Changing the way people view beauty pageants. Hit 2000 film Miss Congeniality follows FBI agent Gracie (Sandra Bullock) as she goes undercover at a beauty pageant in order to prove herself at work to her male counterparts (played by Benjamin Bratt and Ernie Hudson).
Since she’s been a tomboy her whole life, the head of the pageant, Kathy Morningside (Candice Bergen), enlists expert Victor Melling (Michael Caine) to get Gracie ready for competition through quite an intense makeover process. Throughout the movie, the cop forms unexpected friendships, romances and is shocked when she’s able to uncover the life-threatening events happening at the pageant.
In 2000, Ellen DeGeneres revealed in an interview that the rom-com was actually based on her.
“When I was getting ready to cohost the Emmys, the writer saw me [on TV] learning how to walk in a dress and heels,” she shared with Parade magazine at the time. “My stylist at the time — a man — was teaching me, and it was hilarious. The Miss Congeniality writer saw it and thought it was brilliant.”
Despite it being based on the TV host, Bullock also closely related to Grace, later admitting that doing the combat scenes — and she did many of her own stunts — were easier than the pageant scenes. Additionally, she told Entertainment Tonight that she tried to cut the swimsuit scene.
“That was a huge bone of contention for me. I was trying to get it written out so many times,” the Speed actress shared. ‘It’s in the script. We already shot it—outside in San Antonio.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see what the cast is up to today.
Sandra Bullock
In addition to starring in the sequel five years later, Bullock appeared in many hit movies over the years, including Crash, Two Weeks Notice, The Proposal, The Blind Side and Gravity. She won an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Awards for her part in The Blind Side. The Virginia native was married to Jesse James from 2005 to 2010. Bullock moved on with partner Bryan Randall in 2015. The pair share two children via adoption. In August 2023, Randall died following a battle with ALS.
Heather Burns
In addition to the two Miss Congeniality movies, Burns starred in Two Weeks Notice, Bewitched and Manchester by the Sea. Additionally, she starred in multiple TV shows including Twenty Good Years, Bored to Death and Blindspot. She is married to actor Ajay Naidu.
Benjamin Bratt
The Emmy nominee starred in Traffic, Catwoman, Snitch, Private Practice and Star. He also voiced characters in Despicable Me 2, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and CoCo. He shares two children with wife Talisa Soto.
William Shatner
The Star Trek star continued his successful acting career after the film, starring in the sequel, The Practice, Boston Legal, Breaking Ground and many other projects. He also recorded several spoken-word albums. In 2021, he flew into space aboard a Blue Origin sub-orbital capsule, becoming the oldest person to visit outer space.
He also recorded many spoken-word albums. He was married to Elizabeth Martin from 2001 to 2020.
Michael Caine
The iconic actor went on to star in dozens of successful movies, including Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception, Interstellar and Tenet. The six-time Academy Award nominee has been married to Shakira Bakish since 1973 and they have one daughter. He also has a daughter from his first marriage to Patricia Haines.
Candice Bergen
The actress and model appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies — mostly comedies — after Miss Congeniality, including Sweet Home Alabama, View From the Top, Sex and the City and Let Them All Talk. She starred in 84 episodes of Boston Legal and reprised the title role in the Murphy Brown revival. She has been married to Marshall Rose since 2000. She has one daughter from her first marriage to Louis Malle, who died in 1995.
Ernie Hudson
The Ghostbusters star appeared in the Miss Congeniality sequel, as well as Nobel Son, Lonely Street, You’re NotYou, the 2016 Ghostbusters remake and Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Hudson has appeared in dozens of TV shows including Desperate Housewives, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Grace and Frankie. He has been married to Linda Kingsberg since 1985 and they have two sons. He’s also the dad to two sons from his first marriage to Jeannie Moore.
