How did she avoid the pitfalls of child stardom? Would she be down
for a Mean Girls 2? Let's dive deep into everything about Lacey Chabert.
Lacey Chabert was born in Purvis, Mississippi, where she spent nearly a decade before moving to
pursue show business. Chabert's family lived next door to her grandmother,
with whom she was very close. They were so tight-knit that she even
carries around her grandma's watch in her purse. Chabert told Southern Living,
Chabert now lives in California, and most of her family now lives in Texas, but they also share a
very strong connection with Louisiana. Chabert's father is Cajun and from Louisiana originally,
which appears to have had lasting effects on her family's traditions. Chabert shared,
Chabert is incredibly close with her family and was shattered her older sister Wendy died in 2022.
Lacey Chabert started working on "Party of Five" at age 11, and she spent the majority
of her teenage years playing Claudia Salinger. By the time she finished,
she was nearly an adult — which means that she saw a lot of her
teenage milestones in the "Party of Five" timeframe. She said on "Strahan & Sara,"
"Everything a young lady could go through happened to me during that
show. And I loved it. You know, all the things."
This included having her first kiss and getting her first bra,
both for storylines she had to film as Claudia. In a 1998 interview with Vibe magazine,
Chabert detailed the awkwardness of smooching in front of roughly a hundred people. She said,
Lacey Chabert originated the voice of Meg on "Family Guy," and there have been a lot
of rumors over the years about why exactly she left after the first season. Mila Kunis,
who replaced Chabert, suggested in a Vanity Fair video that it was because Chabert disliked
the raunchy content. However, Chabert has told GameSpy in 2006 that it was because she was too
busy with her school work and "Party of Five," also adding, "I think the show is hilarious."
Apparently, creator Seth MacFarlane didn't even know why she left. He told UGO.com,
But don't let her "Family Guy" debacle confuse you, because Chabert is a wildly popular voice
actor. She has served as the voice of Eliza Thornberry on "The Wild Thornberrys" and as the
voice of Kaycee in the "Bratz" television series, TV movie, and video games. Chabert has also voiced
characters on "Young Justice," "Shimmer and Shine," "Rugrats Go Wild!," and "Transformers:
Rescue Bots." She has similarly done voice acting in many straight-to-video titles,
and for popular video games, from "Sonic the Hedgehog" to "Star Wars:
The Old Republic." She told "Entertainment Weekly" in 2014,
"Mean Girls" is one of those movies that defined a generation, and it has truly become a classic.
The film came out in 2004 but has stood the test of time. Lacey Chabert was one of the main stars
of the film, appearing as gossipy Gretchen Wieners, heir to the Toaster Strudel empire.
On numerous occasions, she has said that she would be up for reprising her role in a sequel,
though the closest we have gotten to a sequel is a Zoom reunion during the pandemic,
hosted by Katie Couric. Chabert told "Access" shortly after the reunion,
And even though there is no "Mean Girls 2" in the pipeline, Chabert has spent
time thinking about where Gretchen would be today. Chabert said in a Forbes interview,
She shared a similar desire for reprising the character when ET asked, telling the outlet,
For those who remember Lacey Chabert primarily from "Party of Five," it might be hard to believe,
but the actor is now in her 40s. In her 30s, Chabert both married and became a parent. While
she is quite private about her love life, Chabert did make a social media announcement shortly after
marrying David Nehdar in December 2013. They had their daughter, Julia Mimi Bella Nehdar,
in September 2016. Chabert posted on Instagram a week after her birth,
Chabert has been candid about the stresses of being a working mother in Hollywood. For instance,
she admitted on Instagram to struggling when she could not be in town for her
daughter's first ever day of school. In general, however, Chabert schedules life
around her daughter and sees motherhood as her first job. She told "Tinseltown Mom,"
Lacey Chabert just may be the queen — or co-queen with Candace Cameron Bure — of
Hallmark. Chabert has appeared in some 30 Hallmark original films.
And that number can be expected to keep climbing, since she signed a big
deal with Crown Media Family Networks, which owns Hallmark, in February 2022.
Not only has Chabert been doing Hallmark movies for over a decade, but she typically films four
to five each year. Her specialty is the Christmas movie genre. But she has appeared in everything
from "All of My Heart," about a woman who falls for the co-owner of a house she inherits, to "Love
on Safari," which is about exactly what it sounds like. Chabert is also the star of the popular
"Crossword Mysteries" movies and was one of the headliners for the channel's "The Wedding Veil"
trilogy. Executive Vice President of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly said in a statement,
Some celebrities might not love being primarily associated with fluffy TV movies,
but we genuinely believe Lacey Chabert when she says that she is proud of the
work she has done for Hallmark. She told Forbes,
Hallmark's Christmas movies alone reach up to 80 million people during the holiday season,
so it is not surprising that Chabert gets lots of love from fans wherever
she goes. Key to Chabert feeling good about her work with Hallmark is that the content is
very family-friendly and suitable for all ages. She explained to "Tinseltown Mom,"
"That's so fetch."
Many of us might get sick of the holiday cheer, especially if we had to film these
Christmas movies in the summer and fall. Luckily for Chabert,
she is a massive fan of the holiday and finds tremendous joy in the films. So, too, do fans,
as the Hallmark Channel is generally number one with females ages 18-49 and 25-54 in November
and December. For Chabert, it is easy to get into the Christmas spirit, as she is obsessed
with the holiday, according to an interview she did with "Southern Living." She said,
Chabert has been an executive producer on 15 of her Hallmark films,
including five of the six "The Crossword Mystery" installments and all three films
in "The Wedding Veil" series. One perk to having power on set is that Chabert
has been able to sneak pieces of her own life into multiple films.
"I like a good luck charm. You know, in all of the movies,
I always try to put something personal of mine in the movie."
In "The Wedding Veil" series, that meant having
her grandparents' wedding photo placed in her character Avery Morrison's apartment.
"Sometimes people notice, sometimes they don't, but it's, I know it's there."
In another instance, Chabert said that she wore her own wedding dress in a film
shortly after marrying — though she did not disclose in which film she wore it,
and she's had far too many TV weddings for us to try and guess!
In January 2022, "The Sun" ran an article with the headline "Curse of the Child Actor." Shia LaBeouf,
Lindsay Lohan, and Demi Lovato were cited as examples of child stars whose lives went off
the rails at one point or another. While we would not go so far as to call it a full-blown curse,
it is hard to argue that there has not been an issue with many kid actors having struggles once
they reach their teenage years. Some have died far too young — like Brad Renfro and
River Phoenix — while others like Drew Barrymore, Jason Bateman, and Mackenzie
Phillips had many years of instability but eventually turned their lives around.
But some people have been able to transition from childhood to adulthood without heading
down a problematic path, and Lacey Chabert is one example. She rose to
fame before she even hit puberty, but she has remained level-headed, humble,
and out of the Hollywood party scene. She has credited this to her family and friends and,
in particular, her parents. She told "Fox 411" in 2013,