American rock band Fountains of Wayne formed in New York in 1995 and endeared themselves to the alternative fanbase through their self-titled debut in 1996 and their sophomore album, Utopia Parkway, in 1999. But 2003 was when they exploded into the mainstream with their chart-topping hit "Stacy's Mom." We know the mere mention of the song is enough to get that catchy power pop chorus lodged in your head for a week, so...sorry about that. But as long as you're thinking about it, why not indulge in a little frivolous nostalgia and revisit the song and its cheeky music video?
Gianna Distenca and Rachel Hunter star as Stacy and "Stacy's mom," respectively. Stacy's best friend, a preteen boy (Shane Haboucha), shrugs off her romantic overtures toward him as he imagines a more desirable love match: her mom. Rachel Hunter and Gianna Distenca are pitch-perfect in their roles, which made us wonder where they came from and what they're up to now. Here's what we know about the onscreen mother-daughter pair.
10 Gianna Distenca Quit Show Business Soon After 'Stacy's Mom'
Gianna Distenca (she now uses Gianna Dispenza on her website and social media) played in a few other video shorts in the early- to mid-'00s, but nothing so recognizable as "Stacy's Mom." Did she realize that she'd never top that iconic role and decide to quit while she was ahead? Or had acting just run its course for her? We're not really sure, but we know she's been fully off of show business for over 15 years now.
9 Rachel Hunter Was A Prolific Model Before And After The Video
Born in New Zealand, Rachel Hunter had already experienced significant success in modeling before she was tapped to play Stacy's mom. She had appeared in Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan prior to the video, and posed nude for Playboy the year after.
8 Gianna Distenca Pursued Art Degrees After High School
After high school, Gianna Distenca went to Colorado College in Colorado Springs for a liberal arts degree, then attended the San Francisco Art Institute, earning her BFA in sculpture in 2014. She studied anatomy, realism and photorealism extensively.
7 Rachel Hunter Was Second Choice To Play Stacy's Mom
Fountains of Wayne admired The Cars and tried to emulate their sound and style, even hiding several subtle nods to the band in the "Stacy's Mom" music video. They wanted Paulina Porizkova, the wife of Cars' frontman Ric Ocasek, to play the role of Stacy's mom. Ric politely declined the request, and Rachel Hunter got the role.
6 Gianna Distenca Works As An International Painter And Sculptor
Gianna Distenca was born in Providence, but left the United States after quitting acting and has pursued a remarkably successful career in art since then. She got her Masters at the Royal College of Art and continues to work in painting and sculpture.
5 Rachel Hunter Runs A Travel Website-Blog
At age 51, Rachel Hunter isn't modeling on the covers of magazines so much anymore, but she's still following her passion. She runs a travel website-blog which chronicles her travels around the world and discovery of different cultures, as well as her exploration of yoga, meditation, and spirituality.
4 Gianna Distenca Has Taught All Over The World
Gianna Distenca's website and social media reveal that she has spent a lot of time teaching youngsters art. She taught ceramics to children for several years at Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, and she had exhibitions in Beirut during that time, and has had showings in Italy, England, and many more.
3 Rachel Hunter Was Married To Rod Stewart
After her first marriage (to Kip Winger, a member of Alice Cooper's band), Rachel Hunter met Rod Stewart, 24 years her senior, and the two married in 1990. They have two children, Renee and Liam, born in 1992 and 1994, respectively. Rachel Hunter's divorce from Rod Stewart was finalized in 2006 after being separated for the seven years before.
2 Rachel Hunter Was A Judge On 'New Zealand's Got Talent'
Rachel Hunter had years of experience as an actress and model under her belt when she accepted the role of a judge on New Zealand's Got Talent in 2012. She was on the show until 2013 slinging feedback to singers, musicians, comics, dancers, and variety performers of all kinds who were no doubt hopeful that they would have a career as prolific as hers.
1 Rachel Hunter Was Also On 'Ru Paul's Drag Race' and 'Dancing With The Stars'
Coming off a whirlwind career of photoshoots, fashion shows, galas and other engagements, Rachel Hunter must have found a nice change of pace in dropping in here and there to be on an episode or a season of reality TV. She appeared on Season 1 of Dancing With the Stars in 2005, and many fans thought she and her partner Jonathan Roberts deserved to win. She also appeared as a guest judge in one episode ("It Takes Two") of Ru Paul's Drag Race All Stars.