Lisa Whelchel

Lisa Diane Whelchel (born May 29, 1963) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, author, and public speaker. She is known for her appearances as a Mouseketeer on The New Mickey Mouse Club and her nine-year role as the preppy and wealthy Blair Warner on The Facts of Life. In 1984, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance for her contemporary Christian album All Because of You. Since 2009, she has been a regular speaker with Women of Faith Christian conferences. In 2012, Whelchel participated as a contestant on the CBS competitive reality series Survivor: Philippines and tied for second place.[1] She was also voted fan favorite and was awarded $100,000.[2]

Lisa Whelchel
Born
Lisa Diane Whelchel

(1963-05-29) May 29, 1963
Other namesLisa Cauble
OccupationActress, singer, songwriter, author, public speaker, housewife, life coach
Years active1977–present
OrganizationWomen of Faith
Notable work
The Facts of Life
The New Mickey Mouse Club
All Because of You
Survivor: Philippines
StyleContemporary Christian
Spouse(s)
Steven Cauble
(m. 1988; div. 2012)

Pete Harris (m. 2019-present)
Children3
Websitelisawhelchel.com

Early life

Lisa Whelchel was born on May 29, 1963, in Littlefield, Texas. She is the daughter of Virginia "Genny" (née French), a real estate agent, and James "Jimmy" Whelchel Sr., an electrician.[3] Her parents divorced in 1981, and her mother married Roy Coleman in 1983. Lisa is the elder sister of James "Cody" Whelchel Jr., and the elder half-sister of Casey Justice Coleman. She also has a nephew, Chasin (Cody's son). Lisa and Cody were raised for most of their childhood in Fort Worth, Texas, and she was in the class of 1980 at Liberty Christian Academy in Argyle, Texas.

When Whelchel was ten years old, she became a born-again Christian; she has devoted her life to her Christian faith.[4] On July 9, 1988, Whelchel married Steven Cauble, who was an associate pastor at The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California, which Whelchel attended at the time. The couple, who have three adult children, divorced in March 2012 and remain on friendly terms.[5] In 2019, Whelchel married Pete Harris, who is a psychologist based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Acting career

The New Mickey Mouse Club

At age 12, Whelchel was recruited in Texas by talent scouts who were looking for children interested in working with Disney Studios as a Mouseketeer on The New Mickey Mouse Club. She moved to California the next year and appeared on the show in syndication from 1977 to 1978.

The Facts of Life

Whelchel was probably best known for being a main cast member of The Facts of Life where she portrayed Blair Warner, an uppity prep student. Her character was also played by her on Diff'rent Strokes, the show The Facts of Life spun off of. Whelchel once refused a storyline that would have made her character the first among the four main young women on the show to lose her virginity. Having become a Christian when she was ten years old, Whelchel refused because of her Christian convictions, and the storyline was rewritten for the character of "Natalie," portrayed by Mindy Cohn.[6] This was the only episode of the series in which Whelchel did not appear.

In 2001, Whelchel reprised her role as Blair Warner for the made-for-television movie, The Facts of Life Reunion.

On March 7, 2004, Whelchel was reunited with Charlotte Rae to perform The Facts of Life theme song at the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood. In spring 2006, she appeared with two of her Facts of Life co-stars on The Today Show to promote the show's DVD releases of the first and second seasons, admitting to being "really bummed out" that Kim Fields was unable to attend. On February 1, 2007, Whelchel was reunited with Kim Fields on WFAA-TV's Good Morning Texas. Fields was in Dallas to promote her appearance in the production Issues: We've All Got 'Em', when Whelchel was introduced as a surprise guest. On April 10, 2011, Whelchel and the cast of The Facts of Life, including Charlotte Rae, Nancy McKeon, Mindy Cohn, Kim Fields, Geri Jewell, and Cloris Leachman were honored with the Pop Culture Award at the 9th Annual TV Land Awards at the Javits Center in New York City.

