Home Improvement cast: where their lives went next

From Tim “The Toolman” Taylor to Wilson next door, the Home Improvement cast scattered after the ABC sitcom ended in 1999—some returned to TV, some pivoted behind the scenes, and others faced personal headlines. Here’s what’s happened to the stars since the To

By the time Home Improvement wrapped in 1999, it had already done something rare: it turned a working actor into a household name. The ABC sitcom premiered in September 1991, ran for eight seasons, and followed Tim “The Toolman” Taylor as he hosted Tool Time while raising his three boys.

More than 20 years later, the show’s afterglow still shows up—especially on Tim Allen’s current series, Last Man Standing, where former co-stars have popped up together for Home Improvement reunions. But outside the reunion glow, each cast member’s road has looked very different.

Tim Allen remains the clearest through-line. He played Tim “The Toolman” Taylor on Home Improvement from 1991 to 1999, and the series kicked off his acting career. His performance earned five Golden Globe nominations. and he won Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 1995. During the show’s run. he began voicing Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise and starred as Scott Calvin/Santa Claus in The Santa Clause films.

Allen later starred in Jungle 2 Jungle, Galaxy Quest, Big Trouble, Christmas with the Kranks, Wild Hogs, and El Camino Christmas. Today, he stars as Mike Baxter on the ABC/FOX sitcom Last Man Standing. The series will come to an end in 2021 after 9 seasons.

His personal life has also shifted over the years. Allen was married to Laura Deibel from 1984 to 2003, with a legal separation in 1999. They have a daughter, Katherine, together. Allen later married Jane Hajduk in 2006 after 5 years of dating, and their daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 2009.

Patricia Richardson carried Jill Taylor through all eight seasons. and she arrived at the job in a famously tight moment—she was cast three months after giving birth to twins. For Jill Taylor, Richardson earned four Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. She was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 1997 for her performance in Ulee’s Gold.

After Home Improvement, Richardson starred as Dr. Andy Campbell on Strong Medicine from 2002 to 2005. She played Sheila Brooks in 9 episodes of The West Wing in 2005 and 2006. Her TV movie credits include Bringing Ashley Home, Chance at Romance, and Snow Bride. She reunited with Tim Allen for two episodes of Last Man Standing.

Richardson’s marriage history includes a long run with Ray Baker, whom she married from 1982 to 1995. They have three children together. In 2002, she was living with her boyfriend at the time, retired psychologist Mark Cline, according to People.

Then there’s Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who played Randy Taylor and left the show in 1998. The 1990s made him a star at an early age—he voiced young Simba in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King and voiced Pinocchio in the 1996 film The Adventures of Pinocchio. He also appeared in live-action films including Man of the House. Tom and Huck. and I’ll Be Home for Christmas.

Thomas stepped away from Home Improvement in 1998 to focus on school. His last episode aired in December 1998. He graduated from Chaminade College Preparatory School in 2000 and studied philosophy and history at Harvard University. He graduated from the Columbia University School of General Studies in 2010.

After Home Improvement, Thomas returned for guest roles including 8 Simple Rules, Ally McBeal, Smallville, and Veronica Mars. He resurfaced on television in 2013 for the first time since 2005. and he reunited with Tim Allen on Last Man Standing for four episodes that aired from 2013 to 2015. He also directed three episodes of the show. Thomas is very private, so not much is known about his personal life.

Zachery Ty Bryan, who played Brad Taylor, stayed a main cast member for all eight seasons. During Home Improvement, he appeared in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1995 and the 1996 movie First Kid. Since then, he’s made appearances on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville, Veronica Mars, Burn Notice, and more. His film credits include True Heart and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. His latest TV project listed here is the 2009 TV movie Thor: Hammer of the Gods. He was also a producer of The Grief Tourist in 2012.

His personal life is closely documented as well. Bryan married Carly Matros in 2007, and they have four children together: twins Taylor and Gemma, Jordana, and Pierce. In October 2020, Bryan was arrested for allegedly choking his current girlfriend in Oregon, according to Us Weekly. He later pled guilty in February 2021 to “menacing — constituting domestic violence. and assault in the fourth degree — constituting domestic violence. ” Today reported.

