Actresses Who’ve Played the Same Role Across 10+ Years

Some screen characters stick around for a long time, and a big reason is the actresses who keep coming back to play them. Over years and even decades, these performers have returned to the same role in sequels, spin-offs, reboots, or long-running series, giving audiences a continuous thread to follow. Here are some notable examples of actresses who have portrayed the same character for ten years or more, along with how their roles have evolved over time and across different projects.

Mariska Hargitay – Olivia Benson in ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’

Mariska Hargitay first stepped into the role of Olivia Benson in the ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ pilot episode, introducing a detective assigned to a New York City sex crimes unit. She has remained with the series since its debut, making Benson the longest-running character in American primetime drama. Over the years, the character has been promoted from detective to squad captain, with storylines tracking her professional growth and personal life, including her adoption of a son. Hargitay has also appeared as Benson in other series within the ‘Law & Order’ franchise and related crossovers, extending the role across multiple shows for well over two decades.

Ellen Pompeo – Meredith Grey in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Ellen Pompeo has portrayed Meredith Grey since the very first episode of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, which introduced her as a surgical intern at a Seattle teaching hospital. Across hundreds of episodes, the character has advanced through the hospital hierarchy, taken on teaching responsibilities, and led major surgical and research initiatives. Pompeo later stepped back from appearing in every episode but continues to serve as the primary narrator and an executive producer, keeping Meredith central to the series even when she is off-screen. The show itself has been renewed repeatedly, and Pompeo continues to appear in select episodes, meaning she has inhabited Meredith for more than twenty television seasons.

Jamie Lee Curtis – Laurie Strode in the ‘Halloween’ Franchise

Jamie Lee Curtis first played Laurie Strode in the original ‘Halloween’, where the character is introduced as a high-school student targeted by Michael Myers. She returned to the role in multiple sequels and reboots, including ‘Halloween II’, ‘Halloween H20: 20 Years Later’, ‘Halloween Resurrection’, and the later trilogy beginning with the 2018 ‘Halloween’ and concluding with ‘Halloween Ends’. Across these films, the character’s life story has been reimagined in different timelines, depicting Laurie as a survivor, a headmistress under an assumed name, and later a grandmother dealing with long-term trauma. The role spans films released across six different decades, making Curtis’s portrayal one of the longest-running in horror cinema.

Courteney Cox – Gale Weathers in the ‘Scream’ Series

Courteney Cox began playing reporter Gale Weathers in the first ‘Scream’ film, where the character investigates the Ghostface killings in the town of Woodsboro. She reprised the role in each subsequent film in the main series, including ‘Scream 2’, ‘Scream 3’, ‘Scream 4’, the later rebooted ‘Scream’, and ‘Scream VI’. Over time, Gale’s storylines have followed her career as a journalist and author, as well as her relationships with other recurring characters. With appearances stretching from the original film through recent sequels, Cox has played Gale across more than a quarter of a century of releases.

Linda Hamilton – Sarah Connor in the ‘Terminator’ Series

Linda Hamilton first portrayed Sarah Connor in ‘The Terminator’, playing a woman targeted by a time-travelling cyborg. She returned to the role in ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’, where Sarah is depicted as a trained fighter preparing for a future war, and later appeared again in ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’. Hamilton has also voiced the character in franchise tie-ins, including a theme park attraction and other media. Her appearances trace Sarah’s journey from an ordinary civilian to a key figure in the struggle against Skynet, spanning several decades of ‘Terminator’ projects.

Sigourney Weaver – Ellen Ripley in the ‘Alien’ Franchise

Sigourney Weaver first played warrant officer Ellen Ripley in ‘Alien’ and went on to reprise the role in ‘Aliens’, ‘Alien 3’, and ‘Alien Resurrection’. Across these films, Ripley’s story forms the narrative core of the series, following her repeated confrontations with the xenomorph species in different settings and stages of her life. Weaver has also voiced Ripley or related versions of the character in video games and audio adaptations connected to the franchise. The role has extended from the original film cycle into later licensed media, and Weaver has recently discussed the possibility of returning to Ripley again in a new project.

Sarah Jessica Parker – Carrie Bradshaw in ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘And Just Like That…’

Sarah Jessica Parker first appeared as columnist Carrie Bradshaw in the television series ‘Sex and the City’, set around a group of friends navigating relationships and work in New York City. She returned to the role in two theatrical films that continue the characters’ stories beyond the original series finale. Parker later reprised Carrie in the sequel series ‘And Just Like That…’, which revisits the character and her circle of friends at a later stage in life. With the original show, films, and the follow-up series combined, Parker has played Carrie over a span of more than two decades of releases.

Candace Cameron Bure – D.J. Tanner in ‘Full House’ and ‘Fuller House’

Candace Cameron Bure originated the role of Donna Jo “D.J.” Tanner in the family sitcom ‘Full House’, which follows a widowed father raising his daughters with help from relatives and friends. She played D.J. throughout the show’s original run and later returned as the same character in the sequel series ‘Fuller House’, where D.J. is now an adult widowed mother living in the same San Francisco home. The sequel continues many story elements from the original, including family dynamics and returning supporting characters from earlier seasons. Taken together, Bure’s work on both series shows her playing D.J. across a multi-decade period that bridges network television and streaming.

Maggie Smith – Minerva McGonagall in the ‘Harry Potter’ Films

Maggie Smith first appeared as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the film adaptation of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’, portraying the strict but fair Transfiguration teacher and Hogwarts deputy headmistress. She reprised the role in every subsequent mainline film in the series, appearing in each stage of the story’s progression as the characters age and the war against Voldemort intensifies. Smith continued working on the films while also maintaining other major screen and stage roles, including high-profile television drama work. Her tenure as McGonagall spans the entire original film series, and the character’s recasting in a new television adaptation underlines how closely Smith has been associated with the role.

Nancy Cartwright – Bart Simpson in ‘The Simpsons’

Nancy Cartwright has voiced Bart Simpson since the character’s early appearance in animated shorts on ‘The Tracey Ullman Show’, before ‘The Simpsons’ became a half-hour series. She continued as Bart when the show launched its own primetime run, and has voiced the character in hundreds of episodes, as well as in ‘The Simpsons Movie’ and various video games and specials. Alongside the rest of the core voice cast, Cartwright remains attached to the series as it continues through new seasons and announced future projects. Her portrayal of Bart has therefore stretched from the late 1980s through multiple decades of the show’s history, including planned expansions like a theatrical sequel.

Share which long-running performances you love most and which actresses you’d add to this list in the comments.