Michele Ann Marie “Shelley” Fabares is a retired singer and actor. She first appeared on television more than 70 years ago. She is most known for roles on The Donna Reed Show, One Day at a Time, and Coach. She had a number-one hit single in the early 60s. She is 81 years old (January 19, 1944) and was born in Santa Monica, California.
Fabares was just 10 years old when she appeared on The Loretta Young Show on NBC in 1954. In the mid to late 50s, she appeared on shows such as Our Town, Annie Oakley, and Colgate Theatre. In 1958, she appeared in 15 episodes of Walt Disney Presents: Annette. The show appeared inside of the parent program The Mickey Mouse Club to help take advantage of the popularity of the Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.
In 1958, Fabares was cast as Mary Stone, one of the teenagers on the ABC sitcom The Donna Reed Show. The show proved popular. She appeared in nearly 200 episodes. She left the show in 1965 after seven seasons. The series lasted one more season.
In the early 60s, Fabares released a series of albums. She hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962 with Johnny Angel. Johnny Loves Me hit number 21 just a few months later.
Fabares was guest-starring on other television shows even while she was a regular on The Donna Reed Show. In the 60s, she appeared on shows like The Twilight Zone, Daniel Boone, and Medical Center. In the early 70s, she appeared on shows such as Mannix and McCloud before landing her next regular role. In 1972, she starred as Dr. Anne Jamison in The Brian Keith Show for two seasons. The show was known as The Little People during its first season. Fabares was a sought-after guest star during the 70s and appeared on Ironside, The Rockford Files, The Rookies, Barnaby Jones, Marcus Welby, M.D., Vega$, and The Incredible Hulk. She was a regular on The Practice with the legendary Danny Thomas in 1976. She appeared in the popular TV movie Brian’s Song as Joy Piccolo.
In 1978, Fabares was cast as Francine Webster on the CBS hit sitcom One Day at a Time. She started out as a guest star in season three but appeared more and more frequently and eventually was part of the main cast. Her aunt, Nanette Fabray, appeared in the show at the same time. The show ended in 1984 after nine seasons. She continued her frequent guest roles, during and after One Day at a Time, in shows like Mork & Mindy, The Love Boat, Matt Houston, Newhart, and Murder, She Wrote.
In 1989, Fabares was cast as Christine Armstrong in the ABC sitcom Coach, opposite Craig T. Nelson. The series was quite popular, especially during the middle years of its nine-season run. She appeared in all but one episode of the 200 episodes created and was nominated for two Emmy Awards. She voiced the role of Martha Kent in Superman: The Animated Series in the mid-90s, a single episode of the Justice League in 2003, and Superman: Brainiac Attacks, a 2006 film.
Fabares has rarely appeared in film, and most of those appearances were early in her career. She starred with Elvis Presley in three films in the mid-60s: Girl Happy, Spinout, and Clambake.
Fabares hasn’t appeared on screen (voice only) since receiving a liver transplant in 2000. She was injured in a fall in the late 90s that broke all of her ribs, which led to a diagnosis of liver problems. She credits her husband for years of nursing her back to health.
Fabares married famed record producer Lou Adler in 1964. They divorced in 1980 after a long separation. She has been married to former M*A*S*H actor Mike Farrell (pictured in 2025 with friend and civil rights lawyer Tracy Rice) for 40 years. He has his own biography on our page. They live in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles.
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