Jennifer Love Hewitt stuns in little black dress during rare red carpet appearance

Corrections and clarifications: An earlier version of this story misidentified Jennifer Love Hewitt's character in "I Know What You Did Last Summer."

Jennifer Love Hewitt is turning heads with a rare red carpet appearance.

In one of her only red carpet jaunts over the last six years, the actress turned heads in a black dress adorned with beads at the July 14 premiere of the newest film in the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" franchise. While debuting copper locks, she paired her all-black look with sparkling heels and rings.

Hewitt, 46, rose to fame with costar Freddie Prinze Jr., 49, in the original 1997 film "I Know What You Did Last Summer." In the film, Hewitt's character, Julie James, was among the teen targets of a mysterious killer.

In the 2025 version (in theaters July 18), the plot takes place nearly 30 years after the murders wreaked havoc on the small North Carolina town. In the film, new victims (played by Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers and Sarah Pidgeon) – who are targeted by a mysterious killer – seek help from Prinze and Hewitt's characters.

'I Know What You Did Last Summer': Why Jennifer Love Hewitt was a 'nervous wreck'

Jennifer Love Hewitt opens up about aging 'as humans, we want to evolve'

Hewitt and Prinze were members of a quasi-Brat Pack including fellow Hollywood stars like Prinze's wife Sarah Michelle Gellar, whom he met while filming the first movie. Ryan Phillippe, Johnny Galecki and Anne Heche also starred in the original.

Monica Lewinsky stuns for rare red carpet appearance at 'Good Night, and Good Luck'

Both the "Last Summer" series and 1998's "Can't Hardly Wait" became cult classics, cementing Hewitt as a '90s teen idol, but Hewitt got candid last year about the public's response to how she grows older.

Though the actress said "it's not personally hard" for her to embrace aging, for fans, it's a different story. "I feel like fans pick … this age that they love that they think represents you, and you're never supposed to grow beyond that," she told Fox News, referencing a quote from Taylor Swift's documentary "Miss Americana" in which the pop star says something similar.

"People seem to have a really hard time accepting that … I don't look that way anymore," Hewitt said.

"Whatever it is, you just want to have the freedom to be whoever you are at that age," Hewitt added. "And it's hurtful sometimes when people reject you as you are verbally on Instagram or the internet because they're having a hard time adjusting to it."

Contributing: KiMi Robinson, Anna Kaufman

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jennifer Love Hewitt stuns on red carpet