'Mean Girls': Looking back at 2004 movie's 20-year Canadian history

The 2004 movie phenomenon Mean Girls, starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert, was transformed into a Broadway musical, which has now been adapted into a movie musical, starring Reneé Rapp and Angourie Rice.

There was also a Mean Girls 2 movie that never took off, with a different team behind the project.

From the numerous iterations of Tina Fey's story, to terms like "fetch," the Burn Book, "on Wednesdays we wear pink" and "you go Glen Coco" being part of our discourse for decades, Canada, specifically Toronto, played a huge role in bringing this pop culture hit to life.

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Lets take things back to the early 2000s: Lohan was approaching the end of her teens and the era of her career that made teens around the world obsessed with her.

She moved on from the Disney Channel Original Movie Get A Clue (filmed in Toronto) in 2002, to Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis and Chad Michael Murray, which was released in 2003. Then we had Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen released in February 2004, and finally Mean Girls in April 2004.

Pair all of that with the release of Lohan's Speak album at the end of that year, and eventually partying with socialite Paris Hilton, and you have a bonafide superstar.

But it's safe to say that Mean Girls really moved Lohan's career to the next level, due to its immense popularity and lasting power. And it all happened in Toronto.

While the movie is set in an Illinois suburb, Fey, and the rest of the cast and crew of Mean Girls, made their way to Toronto to film most of the 2004 movie, with Canadian Lorne Michael as a producer.

Toronto locations you forgot were in 'Mean Girls'

You can't have a teen comedy without a school, and for Mean Girls, the exterior shots of North Shore High School are Etobicoke Collegiate Institute.

Going to the moments inside the high school, the gym shown in the famous apology and trust fall scene is Malvern Collegiate Institute. Other interior school scenes were filmed at Artscape Youngplace, just west of Trinity Bellwoods Park.

When Cady Heron (Lohan) and the Mathletes go to their competition, that takes place in Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto.

The mall in 'Mean Girls'

Among the iconic scenes in Mean Girls is when the plastics are shopping at the mall, all in their pink ensembles. Most notable is the first time Cady joins the Plastics on their shopping trip, wearing a pink polo shirt she borrowed from Damian (Daniel Franzese).

While this shopping centre looks quite different in 2024, Lohan, McAdams, Seyfried and Chabert are walking around Sherway Gardens mall, in Toronto's Etobicoke neighbourhood, for those scenes.

Toronto 'Mean Girls' houses

When Cady first rolls up to Regina George's (McAdams) house, she's impressed by the size of the home, as she walks in to meet Regina's "cool mom," played by Amy Poehler.

While it's not necessarily a place fans can visit, you'll recognize the exterior of the home in Toronto's wealthy Bridle Path neighbourhood in North York, at 11 High Point Road.

The home was actually for sale in 2022, with the listing price reduced to $23.8 million in 2023. It's still currently for sale, with an asking price of $19,995,000.

A less luxurious home, the Heron family's house, is location in Toronto's east end, near Glen Stewart Park.

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Watch the 2004 movie Mean Girls on Paramount+, get 7 days free and then pay $9.99/month

$10 at Paramount+

Where to watch 'Mean Girls'

Watch the 2004 movie Mean Girls on Paramount+. The 2004 movie musical is currently in theatres.