LISA WHELCHEL - FOLLOW YOUR Bliss

The Facts of Life star talks about her career family and life journey

- Fortune Benatar

Lisa Whelchel says it wasn't always easy growing up on TV's The Facts of Life. She began playing spoiled rich girl Blair Warner at age 16 and was one of only two cast members to remain a main character on the show through all nine seasons. (The other was Mindy Cohn, who played Natalie.) As a teenager, “you're trying to find out who you are. Your body is changing, your face is changing your hair is changing," says Lisa, 58. “When all that's captured on TV- and there's still rerun - there is a little bit of a groan element." After Facts stopped filming new episodes in 1988, Lisa focused primarily on her personal life, becoming a wife and mother in a short time. But now that her three children are grown, she’s dipped her toes back into showbiz more frequently. The new season of Collector's Call, the series Lisa hosts on MeTV, debuts on March 27.

When did you decide to be an actress?

I knew since I was 8 years old. I was really, really shy as a kid, so my mom put me in an acting class. From that moment, I just fell in love with acting. I didn't want to wait until I grew up. I wanted to be a child actress.

You joined The New Mickey Mouse Club at 12. That must have been fun!

Yes, we filmed at Disneyland. We went to work before the park opened, so it was really cool to see behind the scenes. We also got to be in the parade - riding on giant mouse ears down Main Street or dancing on a float. It's kind of hard to beat that for great childhood memories.

Did you enjoy being on The Facts of Life?

We had so much fun. We had an incredible cast and crew, and there wasn't a lot of pressure. They took into account that we were kids, and so they let us have fun. But we were also professional. We knew when to settle down and do the job that we were paid to do.