Music career

In 1984, Whelchel released a Christian pop album entitled All Because of You. The album reached No. 17 on the Billboard Contemporary Christian music charts. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance and was recognized as the writer of the title song, "All Because of You".[7][8] Among the songs featured on the album were "All Because of You", "Just Obey", "Cover Me Lord", and "Good Girl". She did not record a second album. While she was appearing on The Facts of Life, she made a cameo appearance in the music video for contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter Steve Taylor's song "Meltdown (at Madame Tussaud's)". The song was the title track from the album Meltdown.

Speaking

Whelchel has been a regular inspirational speaker at churches and conferences nationwide since 2004. In 2000, she founded Momtime Ministries, a religious network of mothers' groups who meet weekly to "equip and refresh and encourage" each other.[9] In 2009, she began touring with the Women of Faith conferences, speaking on various issues including motherhood, child discipline and friendship.

Writing

Whelchel has written ten books on motherhood, child discipline, adult friendships, homeschooling, and finding Jesus through the development of holiday traditions. Additional topics from a spiritual point of view include prayer and wisdom. She is the bestselling author of So You're Thinking About Homeschooling and The Facts of Life (and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me).

Lisa Whelchel has been honored as a Gold Medallion nominee for her book on child discipline, entitled Creative Correction.

Survivor

On August 20, 2012, Whelchel was announced as a contestant in Survivor: Philippines as a member of the Tandang tribe. She joined retired Major League Baseball star Jeff Kent as one of the season's two "celebrity" contestants.[10] A former television star, she elected to keep her true identity a secret from the other contestants, many of whom were too young to have watched The Facts of Life during its original run and thus did not recognize her.

On November 14, 2012, Whelchel announced via her Twitter account that she was suffering from West Nile fever and had been advised by her doctor that recovery would take approximately one year. She did not specify whether she had contracted the arbovirus while in the Philippines shooting Survivor.[11]

On December 16, 2012, Whelchel made it to the Final Tribal Council, where fellow contestant and jury member Jonathan Penner revealed to the rest of the jury that she was a former child star. In the end, she received one jury vote from RC Saint-Amour and tied with returning contestant Michael Skupin for runner-up, both losing to eventual winner Denise Stapley. She was also voted the Sprint Player of the Season, winning $100,000 by a margin of about .7 percent against Malcolm Freberg.

Hosting duties

On January 14, 2013, Whelchel co-hosted several episodes of The Jeff Probst Show with Survivor host, Jeff Probst.[12]

In January 2019, Whelchel promoted The Facts of Life marathon on the MeTV television network. MeTV has been airing Collector’s Call, which Whelchel hosts, since April 7, 2019.

Published works

  • Whelchel, Lisa. Creative Correction, Tyndale House Publishers, 320 pages, 2000. ISBN 978-1561799015
  • Whelchel, Lisa. The Facts of Life (and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me), Multnomah Books, 192 pages, 2001. ISBN 978-1590521489
  • Whelchel, Lisa. So You're Thinking About Homeschooling: Fifteen Families Show How You Can Do It (2nd edition), Multnomah Books, 224 pages, 2005. ISBN 978-1590525111
  • Whelchel, Lisa. How to Start Your Own Mom Time
  • The ADVENTure of Christmas: Helping Children Find Jesus in Our Holiday Traditions
  • Taking Care of the Me in Mommy
  • The Busy Mom's Guide to Prayer
  • The Busy Mom's Guide to Wisdom
  • The Busy Grandma's Guide to Prayer
  • Speaking Mom-ese: Moments of Peace & Inspiration in the Mother Tongue from One Mom's Heart to Yours

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1979The Double McGuffinJody
1979The Magician of LublinHalina
1992Where the Red Fern Grows: Part TwoSara ColemanDirect-to-video film
2013A Madea ChristmasNancy Porter

