The Real Reason Why We Haven’t Seen Lacey Chabert Lately

Actress Lacey Chabert, known for her roles in Party of Five and Mean Girls, is no longer as young as she once was.

At the height of her Mean Girls fame, she seemed to be destined for stardom, but co-star Rachel McAdams went on to become the movie’s Hollywood favorite, starring in movies including The Notebook, Spotlight, and Wedding Crashers.

Even Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Seyfried, who costarred in Mean Girls, were able to hold onto their fame; Lohan was merely Lindsay Lohan, while Seyfried was given well-regarded parts.

But what has Lacey Chabert been doing with her time since then? Actually, she’s found her true calling somewhere else.

Lacey Chabert has achieved success over the years in this way.

Wikipedia

A shift in emphasis

Julia Mimi Bella, a daughter, was born to Lacey Chabert as her first child in September 2016.

According to E! News, the actress went into full nesting mode in preparation for her daughter’s arrival. She set up the nursery and even spoke with her pet friend, a chihuahua named Kitty, during a pre-interview.

Chabert was obviously happy to welcome her daughter Julia, but it’s possible that motherhood changed her priorities.

This was evident when Chabert discussed the challenges of balancing her new career path with her life as a working mother in the entertainment world in the fall and winter of 2018. Yes, this was during the press tour for her 16th Hallmark movie.

“If you had told me two years ago that this is what my career would look like today, I think I would have been surprised, but it’s such a great fit for who I am and where I am in my life right now,” Chabert said in an interview with the Clarion Ledger in November 2018.

She’ll never be separated from Gretchen Wieners.

Chabert, who portrayed the iconic Gretchen Wieners in Mean Girls, coined the term “that’s so fetch” first. Perhaps she is still thought of by Hollywood as the dimwitted teenager whose father invented the Toaster Strudel?

It’s easy to get typecast in Hollywood, after all—just look at the lovable romantic actress Jennifer Aniston or the eternally quirky Helena Bonham Carter.

When it comes to her more popular work, Chabert’s career identity is still entirely contained in a single film. Ten years after the Mean Girls film premiered, in 2014, Chabert told Entertainment Weekly, “People tweet me hundreds of times, if not thousands of times [with] lines from the movie every day.”

To be fair, though, she finds the association unsettling. In fact, if a sequel were ever created, Chabert told Star in December 2018 that she “would love to be a part of it.” Give Tina Fey a call now!

The Hallmark movies with Lacey Chabert in them

Lacey Chabert had starred in more than 20 Hallmark Channel shows as of the time of writing.

That’s a lot of productions for any channel, much less one that specializes in the campy, saccharine sweet fare that any mother on earth could not resist. However, Hallmark isn’t exactly the place to go if you’re searching for an Oscar nomination or the next big blockbuster sensation.

Other well-known actors who have appeared in Hallmark movies include Dean Cain, Danica McKellar, and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

When was the last time you saw them in an A-list film? However, Chabert is obviously happy with her new network and the endearing series it airs—which, in an Entertainment Weekly interview, she described as “like comfort food.”

Her prolific output of holiday-themed content for Hallmark is also no coincidence. “Christmas is my favorite holiday. Anyone who knows me will tell you how obsessed I am about it,” Chabert said to the Clarion Ledger. “I wish it lasted for more than just one month each year. It follows that my enjoyment of creating Christmas movies is only natural.

Maybe Lacey Chabert’s convictions prevented her from seeing more

In Tinseltown circles, there’s a notion that success doesn’t always follow from a strong Christian faith (Mel Gibson and Candace Cameron Bure are two examples).

In 2014, Hercules TV series actor Kevin Sorbo said to CNS News, “I think being a conservative in Hollywood and being a Christian in Hollywood, you get attacked.” That same year, Chabert starred in Christian Mingle, which Rotten Tomatoes critics gave just three “rotten” reviews altogether.

Is it feasible that Chabert’s public declaration of her religious views is a contributing factor in her lack of success in Hollywood?

Chabert said, “I have no shame about saying that, you know, that my faith has always been the center of my life,” in a behind-the-scenes interview for Christian Mingle.

