I don't know that I have any role models now that are fixed. Definitely my mom - she's the coolest. She's worked really hard her whole life and I just think she's got a great attitude. Moms just know so much it's so silly.

Despite the success in her role as Alex Mack Oleynik decided to attend college. After The Secret World of Alex Mack ended its run Oleynik had a starring role in the film 10 Things I Hate About You as Bianca. The film was released in April 1999 and did fairly well at the box office grossing a total of $38 million domestically.

During her period as a teen idol Oleynik was described as "one of America's favorite 15-year-olds" and "the proverbial girl next door". Throughout the 2000s Larisa Oleynik has mostly appeared in lower-budget films.