For seven seasons, New Girl was low-key, goofy, reliable comfort viewing on Fox primetime. Set in and around a giant loft in downtown Los Angeles, New Girl turned its cast into stars. Here's what the cast of New Girl looked like before their iconic loft life.

While New Girl evolved into an ensemble show about the de facto family formed out of adult friend groups, it was at first a TV comedy vehicle for Zooey Deschanel, who over the previous decade had built up a huge resume playing likable, quirky, "manic pixie dream girls."

Zooey attended the prep school Crossroads alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Hudson, and went on to attend Northwestern University, but dropped out after less than a year to go back to Los Angeles to act professionally. Almost immediately, she found work in small parts, like the Offspring's video for "She's Got Issues." The actress was never off-screen for long in the 2000s, playing the runaway older sister in Almost Famous, department store elf Jovie in Elf, wayward earthling Trillian in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and elusive dream girl Summer in (500) Days of Summer.

Watch the video to see What The Cast Of New Girl Looked Like Before Becoming A Hit!

#NewGirl #Cast #Actors

Zooey Deschanel was acting for years | 0:00

Jake Johnson is a natural storyteller | 1:04

Max Greenfield was a television regular | 2:18

Hannah Simone was a charming host | 3:04

Damon Wayans Jr. was raised in show-biz | 4:11

Lamorne Morris was a game show host | 5:12

Nasim Pedrad loves classic comedy | 5:54

Rob Reiner comes from Hollywood royalty | 6:54

Jamie Lee Curtis is the final girl | 7:44