Legal headlines continued. After multiple run-ins with the law over the years, Bryan was arrested in January 2025 for second-degree domestic violence, according to multiple outlets.

Taran Noah Smith played Mark Taylor, the youngest Taylor son. He had just one role after Home Improvement—he guest-starred in a 1999 episode of Batman Beyond as a voice role. Smith quit acting after that. He married Heidi van Pelt in 2001 when he was 17. She was 33 years old at the time. When he was 18. he gained control of his $1.5 million trust fund and had accused his parents of squandering his fortune. according to Variety.

After Home Improvement, Smith ran a vegan restaurant and catering company called PlayFood. Taran and Heidi divorced in 2007. By 2019, Smith was working for the Community Submersibles Project as the Technical Manager.

Richard Karn played Al Borland throughout all eight seasons, then moved into hosting. After the show ended in 1999, he hosted the game show Family Feud from 2002 to 2006. He also hosted Bingo America for one season in 2008. Like many co-stars, Karn appeared on Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing. He guest-starred on True Jackson, VP and The Bold and the Beautiful.

More recently, Karn played Fred Peters in 5 episodes of PEN15, and he is currently one of the co-hosts of the History Channel series Assembly Required alongside Tim and April Wilkerson. Karn has been married to Tudi Roche since 1985, and they have a son named Cooper.

Debbe Dunning’s role as Tool Time’s Heidi Keppert ran from 1993 to 1999. After Home Improvement, she appeared in films like The Spiral Staircase and Now You Know. Starting in 2017, she hosted the travel show Debbe Dunning’s Dude Ranch Round-Up on DirecTV’s The Cowboy Channel.

Dunning married Steve Timmons in 1997 and they have three children: Spencer, Stoney, and Sysco. Debbe and Steve split in 2018.

Pamela Anderson’s Home Improvement presence came early. She played Lisa, the very first “Tool Girl” on Tool Time. Anderson appeared in the first two seasons, and the role of Lisa was her TV debut. She was written out of the series so she could go on to play C.J. Parker on Baywatch. She later starred in V.I.P. from 1998 to 2002.

Her film credits after Home Improvement include Raw Justice, Barb Wire, Blonde, and Blonder. Anderson is also described as a passionate animal rights activist and has appeared on Dancing With the Stars and Dancing on Ice.

Her relationship timeline is full and fast-moving. Anderson married her first husband, Tommy Lee, in 1995 after only knowing him for 4 days; they divorced in 1998. They have two sons together: Brandon and Dylan. She married Rick Salomon in 2007, and that marriage was annulled in 2008. They remarried in 2014 but divorced a year later. In Jan. 2020, Anderson married Jon Peters; they split a month later, and she has since denied they were ever legally married.

Anderson married bodyguard Dan Hayhurst on Christmas Eve in 2020, and they divorced in 2022.

Earl Hindman played Wilson, Tim’s neighbor, for all eight seasons. After Home Improvement, he guest-starred on an episode of Law & Order in 2000 and appeared in the film Final in 2001. His last role was in a 2002 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Hindman died of lung cancer in 2003 at the age of 61.

The cast’s stories don’t all move at the same speed. but the shape of the aftermath is clear: some stars kept riding the entertainment wave—Allen. Richardson. Karn. and others—while some stepped back for school and privacy. as Jonathan Taylor Thomas did. Others took smaller turns into hosting, voice work, travel programming, and behind-the-scenes production. And for some, the years since 1999 have included personal and legal upheavals that followed them into the headlines.

The original Home Improvement was built on family life. workbench chaos. and a weekly rhythm that made viewers feel like they were in the living room. Today. the reunion energy that shows up on Last Man Standing brings the cast back into the same orbit. even as everything that happened after the Tool Time years proves how different “where are they now?” can be from one person to the next.

Home Improvement cast Tim Allen Last Man Standing Patricia Richardson Jonathan Taylor Thomas Zachery Ty Bryan Taran Noah Smith Richard Karn Debbe Dunning Pamela Anderson Earl Hindman