Where Is the Cast of 'Jaws' Now? A Look at the Stars' Lives 50 Years After the Iconic Film Premiered
The iconic 1975 film Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw
The movie became an instant blockbuster and has continued seeing success 50 years after its premiere
Jaws launched several people — including Spielberg — to fameJaws became an instant classic when it premiered 50 years ago.
The blockbuster film, which was directed by Steven Spielberg, follows the small fictional town of Amity Island as it is rocked by a series of brutal great white shark attacks. The film opens with the first attack, which shows Chrissie Watkins (Susan Backlinie) running out to sea after a night out but never returning. When Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) tries to shut down the beloved beach that brings thousands of tourists to the town, he's met with resistance by Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) and the town.
However, as the man-eating shark continues its killing spree, Brody must embark on a mission to destroy the shark and save the town. The Chief enlists the help of marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and professional shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw).
In addition to the shark-hunting team, the cast consists of Lorraine Gray, who plays Brody's wife Ellen Brody; Jeffrey Kramer, who plays Deputy Leonard Hendricks; and Lee Fierro, who plays Mrs. Kintner. Meanwhile, Carl Gottlieb also acted as Harry Meadows after he co-wrote the screenplay. Peter Benchley, who wrote both the 1974 novel the film was based on and the screenplay, acted as an interviewer, as well.
Jaws celebrated its 50th anniversary on June 20, 2025. To commemorate the movie's milestone, NBC is airing a special hosted by Spielberg alongside a screening of the movie.
So, what are the stars from Jaws up to today? Here's a look at where the cast of the beloved summer blockbuster is now.
Richard Dreyfuss, who starred as the eccentric biologist Matt Hooper, rose to fame with the help of Jaws in the 1970s. He continued working with Spielberg in the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
In 1978, Dreyfuss won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1977 movie The Goodbye Girl. At the time, he was 30 years old and the youngest actor to win the coveted award. He continued starring in major films, including Stand by Me (1986), Stakeout (1987), What About Bob? (1991) and The American President (1995), among others.
Dreyfuss stayed involved in the Jaws fandom and attended the Broadway comedic play The Shark Is Broken, which is based off the behind-the-scenes drama with the cast members in Jaws, in October 2023.
Beyond his professional career, Dreyfuss married Svetlana Erokhin in 2006. Prior to Erokhin, he was married to Jeramie Rain from 1983 to 1995. The exes share three children: daughter Emily and sons Ben and Harry.
Steven Spielberg, who directed the film, was a household name after Jaws became a smash hit in the summer of 1975. From there, he went on to direct more blockbusters, including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), the Indiana Jones trilogy (1981-1989), The Color Purple (1985), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), War Horse (2011) and West Side Story (2021), among many others.
Spielberg won his first Academy Award for Best Director for the 1993 film Schindler's List and scored the honor a second time for Saving Private Ryan. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and the first TIME 100 Impact Award in 2023.
In addition to his successful career, Spielberg is a father to seven children. He shares his oldest child, son Max, with his ex-wife, Amy Irving. He went on to marry Kate Capshaw in 1991, and he became a father to her daughter Jessica and son Theo. The couple are also parents to four children: daughters Sasha, Mikaela and Destry and son Sawyer.
Roy Scheider, who played the heroic Police Chief Martin Brody, died on Feb. 10, 2008.
In addition to Jaws and Jaws 2, he acted in The French Connection (1971), All That Jazz (1979), The Rainmaker (1997) and The Punisher (2004), among other roles. He was nominated for two Academy Awards, one Golden Globe award and one BAFTA.
Scheider had one daughter, Maximillia, with his ex-wife Cynthia Bebout. He went on to marry actress Brenda Siemer in 1989, and they had a son, Christian, and a daughter, Molly.
In 2004, Scheider was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, but he died of a staph infection in February 2008. He was 75 years old.
Robert Shaw, who played the shark hunter Quint, died on Aug. 28, 1978 — three years after Jaws premiered.
