Lisa Whelchel was a former actress on American television shows. Most notably, she was a Mouseketeer on Disney’s The New Mickey Mouse Club. She was also famous in the late 70s and early 80s for her show The Facts of Life. Apart from her television shows, she has a successful career as a motivational speaker, and as an author. Her album All Because of You won her a Grammy Award for the Best Inspirational Performance. Another of her prominent appearances has been on Survivor: Philippines where she reached the runner-up position at the finale. Her blog identifies her as actor, speaker, and author. She is known for her staunch Christian beliefs.
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Early Childhood and Religious Beliefs
Lisa Whelchel’s birth town is Littlefield in Texas. Her mother, Virginia, was a real estate agent, while her father Jimmy Whelchel worked as an electrician. She has two siblings – a brother and a half-sister from her mother’s second marriage after her divorce. She was brought up mostly in Fort Worth in Texas.
Whelchel is a Born-Again Christian, a faith that she adopted when she was ten years old. Since then, she has been very vocal about her beliefs, which have shaped her personal as well as her professional life in several ways.
Career as an Actor
Her first acting tryst began when she was barely twelve. She auditioned for Disney’s The New Mickey Mouse Club in 1977, got selected, and became a Mouseketeer. This role gave her popularity as a child actor. Then in 1979, she got a bigger shot to fame when she was cast as Blair Warner on the hit TV show The Facts of Life. This was a long-running show that spanned almost a decade and made Whelchel a household name, and led her to winning the Young Artists’ Award several times. She also participated in the Survivor chapter of Philippines and became the second winner.
Career as a Music Performer
Whelchel wrote and performed the songs of an album titled All Because of You. This was a Christian pop album that spoke about her religious faiths. For this album, she received the Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance in 1984. However, this is her only recorded album to date, though she has made appearances with other musicians such as Steve Taylor.
Career as a Writer
Whelchel has authored several books about various aspects of her Christian beliefs. Her book Creative Correction spoke of some unconventional ideas which were highly debated. Apart from this, she has written books in other genres such as So You’re Thinking about Homeschooling, Friendships for Grownups, Speaking Mom-ese, and The Facts of Life (and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me).
Personal Life
In 1988, Whelchel married Steven Cauble, an associate pastor at the church she attended in Van Nuys, The Church on the Way. With him, she had three children. The couple divorced in 2012. Recently, she has announced through her social media on Twitter and Instagram accounts that she has contracted the arbovirus and working at recuperation. Her net worth is estimated to be $3 million.
Last Modified: Apr 7, 2020
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