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1977–78The New Mickey Mouse ClubMouseketeer/Herself130 episodes
Main cast (Season 1–2)
1977The Wonderful World of DisneyMouseketeer/HerselfEpisode: "The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World"
1978FamilyCathy ConnellyEpisode: "All for Love"
1979The Wonderful World of DisneyRobin LappEpisode: "Shadow of Fear" (Parts 1 & 2)
1979–81Diff'rent StrokesBlair Warner2 episodes
1979–88The Facts of LifeBlair Warner200 episodes
Main cast (Seasons 1–9)
1980SkywardLisa WardTelevision film
1981-1990RosieBlondie Sharples / Blair WarnerRecurring; 190 episodes
1981TwirlJill MooreTelevision film
1982The Facts of Life Goes to ParisBlair WarnerTelevision film
1982The Wild Women of Chastity GulchAmy ColeTelevision film
1983–85The Love BoatCaroline Shea / Kelly Barrett4 episodes
1985Back to Next SaturdayBlair WarnerTelevision film
1987The Facts of Life Down UnderBlair WarnerTelevision film
2001The Facts of Life ReunionBlair WarnerTelevision film
2012Survivor: PhilippinesHerself14 episodes; Co-runner-up
2013The Jeff Probst ShowHerselfCo-host; 16 episodes
2014For Better or For WorseWendyTelevision film
2016Hearts of SpringCarly AshbyTelevision film
2016A Snow Capped ChristmasDale BensonTelevision film
2019Collector's CallHerselfHost; 13 episodes
You Light Up My ChristmasAurora TV Movie features surviving original cast of The Facts of Life.[13]

Music videos

Year Title Artist Role
1984 "Meltdown (at Madame Tussaud's)" Steve Taylor News reporter

Producer

Year Title Credited As Notes
2013 Lisa Whelchel's Everyday Workout for the Everyday Woman Executive producer Also director and host
2016 Hearts of Spring Co-executive producer Also actress

Discography

Year Title Label Distributor
1984All Because of YouNissi RecordsSparrow Records

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Work Result
1982 Young Artist Awards Best Young Comedienne - Motion Picture or Television The Facts of Life Nominated
1982 Best Young Actress in a Television Special Twirl Nominated
1983 Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series The Facts of Life Nominated
1984 Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated
1984 Grammy Awards Best Inspirational Performance All Because of You Nominated
2011 TV Land Awards Pop Culture Award (shared with cast) The Facts of Life Won

References

  1. Survivor. "Survivor Cast: Lisa". Cbs.com. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  2. Snyder, Leslie. "Flower Mound's Lisa Whelchel voted fan favorite in 'Survivor: Philippines'; gets $100K prize". Dallas News. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016.
  3. "Lisa Whelchel Biography (1963–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  4. Lisa Whelchel. "Lisa Whelchel: My Faith". Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
  5. Steve Helling (September 20, 2012). "Lisa Whelchel Is Divorced". Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  6. Bloom, Ken; Vlastnick, Frank (2007) Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies of All Time p. 98 Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
  7. Carolyn A. Burns. "Lisa Whelchel | Lisa Whelchel". TodaysChristianMusic.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  8. "Lisa Whelchel Biography at Simon & Schuster". Authors.simonandschuster.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  9. The State (Columbia, S.C.) (January 25, 2008). "Q&A / Lisa Whelchel". Retrieved February 11, 2008.
  10. Strecker, Erin. "'Survivor: Philippines' cast includes Lisa Whelchel and Jeff Kent | Inside TV | EW.com". Insidetv.ew.com. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  11. "Lisa Whelchel has West Nile Virus, 'Survivor' star reveals". Fox News. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  12. Carrie "Spicy" Milburn (December 17, 2012). "Survivor's Lisa Whelchel to Join Jeff Probst on Talk Show". Reality Nation. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  13. Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor (August 12, 2019). "TV Premiere Dates (2019-20) - Metacritic". Retrieved November 21, 2019.
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