“The Facts of Life” cast: See what the sitcom stars have been up to since the series wrapped nearly 40 years ago
- - - “The Facts of Life” cast: See what the sitcom stars have been up to since the series wrapped nearly 40 years ago
Rosy Cordero, James MercadanteJuly 11, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
(Clockwise from left): Kim Fields as Dorothy 'Tootie' Ramsey, Nancy McKeon as Joanna 'Jo' Marie Polniaczek, Mindy Cohn as Natalie Letisha Sage Green, Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Edna Ann Garrett, and Lisa Whelchel as Blair Warner on 'The Facts of Life'
When The Facts of Life premiered on Aug. 24, 1979, it spun off Diff'rent Strokes by following housekeeper Mrs. Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) as she transitioned from tending to the Drummonds to serving as housemother at Eastland School, an all-girls boarding academy. Across nine seasons and 201 episodes, the series evolved alongside its characters, chronicling their journey from adolescence to adulthood as they moved from dorm life to managing a small business together.
The show spotlighted rising stars like Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, and more, while also featuring early appearances by future A-listers such as George Clooney and Molly Ringwald.
Here's what the cast of The Facts of Life has been up to since their days at Eastland.
Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Edna Ann Garrett)
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Charlotte Rae as Edna Garrett on 'The Facts of Life'; Charlotte Rae attends Hallmark's 'Facts of Life Reunion' in L.A. on Feb. 12, 2016
Charlotte Rae, best known as housekeeper Edna Garrett on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, suggested the spinoff, which saw Mrs. Garrett leaving her duties at the Drummond home to take charge of the young ladies at Eastland Academy.
Rae starred in the first seven seasons and returned for a special two-part episode in season 8. She earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1982 and remained proud of the series long after her departure, particularly its willingness to address real-life issues with heart.
“It was a very sweet show and we didn’t do anything that was too racy. We were interested in opening [a] dialogue between parents and children. I’m very proud of it. It was concerned with communicating to parents and children and everybody," Rae told EW in 1995. "When I see people who are in their 20s, they say they never missed it, they loved it, and they grew up with me. It was a wonderful experience, and a lot of people say that shows today are not as dear and sweet, they’re different. There’s nothing wrong with them — they’re terrific — but they’re different.”
After stepping away from her signature role, Rae continued to make guest TV appearances throughout her career, including shows like Murder, She Wrote, ER, Pretty Little Liars, and Girl Meets World. She also appeared in films such as Nowhere (1997), You Don't Mess With the Zohan (2008), and Rickie and the Flash (2015), and lent her voice to the animated projects Itsy Bitsy Spider, 101 Dalmatians: The Series, and more.
Rae died on Aug. 5, 2018, at the age of 92.
Kim Fields (Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey)
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Earl Gibson III/Getty Images
Kim Fields as Tootie Ramsey on 'The Facts of Life'; Kim Fields attends a special taping hosted by TV One's 'Living Single' 25th anniversary marathon in L.A. on July 30, 2018
Kim Fields plays the lovable Tootie, the youngest student at Eastland Academy on The Facts of Life — and before that, Arnold Jackson's (Gary Coleman) girlfriend on Diff'rent Strokes. Before booking Tootie at 11 years old, Fields had other small-screen roles like Angie Ellis on Baby...I'm Back! and Kim, Millicent "Penny" Woods' (Janet Jackson) best friend, on Good Times.
“The Facts of Life was an extraordinary gift, a tremendous blessing to me on my professional and personal journeys, like a marvelously refreshing drink of water a marathon runner receives during a race," Fields wrote in a statement for EW's 2015 oral history of The Facts of Life. "I am blessed to continue to run my race, and along the way I have been given several wonderful gifts which have renewed me as an actress, director, producer, wife, and mother.... And there will always be a special place for the Facts gift, one of my first drinks of cool water.”
Continuing in show business after the series ended, Fields acted on many popular shows, including Mork & Mindy, 227, Martin, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She's best known for starring on another hit show featuring an all-female cast: Living Single. From 1993 to 1998, Fields played Regine Hunter on the long-running series alongside Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, and Erika Alexander.
Fields also dabbled in reality television, joining the cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta for the show's eighth season in 2015 and Dancing With the Stars in 2016.
She teamed up with her former Facts costars for the Lifetime holiday movie Light Up My Christmas (2019) and again for an ABC's Live in Front of a Studio Audience (2021). More recently, she had guest appearances on Cobra Kai and Insecure, and snagged a lead part on the Netflix sitcom The Upshaws, starring and co-created by Wanda Sykes.
