Surprising Things About ‘Mean Girls’ That Even the Most Fetch Fans Don’t Know
Gonna need a minute to process the fact that Glen Coco is a *real* person.
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Get in, losers, we’re going to learn everything there ever was to know about Mean Girls. No matter how many times you’ve seen the movie (sorry, nope, the limit does not exist), I can promise you don’t know these Burn Book–worthy secrets. Think I’m lying? Do you know which cast member had their very first kiss on camera? What about all the improvised lines? And how about Regina George’s literally amazing connection to The Real Housewives?? Warning: You’ll basically become a Plastic after reading these über-grool facts. Grab your Kälteen Bars and cheese fries, because I’m spilling serious tea.
The Plastics could have looked very different.
Both ScarJo and Blake Lively tested for the role of Karen Smith, but it was clear Amanda Seyfried was born to play “one of the dumbest girls you will ever meet.” It’s kinda like she had ESPN or something....
Like, very different.
Imagine Sharpay as Miss Gretchen Toaster Strudel Queen Wieners. Impossible, I know! Ashley Tisdale auditioned, but it only took one take for Lacey Chabert to land the role.
Jonathan Bennett wasn’t always going to play Aaron Samuels.
Does James Franco look sexy with his hair pushed back?? Because he was almost Aaron Samuels. Thankfully, Tina Fey came to her senses and went with the ~irreplaceable~ Jonathan Bennett—because she thought he looked like a young Jimmy Fallon. She’s not wrong!
Kevin G needed rap lessons from Amy Poehler.
You know how it goes: “All you sucka MCs ain’t got nothin’ on me...” But before actor Rajiv Surendra got in front of the camera, he needed a pep talk. “Before shooting the scene, Tina, Amy and Lindsay took a video in their hotel room of Amy doing the rap with Tina and Lindsay beatboxing,” he said in 2019. “It actually did help. I don’t know if the rap would have been executed the way it appeared in the film if it had not been for that video.”
Damian wasn’t singing to an audience.
While on the topic of the Winter Talent Show...Daniel Franzese revealed the only person in the audience that saw his Christina Aguilera moment was his mom. Yup, movie magic made it look like the auditorium was full.
Rachel McAdams breaks the fourth wall.
Don’t know about you, but I felt personally victimized by Regina George when she stared deep into my soul to describe the “ugliest effing skirt” she’d ever seen. It only happens for a split second, but her unmistakable glare directly into the camera—whether done on purpose or not—gives off major “if Jim Halpert were evil” vibes.
Glen Coco is...real????
Despite seeing the back of his head for literally .05 seconds in the entire movie, Mean Girls wouldn’t be the same without Glen Coco. And, yes, Glen freakin’ Coco is a very real name and a friend of Tina Fey’s.
The actor who plays Glen Coco? He doesn’t even go here.
Ah, there he is! The man, the myth, the legend. Actor David Reale, then just 19 years old, auditioned for the movie but wasn’t cast. That didn’t stop him from SNEAKING ON TO THE SET, stealing food, being caught, and then being given a small, completely made up on the spot part as “a consolation prize.” He was never paid, didn’t get a credit in the movie, and, in his own words, “just sat in a chair and tried not to stare at Lindsay Lohan.” Hear that, kids? Never give up on your dreams!
There’s one Plastic who didn’t write in the Burn Book.
Amanda Seyfried confirmed her character never wrote anything in those iconic pages at all, saying it was all her “insecure” friends. Which is kinda the most fire burn of them all 🔥🔥🔥.
Lindsay Lohan was almost Regina.
And Rachel McAdams was almost Cady. Maybe it was because Rachel McAdams was nearly a decade older than her, but Lindsay Lohan acted “intimidated” and “quite nervous” around the then-25-year-old actress when they first met. Her uneasiness caused director Mark Waters to swap their roles. "It did something to Lindsay I liked, so in the testing process head-to-head, Rachel was the better choice," he revealed.
Jonathan Bennett was an Abercrombie model.
“I was folding sweaters in front room—I think I was shirtless or something—and checked my phone on my break,” Jonathan Bennett said in 2019. “I had a message from my agent saying, ‘Call me back right away; you’re the lead in the new Paramount movie and have to go to Canada tomorrow.’ I was like, ‘Cool, I’ll call you back after my shift,’ and he said, ‘You don't have a shift anymore—go home and start packing.’ I up and quit.”
Mariah Carey is a superfan.
Like, loves it so much that she referenced it in a song. 2009’s “Obsessed” starts with her saying, “Why you so obsessed with me?” à la Regina George. If that’s not enough proof for you, the music video has someone get hit by a bus at the end. In 2020, Tina Fey continued to bless us by quizzing Mariah on her Mean Girls knowledge. Which, spoiler, is impressive.
There’s a reason Cady’s background sounds familiar.
What you know: Cady and her zoologist parents lived in Africa so they could study animals. What you don’t know: Before booking Mean Girls, Lacey Chabert voiced Eliza in The Wild Thornberrys. The *legendary* cartoon was about a family who travels across Africa to learn about wildlife. Coincidence? Nah.
Tina Fey was a self-proclaimed mean girl.
That’s right—once upon a time, Tina Fey was made of cold, shiny, hard plastic. I’ll hold for a sec and let that sink in. “I revisited high school behaviors of my own—futile, poisonous, bitter behaviors that served no purpose,” the comedy queen admitted to the New York Times. Sorry, I’m in denial.
A Mean Girls cookbook exists.
Abercrombie model, author...is there anything Jonathan Bennett can’t do?? In 2018, he penned The Burn Cookbook, aka the only collection of recipes that will motivate me to make more than a bowl of cereal.
Regina’s hair is fake.
Nice wig, Janis Regina. Clearly, the iconic quote was directed at the wrong person. Rachel McAdams reportedly didn’t want to bleach her hair for the role, so she was given a $10,000 wig. Which meeeeans...the random mathlete who said “I hear her hair’s insured for $10,000” was kinda right??
The Winter Talent Show took place on Thanksgiving.
Look past Regina’s long blonde hair (especially now that you know it’s not real!), and you’ll spot the flyer to her left that reveals the talent show was on November 27, 2003. Personally, I’d rather be stuffing my face with pie on Thanksgiving, but that’s just me.
Kälteen Bars taste like Reese’s Cups and cookie dough.
In 2015, Dylan’s Candy Bar gave us the gift we never knew we needed when it released actual Kälteen Bars. Instead of burning up your carbs, it filled your tastebuds with peanut buttery goodness. Wanna try it yourself? Here’s the recipe.
Yes, the parents have names.
Is she a regular mom? Nope. Does she have a name? Tbh, I had no idea. Turns out, Mrs. George’s first name is June. Cady’s parents are Chip and Betsy. The only parent without a first name is Mr. George.
They had to bribe the Chihuahua to film that scene.
Speaking of June, the bond she shared with her dog is...let’s say interesting. “They, like, pinned a piece of a cocktail wiener into [Amy Poehler’s] bra. I thought this dog was going to tear her apart,” Rachel McAdams recalled to Entertainment Weekly.
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