Besides his leading role in Jaws, Shaw also appeared in The Sting (1973), From Russia with Love (1963), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and Robin and Marian (1976). He was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Henry VIII in the 1966 film, A Man for All Seasons.
Shaw was a dad to 10 children before his death. He had four daughters with his ex-wife Jennifer Bourke, whom he was married to from 1952 to 1963. He later married actress Mary Ure in 1963 and adopted her son. The couple went on to welcome more children as well. Shaw later wed Virginia Jansen in 1976 and he adopted her son as well as welcoming one son during their relationship.
Shaw died from a heart attack on Aug. 28, 1978. He was 51 years old at the time of his death.
Lorraine Gary, who played the police chief's wife Ellen Brody, retired shortly after Jaws. She went on to act in the 1976 movie Car Wash and the Spielberg-directed 1979 film 1941.
Gary retired from acting in 1979 — except for briefly reprising the role of Ellen in the 1987 film Jaws: The Revenge.
She married Sidney "Sid" Sheinberg, the head of Universal Pictures, in August 1956. The couple share two sons, Jonathan J. and William David.
Murray Hamilton, who played Mayor Larry Vaughn, died on Sept. 1, 1986.
Hamilton, who was a stage actor before starring in Jaws, continued working with Spielberg. He acted in the sequel Jaws 2 in 1978 and worked alongside Gary and Spielberg in 1941. He was also set to star in Jaws: The Revenge, but he died before filming began.
Beyond the Jaws franchise, Hamilton acted in The Way We Were (1973), The Drowning Pool (1975) and Brubaker (1980).
In 1953, Hamilton married Terri DeMarco, who sang in the famed group The DeMarco Sisters. The two shared one son, David.
Hamilton died of lung cancer on Sept. 1, 1986. He was 63 years old.
Carl Gottlieb, who co-wrote the screenplay and acted as Harry Meadows, continued a career in entertainment by writing, directing and acting in several films after Jaws.
In addition to co-writing the screenplay for Jaws, he also co-wrote the sequels, Jaws 2 and Jaws 3-D.
Gottlieb went on to make his directorial debut with the 1977 film, The Absent-Minded Waiter and later directed Caveman (1981). He also prioritized acting and worked on various films, including Cannonball (1976), The Jerk (1979) and Clueless (1995).
Susan Jane Backlinie, who played the first shark attack victim, Chrissie Watkins, died on May 11, 2024.
In addition to being an actress, Backlinie was also a successful stuntwoman. She worked with Spielberg and some of her other costars in 1941 and went on to act in Day of the Animals (1977), The Great Muppet Caper (1981) and Terror in the Aisles (1984).
Backlinie died of a heart attack on May 11, 2024. She was 77 years old and is survived by her daughter, Dina.
Jeffrey Kramer, who played Deputy Leonard Hendricks, got his start in the acting business with Jaws and Jaws 2. He continued acting and had roles in Hollywood Boulevard (1976), Halloween II (1981) and The 'Burbs (1989).
Although Kramer acted in several films, he turned his focus towards producing TV shows in the 1990s. He worked as a producer on Chicago Hope (1994), The Practice (1997-1999) and Armed & Famous (2007).
Lee Fierro, who played distressed mother Mrs. Kintner, died on April 5, 2020.
Before Jaws filmed on Martha's Vineyard, Fierro had already established herself as a local. After starring in the movie, she continued living on the island and mentored over a thousand young actors as the artistic director of the Island Theatre Workshop from 1974 to 2017.
Fierro had four children with her first husband, actor Marvin Stephens. After they divorced, she wed Bernard Fierro, and they had another child.
On April 5, 2020, Fierro died after contracting COVID-19. She was 91 years old.
Peter Benchley wrote the 1974 novel Jaws, which was adapted into the film. He also teamed up with Gottlieb to co-write the screenplay and acted as a journalist in the movie, as well.
After the success of Jaws, Benchley continued writing and produced The Deep (1976), The Island (1979), Beast (1991) and White Shark (1994).
Benchley died on Feb. 11, 2006, of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 65 years old.
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