Fields has two children with her husband, Broadway actor Christopher Morgan. And, fun fact: Her real-life mother, Chip Fields, also played her onscreen mom on The Facts of Life.
Lisa Whelchel (Blair Warner)
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
Lisa Whelchel as Blair Warner on 'The Facts of Life'; Lisa Whelchel visits Hallmark's 'Home & Family' at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 10, 2019
Lisa Whelchel got her start in the entertainment industry as a Mouseketeer on The New Mickey Mouse Club, appearing on the show from 1977 to 1978. The following year, at 16, she landed the role of the privileged and preppy Blair Warner on The Facts of Life, a part she remains thankful for to this day.
"In the middle of doing the series, being young, I don’t think I had the kind of perspective to realize or appreciate what kind of an impact it was having," Whelchel told EW in 2015. "But with age and time and now having that perspective from meeting women who watched the show when they were younger, it’s made me so incredibly grateful to have been a part of something that’s been able to bring so much joy to so many people."
Though she mostly left acting after the show, Whelchel appeared in projects like A Madea Christmas (2013) and Roswell Delirium (2025), as well as several TV films. Outside of acting, she became a best-selling (but controversial) author, earned a Grammy nomination as a Christian musician, and competed on Survivor: Philippines in 2012, finishing as a runner-up. She also cohosted episodes of Jeff Probst’s short-lived daytime talk show, though she revealed to EW she wasn't approached for Survivor 50.
Whelchel reunited with former Facts costars in The Facts of Life Reunion (2001), Light Up My Christmas, and the ABC special, and is the host of Collector's Call, a show on MeTV in which she travels the country and peruses the collections of the country's most prolific collectors.
Whelchel was married to former associate pastor Steven Cauble from 1988 to 2012. They share three children.
Nancy McKeon (Joanna "Jo" Polniaczek)
Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Eric McCandless via Getty Images
Nancy McKeon as Jo Polniaczek on 'The Facts of Life'; Nancy McKeon attends 'New York City Night' for season 27 of 'Dancing With the Stars' on Oct. 1, 2018
Nancy McKeon started out on soap operas, including Another World and The Secret Storm. At 13, she joined the cast of The Facts of Life during the show's sophomore season as transfer student Jo Polniaczek and has spoken positively about the show's lasting impact on audiences and her own life.
"I’m grateful for my fellow ladies. It’s an experience that is unique to us. We have all those memories that are ours to share," she told EW in 2015. "I’m happy that other people found joy in watching the show or help in watching the show or whatever, and my life is so completely better for having had that experience. Anything else, you’ve got to let go."
After the series ended, McKeon continued acting, even auditioning to play Monica Geller on Friends. She worked on shows like The Division and Sonny With a Chance, and competed on Dancing With the Stars before starring on the Amazon Prime horror series Panic in 2021. The actress also reunited with her former Facts costars in Lifetime's Light Up My Christmas.
Since 2003, McKeon has been married to film and TV technician Marc Andrus, with whom she shares two children.
Mindy Cohn (Natalie Letisha Sage Green)
Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Mindy Cohn as Natalie Green on 'The Facts of Life'; Mindy Cohn attends the Trevor Project's L.A. Gala on Dec. 3, 2017
Mindy Cohn was 13 years old when she was discovered by Charlotte Rae, who visited her Bel-Air high school while researching The Facts of Life. Rae was so taken with her that Cohn was cast as Natalie Green — a role she played for the show's entire run.
Post–Facts of Life, Cohn continued acting, appearing on a wide range of shows including Charles in Charge, 21 Jump Street, Hot in Cleveland, The Middle, and Palm Royale. She also worked as a voice actor in several Scooby-Doo! videos, bringing Velma Dinkley to life from 2002 to 2015.
Cohn reunited with her Facts costars in Light Up My Christmas and has continued to earn credits for a variety of TV and film projects. In 2025, she starred in Hallmark Channel's Hearts Around the Table: Jenna's First Love as matriarch Angie Hartman, a character she describes as "very Mrs. Garrett-ish," inspired by the female mentors she met early in her career.
"My mentors in my career, who were a group of women 40 years my senior, who I met in a very beautiful way, who not only mentored me in my career, but in my life, all kind of said the same thing — that your 50s and 60s are kind of the best years of your career," she told PEOPLE in May 2025. "You kind of know who you are, and the parts are kind of divine. To hear that as a 20-year-old, when I met them, you're like, 'But what am I supposed to do with myself for the next few decades?' But it's started to happen. So I do, I love being able to dive into these characters that are very Mrs. Garrett-ish."
Cohn was diagnosed with breast cancer and lived with it for five years before telling PEOPLE she was cancer-free in 2017.
