Whatever Happened To Deb From Napoleon Dynamite?

2004's Napoleon Dynamite was an unexpected, hilarious hit. The indie comedy, which tells the story of a 16-year-old outcast named Napoleon and his relatively normal but wacky high school adventures, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year and became a bona fide indie smash. With its innocent humor, charming characters, and genuine heartfelt story, Napoleon Dynamite is one of those weird movies that people either love or hate.

One of those charming characters was Deb Bradshaw, Napoleon's potential high school sweetheart. Like many of the other characters in Napoleon Dynamite, Deb was kind of a dork, sporting a side ponytail and selling glamour shots, handcrafts, and keychains door to door to earn enough cash for college. But she was kind, sweet, and though quiet, definitely assertive. Deb was played by Tina Majorino, a child actor who grew up in the industry and has had a variety of roles over the years. Here's a look at what Majorino has been up to since Napoleon Dynamite — starting with a review of her earlier roles.

The '90s felt like they were perpetually filled with cute animal movies, like Beethoven, Homeward Bound, Air Bud, and Babe. Tina Majorino wasn't immune to this trend — one of her 1994 big-screen releases (the other being the Whoopi Goldberg and Ray Liotta 1950s-set interracial romance Corrina, Corrina) found her acting alongside a seal. Yes, you read that right, a harbor seal. The film was called Andre, and it's one of those movies you may only have a vague recollection of, but if you saw it again you'd remember every beat.

Set in the 1960s, Andre tells the story of a little girl named Toni (Majorino) who adopts a baby seal after its mother is found killed in her seaside hometown. Naming the pup Andre, Toni forms a bond with the animal and, as it grows, they start putting on shows for their neighbors. It's a cute little movie that comes with some of those heart-wrenching scenes and sad goodbyes that often accompany stories about animals. But since this one is based on a true story, we know it has a happy ending.

There have been so many adaptations of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that it's hard to keep track of them all. This 1999 made-for-TV movie starred Majorino as Alice — and unlike many other television versions, this one was a one-parter, so they squished some moments from Carroll's Through the Looking Glass in there as well.

The movie had a pretty amazing cast, with Majorino getting the opportunity to act alongside some legendary actors. Alice in Wonderland boasted Ben Kingsley as the Caterpillar, Martin Short as the Mad Hatter, Whoopi Goldberg as the Cheshire Cat, Christopher Lloyd as the White Knight, Gene Wilder as the Mock Turtle, Robbie Coltrane and George Wendt as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and Miranda Richardson as the Queen of Hearts. It used a combination of CGI and puppets from the Jim Henson's Creature Shop, effects for which it won an Emmy Award.

The CW's Veronica Mars was one of those teen shows that developed an adult audience because it was just so damned good. Kristen Bell starred as the title character, the daughter of a disgraced chief of police who took it upon herself to solve her best friend's murder when her father couldn't and her wealthy best friends turned on her. By utilizing all her dad taught her, Veronica sold her services as a high school private eye, someone who could, for a price, try and solve some of her classmates' biggest problems.

Majorino played Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie, a computer whiz who had always felt a little out of place in her family. She utilized Veronica's services to help confirm that she was in fact switched at birth and was actually the biological daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Neptune. Mac and Veronica's friendship was a gal pal match made in heaven, with Mac's tech smarts and Veronica's sleuthing skills coming in handy when they tried to solve the series' mysteries. Mac was the more edgy of the pair, with brightly dyed hair and a punkier vibe, which made her one of the coolest characters on the show. 

Tina Majorino graduated from teen roles with a three-episode stint in the sixth season of the FOX series Bones. The crime procedural starred David Boreanaz as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth and Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, a forensic anthropologist. The series was loosely based on the life and novels of Kathy Reichs, also a forensic anthropologist.

Majorino played Special Agent Genevieve "Genny" Shaw, an FBI agent who occasionally worked on cases with Booth. Genny first appeared in the episode "A Hole in the Heart," where she helped Booth track down a mysterious shooter. Her most prominent appearance, though, was the episode "Bump in the Road," where she revealed she had a three-year-old son and helped ease Booth's nervousness about Brennan's return to work after giving birth to their daughter. Yes, Bones was one of those shows where the two lead characters have a lot of "will they or won't they?" chemistry until they finally end up together at series end.

The cast of Grey's Anatomy truly feels like a revolving door sometimes, with Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey holding everything together. But the hospital setting lends itself to the new faces, accurately reflecting medical internships, residencies, and other professional movement. Majorino's Heather Brooks came aboard in season 9, right after a big plane crash season finale that killed off a number of main characters.

Brooks was an overly energetic, enthusiastic, and bubbly character who was mostly played for laughs as a total annoyance. But she had a sweet side, and a temporary romantic dalliance with another Grey's mainstay, Dr. Alex Karev. But it seems like Majorino can't catch a break with the gruesome deaths on TV: In Grey's Anatomy's tenth season, Brooks was electrocuted during a storm, then had to undergo brain surgery to clear a hemorrhage. She didn't make it, unfortunately, and the other interns and doctors realized how much of a joy she was only after she was gone.

More recently, Tina Majorino has been seen on the CBS drama Scorpion. A crime procedural of a sort, loosely based on the life of executive producer Walter O'Brien, it followed a self-professed computer wiz with a claimed IQ of 197 who claims that his Scorpion technology helped police catch the Boston Marathon bombers — and who somehow managed to finagle his way into the world of television. 

Scorpion starred American Idol alum Katharine McPhee, as well as Elyes Gabel, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Jadyn Wong. Majorino played Florence "Flo" Tipton, a chemist who helped the team with their cases, which didn't involve crime so much as solving global problems and saving lives. In any case, the show was short-lived, lasting only four seasons — but on the bright side, its demise freed up Majorino for a potential return to Veronica Mars.