Alicia Silverstone: Clueless, Batgirl and a Life Beyond the Nineties

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Alicia Silverstone was born in San Francisco on October 4, 1976, and she was a teenage star before she was out of school. She first drew attention in a series of music videos for Aerosmith, and the thriller The Crush in 1993 gave her an early lead role. But it was Clueless in 1995 that made her famous.

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Clueless, directed by Amy Heckerling, is a comic retelling of Jane Austen's Emma set in a Beverly Hills high school. Silverstone plays Cher, a rich teenager who interferes in other people's lives with good intentions and poor judgement. The film is funny, quotable and surprisingly sweet, and its yellow plaid outfit became one of the best-known costumes of the decade.

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After that came Batman and Robin in 1997, in which she played Batgirl. That film was a critical disappointment and it is often used as an example of a superhero movie gone wrong, though it is hardly fair to blame its actors. She kept working in films and on stage and television, and she has had a long career without needing the same level of fame.

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She is also known as a long-time vegan and an author of books about vegan living, and she has supported animal-rights campaigns. Whatever you think of her views, it is clear that they are sincerely held.

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Do you still rewatch Clueless? It has aged better than most of its generation, and I think that is down to the writing and to Silverstone's timing.