This ‘Party of Five’ and ‘All My Children’ Alum Turns 44 Today — and She’s Now Hallmark’s Reigning Queen

Long before Lacey Chabert became the queen of Hallmark movies, she had a short-lived role on All My Children playing Bianca Montgomery. In the years since then, she played the beloved character Claudia Salinger on Party of Five and now has done over 40 movies for Hallmark.

The actress celebrates her 44th birthday on September 30, and interestingly, according to the site Hallmark DB, Chabert has now done 44 projects with Hallmark since 2010.

Chabert only appeared in 10 episodes of All My Children, and she was neither the first nor the last to step into the role. Despite only being there a short time, she has fond memories of the experience and made a big impression on people.

During a visit with Kelly Ripa in December 2019, Chabert noted she was 10 when she started playing Bianca on All My Children. She also gushed over Ripa, who starred on the show as Hayley Vaughan Santos from 1990 to 2010.

Chabert told Ripa, “I mean this in all sincerity. My favorite part of being on that show was when I would get to hang out with you in, like, the green room area, before we would go on, because you would make me laugh.” Ripa was quite flattered by the unexpected praise. Chabert added, “You were so funny; I thought you were the coolest.”

Before landing All My Children, Chabert had only appeared in one TV movie titled A Little Piece of Heaven. Shortly after leaving her role as Bianca, she landed her gig on Party of Five. The series also starred Matthew Fox, Scott Wolf, Neve Campbell, and Jennifer Love Hewitt, none of whom were well-known stars at the time.

Party of Five became a big hit and ran for six seasons. During her visit with Ripa, Chabert noted that “you never know” if a show is going to be successful. Not only was the show quite successful, but Chabert said that after starring on it for six years, her costars are her family.

“I look back at my life and realize so much of who I am is such a reflection of who I was around at the time,” she noted.

After the series ended, Chabert worked steadily, often voicing characters such as Eliza Thornberry for The Wild Thornberrys, being the first to be the voice of Meg Griffin on Family Guy, and voicing the character of Kaycee on Bratz.

Of course, in addition to Party of Five and Hallmark, Chabert has become iconic for her time playing Gretchen in the iconic 2004 movie Mean Girls.

Chabert has covered a lot of ground in the entertainment world since landing All My Children at the age of 10. Now, as she celebrates 44, she looks to new and inspiring Hallmark projects in the months ahead.