Molly Ringwald (Molly Parker)
Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Nicholas Hunt/WireImage
Molly Ringwald as Molly Parker on 'The Facts of Life'; Molly Ringwald attends the NYC premiere of FX's 'Fosse/Verdon' on April 8, 2019
Before Molly Ringwald became the queen of big-screen teen dramas, she played Molly on the first season of The Facts of Life. Her role was written off.
"Then they changed their minds and then fired me, which was kind of hard as a 12-year-old girl," she recalled during a January 2019 episode of PeopleTV's Couch Surfing. "What they said is, they wanted something closer to Lisa Whelchel, who played Blair, they wanted something closer to her age, and I was too young at the time. I was a little bit of a different generation."
That career setback put her on the path to becoming an '80s teen film icon and a member of the infamous Brat Pack. She starred in the classic films Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986).
Ringwald played a recurring role on the hit CW series Riverdale; had a supporting part in The Kissing Booth films (2018, 2020, 2021); and earned further credits for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.
In 2007, Ringwald married author Panio Gianopoulos, with whom she has three children.
Cloris Leachman (Beverly Ann Stickle)
Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank; Vivien Killilea/WireImage Cloris Leachman as Beverly Ann Stickle on 'The Facts of Life'; Cloris Leachman attends the EcoLuxe pre-Oscars lounge in Beverly Hills on March 2, 2018
Cloris Leachman was already a celebrated Hollywood name when she joined The Facts of Life in season 8 as Beverly Ann Stickle, replacing Charlotte Rae. She had won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Last Picture Show (1971), earned multiple Emmys for her work on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Cher, and took home a Golden Globe for her spinoff series Phyllis.
"When Cloris Leachman stepped in, it was a totally different energy," Lisa Whelchel told EW in 2015, "which was wonderful, but because of that, there was never any kind of comparison.... But when Charlotte left, I don’t think we quite understood why."
Leachman continued to have a prolific career after The Facts of Life, starring on Raising Hope from 2010 to 2014, and taking on a supporting role on American Gods.
In January 2021, Leachman died at the age of 94.
Mackenzie Astin (Andy Moffett Stickle)
Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Mackenzie Astin as Andy Moffett Stickle on 'The Facts of Life'; Mackenzie Astin attends the NYC premiere of 'The Loudest Voice' on June 24, 2019
As the son of Patty Duke and John Astin (and brother of Sean Astin), Mackenzie Astin was born into Hollywood. He joined the cast of The Facts of Life at age 12 in 1985 as Andy Moffett Stickle, Beverly Ann Stickle's adopted son.
"As an ancillary character, I had a lot of bits throughout. Each episode, there would be a certain bit that Andy had, or I’d help move the plot along in some ancillary way. There were a couple of episodes, though, that were Andy-centric, and those were particularly great for me as a performer," Astin told EW in 2015. "I have described being on that show as being like a kid in a candy store, and once they changed the shop from Edna’s Edibles to Over Our Heads, it actually was a candy store. So being a kid there, it was perfect."
Post–Facts of Life, Astin earned a myriad of TV credits for Scandal, The Magicians, Homeland, You, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, The Blacklist, and The Pitt, among other titles.
Astin has been married to Jennifer Bautz since 2011.
George Clooney (George Burnett)
Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Mike Marsland/Getty Images
George Clooney as George Burnett on 'The Facts of Life'; George Clooney attends the OMEGA 'Lost In Space' dinner in London on April 26, 2017
Before he became a movie star, George Clooney spent two seasons on The Facts of Life as handyman George Burnett. Looking back on the early gig, the actor had one major note to his younger self: “Don’t wear that mullet,” he told EW in 2016, “and you’re going to regret these shoulder pads.”
After his run on the sitcom, Clooney popped up on The Golden Girls and Roseanne. before landing his breakout role as Dr. Doug Ross on the medical procedural ER from 1994 to 1999. From there, he went on to become a Hollywood leading man, starring in hit films like One Fine Day (1996), Out of Sight (1998), the Ocean's trilogy (2001, 2004, 2007), Gravity (2013), Ticket to Paradise (2022), and Wolfs (2024).
He also has directed a handful of movies, such as Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) — which was adapted for the Broadway stage 20 years later and marked his Broadway debut as both actor and playwright — Suburbicon (2017), The Midnight Sky (2020), The Tender Bar (2021), and The Boys in the Boat (2023).
Throughout his career, Clooney has picked up two Oscars — Best Supporting Actor for Syriana (2005) and Best Picture for producing Argo (2012) — plus honors like the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2015, the Honorary César in 2017, and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2022.
Since 2014, he's been married to human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, with whom he shares twins.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: AOL Entertainment
