Charlotte Rae was born Charlotte Lubotsky on April 22, 1926 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Growing up, Charlotte Rae claims she wanted to be a star just so she would feel like she fit in. To that end she moved to New York City where she met and eventually married composer John Strauss. During her early years she rubbed elbows with other young actors such as Paul Lynde, Uncle Arthur from Bewitched, and Cloris Leachman, her one-time NYC roommate who would later replace her on The Facts of Life.

Rae's early work includes regular roles as Silvia Schnauser on Car 54, Where Are You? and Molly the Mail Lady on Sesame Street. She also co-starred in the Emmy-winning TV movie Queen of the Stardust Ballroom. But her most famous role was as Edna Garrett, originally introduced as the Drummonds' housekeeper in Diff'rent Strokes, and then the Eastland School housemother/nutritionist in the spinoff The Facts of Life.

Mindy Cohn was born May 20th, 1966 in Los Angeles, California.

Mindy Cohn, known to most as the somewhat neurotic Natalie Green on The Facts of Life, has been an actress, a talk-show hostess and a game-show guest star. Mindy also earned her college degree in sociology from Loyola Marymount University in 1995, which was put to good use on a Phoenix-based radio talk show (106.3FM The Edge) where she discussed teen issues alongside co-host Alan Thicke. (Coincidentally, Thicke co-wrote the Facts of Life theme song.)

Cohn has also appeared on shows like 21 Jump Street, Suddenly Susan and HBO's acclaimed Dream On, as well as several television specials for Disney.

In 1993, she co-starred with comedian John Mendoza on the NBC sitcom The Second Half.

Mindy has an older sister named Pam who was a stand-in for her on the show.

More recently, she was the voice of Candy Yuponce on the syndicated TBS series The Chimp Channel, and appeared as Toni in the 2000 film Alone with a Stranger. She also does a voice of a character on the FOX animated series The Kids From Room 402.

She has acted in independent features and also taped a few pilots. She has started her own company, along with two other partners, called Storm Productions. She has a development deal with Disney, meaning she is under contract to Disney for them to create roles and projects for her to star in.

Nancy McKeon was born in Westbury, New York on April 4th, 1966. She has only one brother, Philip McKeon, who is 18 months older and whom she appeared in over 60 commercials with over the years. Her middle name is Justine.

From her childhood home in Forest Hills, NY, Nancy McKeon began her career as a catalogue model and actress on commercials and the now defunct soap opera The Secret Storm.

When her brother Philip was cast to play Tommy on the series Alice, the McKeon clan headed for the West Coast. Nancy soon shared her brother's success. She was cast in hit shows like Starsky and Hutch, The Love Boat, Alice and, of course, The Facts of Life. McKeon's amazing ability to cry on cue as Jo Polniaczek on The Facts of Life won her the nickname her "Faucet Face" from her cast mates.

After The Facts of Life was cancelled, Nancy made several guest appearances on television series and hosted Friday Night Videos opposite Michael Damian (whom she dated). McKeon is now best known for an impressive list of made-for-TV movies.

Nancy currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Mackenzie Astin was born MacKenzie Alexander Astin was born in Los Angeles, California on May 12th, 1973. He is the son of actor John Astin and actress Patty Duke. His older brother is actor Sean Astin.

He has acted steadily since The Facts of Life ended. In 1996 he appeared in The Evening Star. His most recent credits include The Long Island Incident (1998 tv movie), The Last Days of Disco (1998), Dream for an Insomniac (1998); Selma, Lord, Selma (1999 tv movie), The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999), Stranger Than Fiction (1999), and Off the Lip (2000).

Most recently he was seen on the NBC drama 'First Years' which was cancelled after 3 episodes.

Lisa Whelchel was born Lisa Diane Whelchel May 29th, 1963 in Littlefield, Texas.

As a youngster, Texas native Lisa Whelchel appeared in several productions at the famed Casa Manana Dinner Theatre. But Lisa's Hollywood career began with a spot on The New Mickey Mouse Club. She was one of more than 6,000 young hopefuls to audition. (Producers created an additional spot especially for her.)

After her Mousketeer days and a couple of roles in made-for-TV movies, Whelchel was cast as Blair Warner on The Facts of Life. During the show's run, Lisa added recording artist to her resume. Her 1984 album "All Because of You" earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Inspirational Performance.

Recently her book, Creative Correction: Extraordinary Ideas for Everyday Discipline, about child discipline was released. Lisa works with her husband who is an associate pastor in the Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California. She continues to home school her three children.

In the summer of 2001, Lisa and her family started a vacation across the US to promote her books on a tour. Her 2nd book which was released in October 2001 is called The Facts of Life and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me.

Kim Fields was born May 12th, 1969 in New York City, New York.

Kim Fields, a New York City native and longtime L.A. resident, made her debut on Sesame Street at the tender age of five. But one of her most recognizable early roles was as the little girl who "looooooved" Mrs. Butterworth in the classic syrup commercial. After a stint on the series Baby I'm Back and an appearance in the miniseries Roots, Kim landed the role of Tootie on The Facts of Life.

When the show began filming, Fields was so short that the producers put Tootie in roller skates to avoid difficult camera angles. Ironically, she had lost a role on Diff'rent Strokes because she was too tall to play Gary Coleman's girlfriend.

She graduated from Pepperdine University in 1990 with a Bachelor's degree in communications and film film. In addition to acting and directing, Kim taught at an acting school. At Pepperdine, she started her own production company specializing in Christian themes, Victory Entertainment Inc.

She also landed a guest starring role in the Lifetime Network's new hit drama "Strong Medicine" which is executive produced by Whoopie Goldberg. In addition, Fields has recently returned from San Francisco where she was on location shooting the romantic comedy "Me & Mrs. Jones," an Independent Feature. She is the President and CEO of Little Mogul Holdings, Inc. and Victory Entertainment, Inc., the latter is a multi faceted entertainment company producing quality projects in television, film, and theater.

Kim was married to business executive Johnathon Franklin Freeman in July 1995 and divorced in 1998. She has a younger sister named Alexis who is an actress and appeared on The Secret World of Alex Mack and Sister, Sister and her mother's name is Chip and is an actress and drama teacher (she appeared on The Facts of Life as her mother).

Cloris Leachman replaced Charlotte Rae as she took the role of Beverly Ann Stickle, Mrs. Garrett's sister, from 1986-1988.

Cloris Leachman was born April 30th, 1926 in Des Moines, Iowa.

Cloris Leachman, a one-time Miss Chicago in 1946, went on to become one of the most prolific actresses on television. While most people know her as Mrs. Garrett's sister and replacement, Beverly Ann Stickle, on The Facts of Life or the self-absorbed Phyllis Lindstrom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spinoff Phyllis, she has appeared in over 100 different television series. As of the year 2000, Leachman remains the only actress to have won five Emmy Awards in five different categories.

The former beauty queen turned heads in 1997 when she did a controversial magazine cover for Alternative Medicine Digest where she appeared clad only in body paint. More recently she acted in Hal Prince's national tour of Showboat.

In the summer of 1999, she appeared in the short-lived CBS sitcom Thanks.

Her most recent credits include: Music of the Heart (1999), Hanging Up (2000), The Amati Girls (2000), and Manna From Heaven (2001).

She is currently appearing on the CBS sitcom, 'The Ellen Show'.

She is the mother of five children.