakers, and the term "girl power." The members — Melanie Brown, Victoria Adams, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell, and Melanie Chisholm — drew you in with their distinctive personas and subsequently caused fights with your friends about who got to be who. Ohh, the memories!
The Spice Girls was my first concert ever; I had all five of the dolls and owned Spice World on VHS; and I can very vividly recall bawling my eyes out at the news that Geri Halliwell, Ginger Spice neé Sexy Spice, was leaving the group in 1998. I've definitely grown up since then (at least, I hope), but what are the Spice Girls up to these days? Well, some of them are still making music, while others are judging talent and leading fashion empires. Scroll through to see what Baby, Posh, Sporty, Scary, and Ginger (née Sexy) are doing now.
Emma Bunton, aka Baby Spice
Image Source: Getty / John Stanton
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Emma Bunton Now
Image Source: Getty / Jeff Spicer
Who could forget Baby Spice's round cheeks, freckles, and white-blonde hair? Emma Bunton was cuteness personified, and let's be honest: she still kind of is. Since the Spice Girls disbanded in 2000, Emma has released three solo albums and appeared in a recurring role on Absolutely Fabulous. She's also been a guest judge on competition shows Dancing on Ice, The X Factor, and Boy Band. Since 2009, Emma has been a radio presenter on London's Heart FM Breakfast show London with Jamie Theakston, and has her own show on Saturdays.
Emma has been dating singer Jade Jones since 1998. They got engaged in 2011 and have two sons together: Beau, born in 2007, and Tate, born in 2011.
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Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice
Image Source: Getty / John Stanton
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Melanie Brown Now
Image Source: Getty / Walter McBride
Melanie Brown (or "Mel B." as she is so affectionately called) may have gotten older, but she hasn't lost her affinity for flashy clothing or her outspoken personality. After a dramatic relationship with comedian Eddie Murphy that ended in a $7 million paternity settlement for their daughter, Angel, in 2007, Mel went on to wed film producer Stephan Belafonte. They had a daughter together in 2011, but Mel filed for divorce in April 2017 amid reports of infidelity and "emotional and physical abuse."
Career-wise, Mel B. is still in the spotlight — she released three solo studio albums, starred as Mimi Marquez in Rent and Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway, and has been a judge on America's Got Talent since 2013.
During her time as Sporty Spice, Mel C. was all high-kicks and Adidas tear-away pants, but once the group called it quits, she wasn't afraid to show a softer side. Mel has released seven studio albums and still tours, with her last being in Spring 2017. Like Mel B, she's also hit the stage, performing in productions of Blood Brothers and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Mel has been vocal about her struggles with clinical depression and eating disorders over the years. In a 2007 interview with Contact Music, she revealed that she'd "hammer the gym for three hours a day" and that after British tabloids started calling her "Sumo Spice," she was "only a size 10. . . But I was so upset by all the criticism, it got worse and I went up to a size 14."
In 2002, she began a relationship with real estate developer Thomas Starr. They welcomed a daughter, Scarlet, together in 2009, but ended their romance three years later.
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Victoria Adams, aka Posh Spice
Image Source: Getty / John Stanton
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Victoria Beckham Now
Image Source: Getty / Noam Galai
Remember when we American girls had to figure out what "posh" even meant? After the Spice Girls disbanded, Victoria followed the same path the other girls did: she released an eponymous solo album in 2001 that was met with modest success, and her plans to develop an "urban" sound with producer Damon Dash never came to fruition. She decided to ditch the music industry and focus on her fashion career.
Guess what: it worked! After working as an ambassador for high-profile fashion houses and designing a few capsule collections (including a range of denim and eyewear), Victoria launched her eponymous label in Sept. 2008. Since then, she's become such an icon in the fashion industry that when you hear her name, you likely think "fashion designer" before "badass, stone-faced member of a '90s girl group." Needless to say, she's been inspiring our outfits ever since.
Not long after the Spice Girls hit it big, Geri changed her name from Sexy Spice to Ginger Spice after concerned parents complained about the word "sexy" being way too "sexy." In 1998, Geri infamously left the band (which left me in tatters) and embarked on a solo career. Her debut single, "Look at Me," dropped in 1999, and three solo studio albums followed. She's written two autobiographies If Only and Just For the Record, as well as a series of children's books called Ugenia Lavender.
