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Lori Loughlin
STAND UP TO CANCER.jpg
Loughlin in 2016
Born
Lori Anne Loughlin

(1964-07-28) July 28, 1964 (age 60)
New York City, U.S.
Education Hauppauge High School
Occupation
  • Actress
Years active 1979–present
Known for Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis in Full House
Jody Travis in The Edge of Night
Spouse(s)
Michael R. Burns
(m. 1989; div. 1996)
Mossimo Giannulli
(m. 1997)
Children 2, including Olivia Jade

Lori Anne Loughlin (/ˈlɒklɪn/; born July 28, 1964) is an American actress. From 1988 to 1995, she played Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House, and reprised the role for its Netflix sequel Fuller House (2016–2018). Loughlin is also known for her roles of Jody Travis in The Edge of Night (1980–1983), Debbie Wilson in The CW series 90210 (2008–2012), Jennifer Shannon in the Garage Sale Mystery television film series (2013–2018), and Abigail Stanton in When Calls the Heart (2014–2019). She was a co-creator, producer, and star of the two seasons of The WB series Summerland (2004–2005).

In 2020, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal. She was sentenced to two months in prison in October 2020 and was released in December 2020.

Early life

Loughlin was born in Queens, New York and moved to Oceanside on Long Island when she was one year old. Later, her family moved to Hauppauge, NY. She has one younger brother, Roy, and is of Irish descent; their parents are Lorellee and Joseph Roy Loughlin, a foreman for the New York Telephone Company.

Loughlin attended Oaks School No. 3 Elementary School in Oceanside, New York, and graduated from Hauppauge High School.

Career

Lori Laughlin
Loughlin at a 1986 shoot for the television film Brotherhood of Justice

Loughlin became interested in acting as a young child; she began her career at age 11 as a print model, recalling:

My mom had a friend that was going into Manhattan to meet with an agency for modeling. She was taking her teenage daughters in and she asked my mom if I wanted to go along. My mom reluctantly let me go, but I don't think she ever thought anything would come of it. And I went in and they handed me a contract and said, "We'll take you."

At 15, she was cast in the ABC soap opera The Edge of Night, playing the part of Jody Travis, an aspiring dancer, appearing in the series from 1980 to 1983. From 1983 to 1988, Loughlin appeared in more than a dozen feature films and television guest spots. She starred in the 1986 BMX classic, Rad.

From 1988 to 1995, Loughlin was cast in the ABC sitcom Full House as Rebecca "Aunt Becky" Donaldson, Danny Tanner's (Bob Saget) co-host, and later, Jesse Katsopolis's (John Stamos) wife. She was initially set for a six-episode arc, but then became a regular after becoming a popular character on the series. A few months after Full House ended, Loughlin co-starred with Tony Danza in the ABC sitcom Hudson Street (1995–96). The series was cancelled after one season.

In 1993, she starred in the television adaptation of Sidney Sheldon's novel A Stranger in the Mirror, a roman à clef on Groucho Marx and Erin Fleming, in which Loughlin plays Fleming's role. In 1997, she starred alongside Bruce Campbell in the film In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory. In 2000, Loughlin co-starred opposite Treat Williams in the Fred Olen Ray-directed thriller film Critical Mass. She also guest starred in Suddenly Susan, Spin City, Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show, and as the superhero Black Canary in the Birds of Prey series in 2002.

From 2004 to 2005, Loughlin co-created, produced, and starred in The WB drama series Summerland. She played Ava, the aunt who raises three children after their parents die in a car accident. The series was canceled after two seasons due to low ratings on July 11, 2005. In 2007, Loughlin co-starred in the ABC sitcom In Case of Emergency with David Arquette. She appeared in the film Moondance Alexander (2007), co-starring with her former Summerland castmate Kay Panabaker. Loughlin also was in attendance at Comedy Central's The Roast of Bob Saget which was hosted by John Stamos and premiered on August 17, 2008. At her table were Full House co-stars Dave Coulier and Jodie Sweetin. In 2010, Loughlin starred in the television film Meet My Mom, which premiered on the Hallmark Channel on Mother's Day. For the network, she most notably starred in the drama When Calls the Heart and the telefilm series Garage Sale Mystery before she was fired in 2019. On April 10, 2019, it was reported that When Calls The Heart would be returning after a production hiatus without Loughlin's character.

