Shelley Fabares Biography

Shelley Fabares born Michele Ann Marie is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcom Coach (1989–97), the latter of which earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations.

Shelley Fabares Age

Shelley is 77 years old as of 2021. She was born on 19 January 1944 in Santa Monica, California, United States. Additionally, Fabares celebrates her birthday on January 19th every year.

Shelley Fabares Height and Weight

Shelley stands at an average height of 5 Feet 5 Inches (1.63 meters) tall and she also weighs 55 kilograms (121 lbs). Her body measurements are 33-25-33 Inches. She has dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Shelley Fabares Education

Details pertaining to her educational background are currently unavailable. This information is however currently under review and will soon be updated.

Shelley Fabares Family, Parents, Siblings

Fabares was born in Santa Monica, California. She is the niece of actress Nanette Fabray. Her father was James Alan Fabares, who was born in Algiers, New Orleans on 2 August 1909, and died in Los Angeles on 10 December 1977, and her mother was Elsa R. Eyler, who died from Alzheimer’s disease in 1992. She has an older sister named Nanette.

Shelley Fabares Husband and Children

Shelley is a married woman. She was first married in 1964 to a producer named Lou Adler. They separated in 1966 and divorced in 1980. Since 1984, she has been married to actor Mike Farrell. She has not shared information about her having children.

Shelley Fabares Salary

Details pertaining to her annual earnings are currently unavailable. This information is however currently under review and will soon be updated.

Shelley Fabares Net Worth

Fabares has an estimated net worth of $3 million dollars as of 2020. This includes her assets, money, and income. Her primary source of income is her career as an actress and singer. Through her various sources of income, Shelley has been able to accumulate good fortune but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.

Shelley Fabares Measurements and Facts

Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about Shelley.

Shelley Fabares Wiki

Full Names: Michele Ann Marie
Popular As: Shelley Fabares
Gender: Female
Occupation / Profession: Actress and Singer
Nationality: American
Race / Ethnicity: White
Religion: Not Known
Sexual Orientation: Straight

Shelley Fabares Birthday

Age / How Old?: 77 years old as of 2021
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
Date of Birth: 19 January 1944
Place of Birth: Santa Monica, California, United States
Birthday: 19 January

Shelley Fabares Body Measurements

Body Measurements: 33-25-33 Inches
Height / How Tall?: 5 Feet 5 Inches
Weight: 55 kilograms
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Shoe Size: Not Available
Dress Size: Not Available
Breast Size: 33 Inches
Waist Size: 25 Inches
Hip Size: 33 Inches

Shelley Fabares Family and Relationship

Father (Dad): James Alan Fabares
Mother: Elsa R. Eyler
Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): Nanette
Marital Status: Married
Dating / Girlfriend or Dating / Boyfriend: Married to actor Mike Farrell
Children: Not Available

Shelley Fabares Net Worth and Salary

Net Worth: $3 million
Salary: Under Review
Source of Income: Actress and Singer

Shelley Fabares Career

Early TV appearances

Fabares’s acting debut was at the age of 3. At the age of 10, she made her first appearance on television in an episode of Letter to Loretta, “The Clara Schuman Story” (1954). Early TV appearances included the Producers’ Showcase adaptation of Our Town starring Frank Sinatra and Paul Newman. She was Young Cathy in a Matinee Theatre adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

Fabares had small parts in The Girl Rush (1955), Never Say Goodbye (1956), The Bad Seed (1956), Rock, Pretty Baby! (1956), Jeanne Eagels (1957), Marjorie Morningstar (1958), and Summer Love (1958). On TV she was in Captain Midnight, Annie Oakley, Fury, and Colgate Theatre.

She portrayed Moselle Corey on Annette (1958) starring Annette Funicello. She guest-starred on Mr. Novak, The Eleventh Hour, Arrest and Trial, and The Twilight Zone (“Black Leather Jackets”).

The Donna Reed Show

In 1958, Fabares landed the role of Mary Stone in the long-running family sitcom The Donna Reed Show. This ran until 1966. Fabares quickly established herself as a favorite with teen audiences.

“Donna Reed was simply an extraordinary woman, a woman of great strength, kindness, integrity, and compassion,” said Fabares later of her television mother.

Singer

Fabares’ national popularity led to a recording contract and two “Top 40” hits, including “Johnny Angel,” which went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1962, and peaked at number 41 in the UK. It sold over one million copies and was certified gold. She released an album, Shelley!. “I was stunned about that, to put it mildly,” she later said. “After all, I never could sing.”

This was followed by a second album, The Things We Did Last Summer (album), which included two hit songs “Johnny Loves Me” (no. 21) and “The Things We Did Last Summer” (no. 46).

Fabares left The Donna Reed Show in 1963 (she would return periodically until its end in 1966) to pursue other acting opportunities. She released a third album, Teenage Triangle in 1963.

Film career

Fabares was one of the female leads in the surf film Ride the Wild Surf (1964). She was Elvis Presley’s leading lady in Girl Happy (1965) for MGM and played the love interest of Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits in Hold On! at the same studio.

