Born in Queens and raised on Long Island, NY, Lori said she knew before she was age 6 that she wanted to act.
“I don't know if I had a complete idea formed in my head,” she said in a 2004 interview with The Washington Post. “But I do know I was watching 'The Wizard of Oz' and I thought, 'That looks like fun.' I just remember that being my first real memory.”
She became a print model at age 12, thanks to an invitation from her mother's friend.
“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,” Lori said. “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.' "
Classic TV Beauties 1980s Countdown
LORI LOUGHLIN as Rebecca Donaldson in "Full House"
As Rebecca (“Becky”), the brown-haired Lori became the fourth star of this wholesome and somewhat sappy but beloved sitcom when she was added to the cast as Danny's (Bob Saget) co-host on a San Francisco local morning show.
Lori was hired for only six episodes in the second season. But when Becky became so popular with audiences, series creator James Franklin felt that the three little girls on the show should have a mother figure in their lives, so she became a regular. Becky married Danny's brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos), and then gave birth to twins the next season.
“It was quite an adjustment to me,” Lori said of playing Becky. “Before 'Full House' my roles were mostly serious soap opera parts playing evil characters. Now I was a squeaky clean morning show host from Nebraska on a TGIF sitcom.”
Lori had dated Stamos in real life before the two became a couple on the show.
“At first it was awkward having to be romantic with him because of our past relationship in real life, but when I realized that it was professional and we were just acting, it made it a little bit easier not getting caught up in the moment,” she said.
“Full House” built a small but loyal following that increased every season. It broke into the Top 25 in the Nielsen ratings – No. 23 – its third season, then improved to No. 15, No. 8, No. 10 and No. 12, before dropping to No. 24 the eighth and final season (1994-95). The one-hour series finale rated No. 7.
The series was originally called “House of Comics” and the storylines would have been more adult-oriented, but the producers decided to make the show more family-friendly so they added Danny's girls.
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At age 15 she landed a role in the daytime soap “The Edge of Night,” playing aspiring dancer Jody Travis. Lori later turned down a part that made Brooke Shields famous, the role of Emmeline in the 1980 movie “The Blue Lagoon.”
After “Full House,” Lori guest-starred in numerous sitcoms, including “The Drew Carey Show,” “Seinfeld,” and “Spin City.”
In 2004, she created the short-lived series “Summerland” for the WB network. Lori also produced and starred in the show as Ava Gregory, a thirty-something fashion designer raising her niece and nephews after their parents were killed in an accident.
"I was thinking about a friend of mine who is single -- she never had any children -- and works in the world of fashion,” Lori said. “She could handle herself in any situation except when you put her in a room full of children. That's what made me think of the whole concept -- what could I do not playing the mom. And I thought 'Maybe I could play the aunt.'"
For three seasons (2008-2011) Lori was a regular in “90210,” playing Debbie Wilson, an ex-Olympian who relocated to Beverly Hills with her family. She left the show after the producers decided to focus more on the younger castmates.