Lori Loughlin
Loughlin at the 2008 premiere party for CW's 90210

She co-starred in seasons one through three of the Beverly Hills, 90210 spin-off 90210 as Debbie Wilson from 2008 to 2011. She reprised her role in the season five premiere episode in 2012.

Loughlin made a brief appearance as Aunt Becky, alongside John Stamos as Jesse Katsopolis, on a July 2013 episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, following a reunion performance by Jesse and The Rippers. She has since made several appearances as Rebecca on the Full House sequel series Fuller House, which premiered its first season on Netflix on February 26, 2016.

As a result of her involvement in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal, the Hallmark Channel terminated their on-going business relationship with Loughlin on March 14, and edited out her previously recorded scenes from the yet un-aired season six of When Calls the Heart. On March 16, Netflix dropped her from Fuller House, and technology firm Hewlett-Packard announced it would remove Loughlin and her daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli from its advertising.

When the spinoff series When Hope Calls was renewed for a second season by GAC Family, however, Loughlin appeared in the late 2021 season premiere—her first television acting appearance since her arrest—reprising her role as Abigail Stanton, her character from When Calls the Heart. She later appeared in other GAC original movies.

In 2020, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal. She was sentenced to two months in prison and was released in December 2020.

Personal life

Loughlin is Catholic. She married investment banker Michael R. Burns in 1989, and they divorced in 1996. On Thanksgiving 1997, Loughlin eloped with fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, the creator of the Mossimo clothing line, whom she met in 1995. They have two daughters, Isabella Rose and Olivia Jade, and Loughlin is a stepmother to Gianni, Giannulli's son from a previous marriage. Olivia has a YouTube channel and an Instagram account, both with more than 1 million subscribers/followers as of 2015.

In 2020, Loughlin and her husband Giannulli sold their Bel Air estate for $18.75 million to Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen. The home was built in 1929 and was previously lived in by Harry Cohn, Johnny Hyde and Charles Bronson.

2019 arrest

Loughlin and her husband Giannulli were indicted by the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office for fraud and bribery offenses on March 12, 2019, in a nationwide college bribery scandal. The following day, Loughlin and her husband surrendered to federal authorities in Los Angeles. On May 22, 2020, Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and her husband pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud.

Sentencing took place on August 21, 2020. Loughlin was sentenced to two months in prison while her husband was sentenced to five months. She served her two-month prison sentence at FCI Dublin in northern California from October 30, 2020 to December 28, 2020. At that time she was given a two-year supervised release, which expired in December 2022. In addition, she was fined $150,000 and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service upon her release. Giannulli was sentenced to five months in prison, fined $250,000 and ordered to complete 250 hours of community service. Giannulli reported to prison on November 19, 2020. On April 2, 2021, he was released to home confinement before completing his sentence on April 16, 2021. Loughlin's daughters were able to remain enrolled at USC.

Additional fall-out occurred when Loughlin and Giannulli were named as defendants in a private class-action lawsuit brought by Stanford University graduates, who alleged their education and degrees had been devalued due to their school's association with the case.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1983 Amityville 3-D Susan Baxter
1985 New Kids, TheThe New Kids Abby McWilliams
Secret Admirer Toni Williams
1986 Rad Christian Hollings
1987 Back to the Beach Sandi
1988 Night Before, TheThe Night Before Tara Mitchell
1997 Casper: A Spirited Beginning Sheila Fistergraff Direct-to-video
In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory Jill Erickson
2000 Critical Mass Janine
2001 Suckers Donna Deluca
2006 Farce of the Penguins Melvin-Smacking Penguin Voice, direct-to-video
2007 Moondance Alexander Gelsey Alexander
2009 Old Dogs Amanda
2013 Crawlspace Susan Gates

