“Popular”'s Leslie Grossman Reflects on the Show's 25th Anniversary, Says 'It Transformed My Life' (Exclusive)

In honor of the WB series' 25th anniversary, the actress looks back on playing Mary Cherry and working alongside Murphy

While perhaps known to many fans for her various roles on multiple installments of American Horror Story, Leslie Grossman first made her debut on TV in the short-lived but beloved WB series, Popular, which premiered 25 years ago on Sept. 29, 1999.

For the actress, now 52, the teen dramedy about stepsisters navigating high school from opposite ends of the popularity spectrum, created by Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews, marked her first series regular gig. On it, Grossman played easily quotable mean girl, Mary Cherry, whose legacy largely lives on in memes and GIFs on the Internet.  

"Oh my God, that makes me feel ancient," Grossman quips to PEOPLE when asked about the milestone anniversary for the series. "But 25 years, that's crazy." 

While reflecting on her time on the show, she notes that it was "an incredibly formative time, safe and really lovely experience" for her. "That was my first series I ever did. It was the show that I met Ryan doing. It totally transformed my life," she says. 

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Looking back on filming Popular, which predated the advent of social media and how people consume TV now, "I got to just push the limits with that character of Mary Cherry and do what I thought was funny or true to her."  

She adds, "I did everything I could do to always make Ryan laugh. And it was because there was no social media, because I was so young and it was so new, I felt really protected. And so, I look back on that time with a lot of affection and sort of sadness that it will never be like that again." 

When it comes to her costars — Leslie Bibb, Carly Pope, Tamara Mello, Tammy Lynn Michaels and Sara Rue as well as Bryce Johnson, Christopher Gorham and the late Ron Lester — the actress says they will always have a special place in her heart.

"We went through that experience together," she says. "I have nothing but the best feelings for all those people. It's like looking back on your senior year of high school." 

Since the series ended in 2001, Grossman has gone on to star on What I Like About You with Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth and make notable appearances on Grey's Anatomy, Scandal as well as Love, Victor. She has also reunited with Murphy several times, first recurring on Nip/Tuck from 2003 to 2008 before becoming a regular fixture on AHS, with roles on Cult, Apocalypse, 1984, Double Feature, NYC and Delicate. 

Related: Walton Goggins Laughs with Leslie Bibb, Poses with Michelle Monaghan in White Lotus Season 3 Photo Dump

The two, meanwhile, most recently worked together on Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, with Grossman portraying Judalon Smyth, a key figure in the 1989 murder case of the brothers' parents, José and Kitty. It's another scene-stealing role that came out of their close relationship, with the actress recalling how she was speaking to Murphy about the Netflix true crime series when it was still in development. 

"I remember this case very clearly ... And I remember Judalon testifying because I watched it on Court TV," she says, recalling how "Ryan had been working on this for a while. There was a lot of research involved for years before it was even written ... So when he was mentioning it to me, I was like, 'Dude, I'm obsessed with Judalon.' He was like, 'You should play Judalon.' And I said, 'I agree.' So that's how that happened." 

As for AHS, "I am game to show up to any party Ryan invites me to. I love doing that show. It has transformed my life," she says of appearing on the hit FX anthology horror series. "I've met some of my most favorite people in the world who have become my dearest friends on that show. It's been creatively so enormously satisfying."

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Saying she "would be thrilled to do another season," she explains that thanks to Murphy, she's gotten to "play the sweetest people, the meanest people, villains and victims. I feel like I've been lucky that I've gotten to sort of run the gamut of what he's let me play." She adds, "I gotta tell you, I trust him implicitly."

And that trust has come out of a bond the two have developed over the two-plus decades since first working together on Popular.

"Ryan has become my family. He's very close with my daughter," she says, referring to Goldie. "I adore his children. Our lives have changed so much in all those years, obviously, and we have always been able to sort of grow together." 

"He has been the most wonderful friend to me, and just in terms of employment. But he is a real friend to me," she continues. "When I personally have gone through really tough times, he has been such a stalwart of support to me. So most of our friendship has absolutely nothing to do with work. I am eternally grateful for him the way I'm eternally grateful for any of the dear friendships that I've been lucky enough to have over decades."

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