MGM made a pilot for a TV series based on Meet Me in St. Louis with Fabares in the lead but no network was receptive to it. She was reunited with Elvis for Spinout (1966) at MGM and Clambake (1967), at United Artists. Sam Katzman cast her as the love interest of a young Hank Williams Jr. in A Time to Sing (1968).

TV guest spots

Film roles dried up in the late 1960s and Fabares went back to guest-starring on shows like The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, Daniel Boone, Medical Center, Lancer, Bracken’s World, and The Interns.

Fabares said she went through a period where she struggled to find work. “I went to bed on Tuesday having worked since I was 3. I got up Wednesday morning and didn’t work for four years, went to bed Wednesday night after four years, got up and interviewed for a Mannix episode, and started working again. I think this business is very cyclical. You go through busy times and you go through dead times.”

After Mannix, she was in Longstreet, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, Love, American Style, Rockford Files, McCloud and Cade’s County.

“I wasn’t a big risk-taker,” she said later. “I should have been more aggressive. I was nervous and scared to try something really different.”

Fabares had support roles in TV movies like Brian’s Song (1971) (playing the wife of Brian Piccolo, played by James Caan), and Two for the Money (1972). Her performance in Brian’s Song earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

The Brian Keith Show, The Practice

Fabares had a regular role on The Brian Keith Show (1972–1974), known as The Little People during its first season, which lasted for 47 episodes. When the show ended she resumed guest shots: Police Story, Ironside, The Rockford Files, The Rookies, Matt Helm, Medical Story, Marcus Welby, M.D., Barnaby Jones, and Spencer’s Pilots.

She had a role in the TV movie Sky Heist (1975) and from 1976 to 1977 had a regular part on The Practice with Danny Thomas.

Forever Fernwood, One Day at a Time, and Highcliffe Manor

She then had a regular role on Forever Fernwood. In 1978, Fabares played Francine Webster on the CBS sitcom One Day at a Time, a role she reprised for the last three years of the show. “I was Francine, a rather villainous character,” she said later. “She was wonderful. She saw the world only through her eyes, and it never occurred to her that other people didn’t.”

She was also in episodes of Lucan, Vega$, The Incredible Hulk, Hello, Larry, and Fantasy Island. Fabares was in the TV movies Pleasure Cove (1979), Donovan’s Kid (1979), Friendships, Secrets and Lies (1979) and The Great American Traffic Jam (1980).

She had the starring role in the TV series Highcliffe Manor (1979) but it only lasted six episodes.

1980s

In the 1980s Fabares could be seen on Mork & Mindy, Matt Houston, The Love Boat, Newhart, and Murder, She Wrote.

She did a TV movie on Memorial Day (1983) with Mike Farrell who became her husband, as well as movies Suburban Beat (1985), The Canterville Ghost (1985), Hot Pursuit (1987), and Run Till You Fall (1988).

Coach

In 1989, she won the role of Christine Armstrong Fox on the ABC sitcom Coach. “Here was an intelligent, funny, well-written series,” Fabares said, “And the people putting it on wanted me to play a very successful, ambitious woman in it.”

The series originally struggled in the ratings until it shifted to play after Roseanne. It was a hit and played until 1997. For her work, Fabares was nominated twice for a Primetime Emmy Award, and, in 1994, she was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star “Lifetime Achievement” Award for her role as Mary Stone on The Donna Reed Show.

During the series’ run Fabares appeared on Love or Money (1990), Deadly Relations (1993), The Great Mom Swap (1995), and A Nightmare Come True (1997).

Later career

After Coach ended in 1997, Fabares voiced the role of Martha “Ma” Kent on Superman: The Animated Series. She reprised the role twice, once for a 2003 episode of Justice League and again for the direct-to-video film Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006). She was in Playing to Win: A Moment of Truth Movie (1998). From 2004 to 2011 she produced the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Frequently Asked Questions About Shelley Fabares

Who is Shelley?

Michele Ann Marie is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcom Coach (1989–97), the latter of which earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations.

How old is Shelley?

Shelley is 77 years old as of 2021. She was born on 19 January 1944 in Santa Monica, California, United States. Additionally, Fabares celebrates her birthday on January 19th every year.

How tall is Shelley?

Shelley stands at an average height of 5 Feet 5 Inches (1.63 meters) tall and she also weighs 55 kilograms (121 lbs). Her body measurements are 33-25-33 Inches. She has dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Is Shelley married?

Shelley is a married woman. She was first married in 1964 to a producer named Lou Adler. They separated in 1966 and divorced in 1980. Since 1984, she has been married to actor Mike Farrell. She has not shared information about her having children.

How much is Shelley worth?

Fabares has an estimated net worth of $3 million dollars as of 2020. This includes her assets, money, and income. Her primary source of income is her career as an actress and singer. Through her various sources of income, Shelley has been able to accumulate good fortune but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.

How much does Shelley make?