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1980–1983 Edge of Night, TheThe Edge of Night Jody Travis Regular role: June 1980 to December 1983
1982 Matt Houston Sue Landa Episode: "Shark Bait"
1983 Tom Swift and Linda Craig Mystery Hour, TheThe Tom Swift and Linda Craig Mystery Hour Linda Craig Television film
1985 North Beach and Rawhide Candy Cassidy Television film (CBS)
1986 Brotherhood of Justice Christie Television film (ABC)
1986–1987 Equalizer, TheThe Equalizer Jenny Morrow 2 episodes
1986, 1988 CBS Schoolbreak Special Kelly, Sally 2 episodes
1987 Place to Call Home, AA Place to Call Home Jenny Gavin Television film (CBS)
1988 CBS Summer Playhouse Tammy Episode: "Old Money"
Great Performances Kay Cork 2 episodes
1988–1995 Full House Rebecca Katsopolis Recurring role: season 2; main role: season 3–8. 152 episodes.
1992 Doing Time on Maple Drive Allison Television film (Fox)
1993 Empty Cradle Jane Morgan Television film (ABC)
A Stranger in the Mirror Jill Castle Television film (ABC)
1994 One of Her Own Toni Stroud Television film (ABC)
1995 Abandoned and Deceived Gerri Jensen Television film (ABC)
1995–1997 Hudson Street Melanie Clifford Main role
Tell Me No Secrets Jess Koster Television film (ABC)
In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory Jill Erickson Television film (NBC)
Larry Sanders Show, TheThe Larry Sanders Show Herself Episode: "The Prank"
Suddenly Susan Paula Episode: "With Friends Like These"
Price of Heaven, TheThe Price of Heaven Leslie Television film
Seinfeld Patty Episode: "The Serenity Now"
Medusa's Child Dr. Linda McCoy Television film (ABC)
2001 Cursed Natalie Keith Episode: "...And Then They Tried to Make Some Rules"
Spin City Michelle 3 episodes
2002 Birds of Prey Caroline Lance / Black Canary Episode: "Sins of the Mother"
Drew Carey Show, TheThe Drew Carey Show Robin 2 episodes
Eastwick Sukie Ridgemont Television film
2004 Justice League Unlimited Dr. Tracy Simmons Voice, episode: "The Greatest Story Never Told"
2004–2005 Summerland Ava Gregory Lead role
2005 Missing Dr. Joy Gribben Episode: "Anything for Baby"
2006 Jake in Progress Lindsay Episode: "The Two Jakes"
Ghost Whisperer Christine Greene Episode: "Demon Child"
2007 In Case of Emergency Dr. Joanna Lupone Main role
2008–2012 90210 Debbie Wilson Main role: seasons 1–3
2010 Soldier Love Story Dana Marshall Television film (Hallmark)
2013 Mother's Rage, AA Mother's Rage Rebecca Mayer Television film
Psych Dr. Joan Diamond Episode: "Nip and Suck It"
Major Crimes Rebecca Slater Episode: "The Deep End"
Addicts Anonymous Mrs. Goldberg Episode: "Choices"
2013–2018 Garage Sale Mystery Jennifer Shannon Television film series (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
2014 Neighbors, TheThe Neighbors Tina Giannulli Episode: "High School Reunion"
2014 Enlisted Herself Episode "Alive Day"
2014–2019 When Calls the Heart Abigail Stanton Main role, seasons 1–6
2015 Northpole: Open for Christmas Mackenzie Warren Television film (Hallmark)
2016 Blue Bloods Grace Edwards Episode: "The Greater Good"
Every Christmas Has a Story Kate Harper Television film (Hallmark)
2016–2018 Fuller House Rebecca Katsopolis Recurring role: 13 episodes
2018 Homegrown Christmas Maddie Finley Television film (Hallmark)
2021 When Hope Calls Abigail Stanton 2 episodes
2023 Fall Into Winter Kerrie Murphy Television film (Great American Family)
Blessings of Christmas Mandy Gilmore
2024 Ted Herself 1 episode; Archive footage
Curb Your Enthusiasm Herself 1 episode; "The Gettysburg Address"

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result Ref.
1987 Young Artist Awards Michael Landon Award CBS Schoolbreak Special Won
1989 Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special CBS Schoolbreak Special Nominated
2006 PRISM Awards Best Performance in a Drama Series Storyline Summerland Won
2009 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Parental Unit 90210 Nominated

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lori Loughlin para niños

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