With her first big break in the industry as a Mouseketeer on The New Mickey Mouse Club, Piekarski was destined to be an actress. Following her popularity working for Disney, Piekarski was cast as Sue Ann Weaver on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life from 1979-1981.
Piekarski, however, was among those who were culled from the show when the network decided to reboot the series. Whilst she appeared occasionally over the seasons, and in a reunion, her time with the show was short!
Kim Fields – Then
Born in Harlem, New York, Kim Fields landed her first acting gig at the age of 5, on Sesame Street! It wasn’t until 1978 however that she really gained some recognition, after scoring the role of Tootie Ramsey on Diff’rent Strokes.
Her character gave a very real insight into how kids dealt with real-life issues such as racism and inappropriate behavior towards children.
Kim Fields – Now
After her time on The Facts of Life, Fields had a five-year gig on the TV show Living Single which took her through the 90s. Sure, she was involved with The Facts of Life reunion and various interviews, however, she decidedly moved on with her career and life.
After graduating from university, Fields went on to direct, and in fact, has directed several Nickelodeon shows. After Fields left the series Living Single, she also dabbled in rap music and R&B and even released an album, called Smooth is Spoken Here.
Julie Piekarski – Now
After she was let go in 1981, Piekarski deciding to take a short break from acting. So she put on her best newsreader voice and dabbled in entertainment reporting for KPLR-TV in her hometown, St Louis, Missouri.
She’s taken a back seat these days, now married to dentist John Probst. The pair have three wonderful children and returned to Piekarski’s hometown, living in St Louis!
Mindy Cohn – Then
Apparently, the crew visited an all-girls preparatory school Cohn was attending at the time, in the research phase of preparing for the show. Rae was so impressed with Cohn’s personality that she convinced the producers to create a role that reflected the real Mindy Cohn.
Despite the fashion at the time to be thin and scrawny, Cohn was on the fuller side, pushing the message that all girls are beautiful no matter their shape or size. This reassured those girls watching, and US audiences.