Just like her famous line “that’s so fetch,” former child star Lacy Chabert’s fame seemed to fade after the 2004 movie, Mean Girls.
Although she had a hard time staying successful in big movies, Chabert – now a star on the Hallmark Channel – is taking on the most important role of her life.
Now 41 years old, Chabert began acting when she was just 10. She is a mother to Julia Mimi Bella, who she calls her “number one priority” and “the light of my life.”
Read on to learn more about the actress and her small family!
From 1994 to 2000, fans of the family drama Party of Five watched a young Lacy Chabert grow up on TV.
The well-loved series told the story of the Salinger siblings – Charlie (Matthew Fox), Bailey (Scott Wolf), Julia (Neve Campbell), and the youngest, Owen (Jacob Smith) – who were left on their own after their parents died in a car accident.
As a young actress, Chabert played the musical prodigy Claudia Salinger from ages 11 to 17, experiencing many “firsts” through her character before she did in real life.
“It was a different way of growing up, and not everyone can relate to it,” Chabert said in 2023. “It was interesting because sometimes my character would go through life events on the show before I experienced them in real life. You know, like my first kiss and other embarrassing moments.”
When the series ended, Chabert said she was “heartbroken,” but she is still “very, very, very close” with her former castmates.
“They’re a part of my life now. It’s been nice to grow up together, become parents, and go through different life phases together.”
After the show, Chabert starred in movies like Not Another Teen Movie (2001) and Daddy Day Care (2003) with Eddie Murphy.
In 2004, Chabert got a major role in Mean Girls, playing Gretchen Wieners, the loyal friend to the leader of The Plastics, Regina George (Rachel McAdams).
The teen hit comedy, written by the funny Tina Fey, also stars Lindsay Lohan (Freaky Friday), Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!), and Saturday Night Live stars Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
Twenty years after the movie came out, the cast got back together to film a Walmart commercial. In the ad, they play adult versions of their characters, now with teenage kids of their own.
“Oh, this is going to be so fetch,” Chabert says as Gretchen, talking to her daughter and her daughter’s two friends.
Her teenage daughter replies, “Stop trying to make fetch happen, Mom. It’s still not going to happen.”
Chabert, who played the nice girl in the group of mean high schoolers in the famous movie, says about the short reunion, “Oh my gosh, it was the best! It felt like stepping back in time, like no time had passed,” she said. “It was so fun to remember all the memories from the movie and catch up with each other.”
She adds, “We’re all moms now… It was such a full-circle moment and I’m so thankful for the experience.”
In December 2013, Chabert quietly married her “best friend,” businessman David Nehdar.
“I didn’t want it to feel like an event,” says Chabert, who has built a career as an actor and producer with the Hallmark Channel. “I wanted it to be personal… He’s not in the business, and we like our privacy. Relationships are hard enough without the opinion of strangers, so we try to keep it as personal and private as possible.”
And then, on September 1, 2016, the couple had a baby girl named Julia Mimi Bella.
“There’s nothing like that first week of being a momma. This little girl has brought pure joy to my heart,” Chabert wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of herself with her tiny baby.
On the Kelly Clarkson Show, Chabert shared the funny moment when her daughter discovered that her mom starred in Mean Girls.
The Black Christmas actor says she came home from work one day, and her husband, David Nehdar, told her that he “watched a few scenes” of Mean Girls with their daughter, Julia.
“I’m like, ‘Okay,’” Chabert recalls. “And then Julia goes, ‘Mommy, I didn’t know you were Gretchen Wieners. Did you know that was your name?’”
She adds, “It’s so funny even hearing that name come out of her mouth.”
Recently, the actress shared an adorable throwback photo where she’s cuddling Julia, who will turn eight later this year.
“This popped up in my photo memories from 6 years ago,” Chabert wrote alongside the sweet black-and-white image. “Where does the time go?! My daughter is the light of my life, and I can’t wait to get home to hug her and kiss those little cheeks exactly one million times!”
“Filming these movies on location is such a special experience for which I’m so grateful, but there’s no place like home,” writes the actor, who has starred in more than 30 Hallmark films.
While Chabert, who starred with Matthew McConaughey in the 2004 film Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, is enjoying a successful career with Hallmark, fans definitely miss her funny role in the classic movie Mean Girls.
But for her, Julia is her number one priority, and she’s “very thankful” she can “continue working.”
Chabert adds, “I hope to set an example for her, to show her that you can do it all, but with a lot of help and support!”
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