Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty WhenThe Facts of Lifepremiered on Aug. 24, 1979, it spun offDiff'rent Strokesby 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 likeKim Fields,Mindy Cohn, and more, while also featuring early appearances by future A-listers such asGeorge ClooneyandMolly Ringwald. Here's what the cast ofThe Facts of Lifehas been up to since their days at Eastland. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Charlotte Rae, best known as housekeeper Edna Garrett on the sitcomDiff'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 anEmmynomination 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," Raetold EWin 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 likeMurder, She Wrote,ER,Pretty Little Liars,andGirl Meets World. She also appeared in films such asNowhere(1997),You Don't Mess With the Zohan(2008), andRickie and the Flash(2015), and lent her voice to the animated projectsItsy Bitsy Spider,101 Dalmatians: The Series, and more. Rae diedon Aug. 5, 2018, at the age of 92. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Earl Gibson III/Getty Images Kim Fields plays the lovable Tootie, the youngest student at Eastland Academy onThe Facts of Life —and before that, Arnold Jackson's (Gary Coleman) girlfriend onDiff'rent Strokes. Before booking Tootie at 11 years old, Fields had other small-screen roles like Angie Ellis onBaby...I'm Back!and Kim, Millicent "Penny" Woods' (Janet Jackson) best friend, onGood Times. "The Facts of Lifewas 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 forEW's 2015 oral history ofThe 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 theFactsgift, one of my first drinks of cool water." Continuing in show business after the series ended, Fields acted on many popular shows, includingMork & Mindy,227,Martin, andThe 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 alongsideQueen Latifah,Kim Coles, andErika Alexander. Fields also dabbled in reality television, joining the cast ofThe Real Housewives of Atlantafor the show's eighth season in 2015 andDancing With the Starsin 2016. She teamed up with her formerFactscostars for theLifetimeholiday movieLight Up My Christmas(2019) and again for anABC'sLive in Front of a Studio Audience(2021). More recently, she had guest appearances onCobra KaiandInsecure, and snagged a lead part on theNetflixsitcomThe Upshaws, starring and co-created byWanda 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 onThe Facts of Life. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Paul Archuleta/Getty Images Lisa Whelchelgot her start in the entertainment industry as a Mouseketeer onThe 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 onThe 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 likeA Madea Christmas(2013) andRoswell Delirium(2025), as well as several TV films. Outside of acting, she becamea best-selling (but controversial) author, earned aGrammynomination as a Christian musician, and competed onSurvivor: Philippinesin 2012, finishing as a runner-up. She also cohosted episodes ofJeff Probst's short-lived daytime talk show, though sherevealed to EWshe wasn't approached forSurvivor 50. Whelchel reunited with formerFactscostars inThe Facts of Life Reunion(2001),Light Up My Christmas,and the ABC special, and is the host ofCollector'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. Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Eric McCandless via Getty Images Nancy McKeonstarted out on soap operas, includingAnother WorldandThe Secret Storm. At 13, she joined the cast ofThe Facts of Lifeduring 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 onFriends. She worked on shows likeThe DivisionandSonny With a Chance, and competed onDancing With the Starsbefore starring on theAmazon Primehorror seriesPanicin 2021. The actress also reunited with her formerFactscostars in Lifetime'sLight Up My Christmas. Since 2003, McKeon has been married to film and TV technician Marc Andrus, with whom she shares two children. Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Mindy Cohn was 13 years old when she was discovered by Charlotte Rae, who visited her Bel-Air high school while researchingThe 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 includingCharles in Charge,21 Jump Street,Hot in Cleveland,The Middle, andPalm Royale. She also worked as a voice actor in severalScooby-Doo!videos, bringing Velma Dinkley to life from 2002 to 2015. Cohn reunited with herFactscostars inLight Up My Christmasand has continued to earn credits for a variety of TV and film projects. In 2025, she starred in Hallmark Channel'sHearts Around the Table: Jenna's First Loveas 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," shetold PEOPLEin 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 beforetelling PEOPLEshe was cancer-free in 2017. Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Nicholas Hunt/WireImage Before Molly Ringwald became the queen of big-screen teen dramas, she played Molly on the first season ofThe 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 ofPeopleTV'sCouch 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 infamousBrat Pack. She starred in the classic filmsSixteen Candles(1984),The Breakfast Club(1985), andPretty in Pink(1986). Ringwald played a recurring role on the hitCWseriesRiverdale; had a supporting part inThe Kissing Boothfilms (2018, 2020, 2021); and earned further credits forMonster: The Jeffrey Dahmer StoryandFeud: Capote vs. the Swans. In 2007, Ringwald married authorPanio Gianopoulos, with whom she has three children. Cloris Leachman was already a celebrated Hollywood name when she joinedThe Facts of Lifein season 8 as Beverly Ann Stickle, replacing Charlotte Rae.She had won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress forThe Last Picture Show(1971), earned multiple Emmys for her work onThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowandCher, and took home a Golden Globe for her spinoff seriesPhyllis. "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 afterThe Facts of Life, starring onRaising Hopefrom 2010 to 2014, and taking on a supporting role onAmerican Gods. In January 2021,Leachman diedat the age of 94. As the son ofPatty Dukeand John Astin (and brother ofSean Astin),Mackenzie Astinwas born into Hollywood. He joined the cast ofThe Facts of Lifeat 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 forScandal,The Magicians,Homeland,You,Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,The Blacklist, andThe Pitt, among other titles. Astin has been married to Jennifer Bautz since 2011. Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Mike Marsland/Getty Images Before he became a movie star,George Clooneyspent two seasons onThe Facts of Lifeas handyman George Burnett.Looking back on the early gig, the actor had one major note to his younger self: "Don't wear that mullet," hetold EWin 2016, "and you're going to regret these shoulder pads." After his run on the sitcom, Clooney popped up onTheGolden GirlsandRoseanne. before landing his breakout role as Dr. Doug Ross on the medical proceduralERfrom 1994 to 1999. From there, he went on to become a Hollywood leading man, starring in hit films likeOne Fine Day(1996),Out of Sight(1998), theOcean'strilogy (2001, 2004, 2007),Gravity(2013),Ticket to Paradise(2022), andWolfs(2024). He also has directed a handful of movies, such asConfessions of a Dangerous Mind(2002),Good Night, and Good Luck(2005) — whichwas adapted for the Broadway stage20 years later and marked his Broadway debut as both actor and playwright —Suburbicon(2017),The Midnight Sky(2020),The Tender Bar(2021), andThe Boys in the Boat(2023). Throughout his career, Clooney has picked up twoOscars— Best Supporting Actor forSyriana(2005) and Best Picture for producingArgo(2012) — plus honors like theCecil B. DeMille Awardin 2015, the Honorary César in 2017, and theKennedy Center Honorin 2022. Since 2014, he's been married to human rights lawyerAmal Clooney, with whom he shares twins. Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
