Straight from my post about Mackenzie Austin, here’s another thespian that starred in the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life.

Nancy McKeon, daughter of Don and Barbara McKeon, was born in Westbury, New York on April 4th, 1966. When she was just a wee little toddler (two years of age), she began modeling baby clothes for the Sears catalogue. She also starred with her brother, Phillip McKeon, in over 75 commercials in just seven years. Now, it’s not uncommon for actresses (and actors) to get their start in commercials. It’s not even that uncommon to start at a very young age. But to do 75 commercials in 7 years? That’s almost one commercial a month. Not that 30 second advertisements take a long time to film, but that’s some pretty steady work!

Nancy also starred in several television shows and movies growing up, such as Return to Fantasy Island, A Question of Love, Stone, The Puppy’s Great Adventure, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, and more. She also did guest spots on shows like Starsky and Hutch, The Love Boat, and Stone, based on the TV movie of the same name.

In 1979, McKeon landed her breakout role on the Facts of Life. A casting director for the show noticed her work in a commercial for Hallmark greeting cards. That must have been some commercial!

Since The Facts of Life cancellation in 1988, McKeon has starred in many more television movies, such as Lighting Field, Baby Snatcher, Where the Day Takes You, and more.

Recently, she starred in The Division from 2001 to 2004 as Inspector Jinny Exstead. In 2006, she starred in the made-for-TV movie Wild Hearts, where she played Emily.

Check out the intro for The Facts of Life. If this doesn’t scream 80s sitcom, then I don’t know what does!