Shelley Fabares

About

Michele Ann Marie “Shelley” Fabares (; born January 19, 1944) is a retired American actress and singer. She is known for her television roles as Francine Webster on One Day at a Time, Mary on the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcom Coach (1989–1997), the latter of which earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations. Her film roles include playing the leading lady to Elvis Presley in Girl Happy (1965), Spinout (1966), and Clambake (1967). In 1962, her recording of “Johnny Angel” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Fabares was born in Santa Monica, California on January 19, 1944. She was born to James Alan Fabares (1909–1977), who was born in Algiers, New Orleans, and Elsa R. Eyler, who died from Alzheimer’s disease in 1992. She has an older sister Nanette (“Smokey”). She is the niece of actress Nanette Fabray (née Fabares). She graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1961.

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 Schumann Story” (1954).
Early TV appearances…