In addition, she gave an explanation for her attraction to the movie character, adding, “I think it’s beautiful that she comes to a point where her faith is something that’s very personal and alive for her, and I think it’s a nice message.”

Chabert also made a suggestion that she wouldn’t entertain some film parts because of how a character’s faith is portrayed in the work.

Lacey Chabert’s films haven’t made much money

A-list celebrities Jennifer Lawrence and Scarlett Johansson made $46 million and $25 million in 2016, respectively, according to Forbes. They are profitable due of the success of their films.

Sadly, Chabert’s movies don’t live up to the hype, with the exception of Mean Girls and a few minor hits. It could be that casting directors are hesitant to take a chance on an actor who hasn’t been in a big-budget film in over a decade.

Although Chabert’s estimated net worth of $4 million is nothing to laugh at for the average person, it is significantly less spectacular when compared to some of her peers.

The film Daddy Day Care, a poorly received 2003 slapstick comedy about parenting starring Eddie Murphy, was actually Chabert’s biggest undertaking.

That movie made over $104 million domestically, according to The Numbers, but does anyone connect Chabert with it? Most likely not.

After Mean Girls became popular a year later and made over $86 million domestically in 2004, Chabert’s success has cooled down. In contrast, Lawrence’s 2015 box office success with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 was over $281 million.

What happened to Lacey Chabert at Family Guy?

Working with Chabert might not be the simplest for an actress. She was the first choice to play Meg Gryphon in the hugely popular Family Guy TV series, but Mila Kunis took her place because of contractual difficulties, according to The Huffington Post.

Though the actress and the show’s creator, Seth MacFarlane, have both provided more polite answers, there are rumours that Chabert had a falling out with the programme.

Chabert stated to GameSpy (via The Huffington Post): “I actually left the show of my own accord. And only because I was in school and doing Party of Five at the time. But I think the show is hilarious, and don’t have a grudge against [Kunis] at all. I think she’s a great actress.” No one could “even remember” why Chabert quit, MacFarlane admitted to IGN. “It was nothing–-there was no tension or anything.” He added, “[Kunis] was in a lot of ways, I thought, almost more right for the character.”

All of it seems reasonable, but how does one explain this overt Family Guy episode clip? We’ll let your judge…

Lacey Chabert is a small town girl at heart

Despite having achieved success with Party of Five and Mean Girls, Lacey Chabert’s uncle, a Purvis, Miss. pastor, told the Clarion Ledger that “none of this movie stuff has gone to her head.” Chabert expressed similar feelings to the newspaper, stating that she makes an effort to see her “extended family” who still resides in Purvis, where she resided until the age of seven.

“Purvis is a place I’m extremely proud to be from. I appreciate the values that were instilled in me there,” she said, adding. “I love the people and appreciate the support they’ve shown me throughout the years.”

It makes sense to assume that Chabert would turn down jobs requiring a lot of travel in order to be near her family. Regarding those values she mentioned from her little town? That might have also influenced her job decisions.

She wants to branch out into other aspects of the biz

Although it is evident that Lacey Chabert is comfortable being in front of the camera, she has also formed career goals that will need her to spend an increasing amount of time away from the spotlight as she pursues them.

In an interview with the Clarion Ledger, Chabert revealed that in addition to serving as the Hallmark Channel’s unofficial face, she also works there behind the scenes.

Regarding her new position as executive producer, Chabert told the newspaper, “I’m more motivated than ever.” “There are so many stories I want to tell, and I’d like to get into different aspects of the business. My thing is, I love telling a story … And I remember being on the set of Party of Five and watching and absorbing everything that goes into making a show. And that’s what I’d like to focus on professionally at some point.”

Chabert appears to have accomplished this, as evidenced by her seven producer credits on Hallmark films between 2016 and 2020, according to her IMDb biography.

Not only that, but she also starred in each of those shows, along with an astounding seven more leading parts in Hallmark films that she isn’t producing. Did Hollywood bundle her up and send her to Hallmark?

On her own terms, Lacey Chabert is making it work

Despite spending years operating beneath the general public’s notice, Chabert appears to have blazed a very successful path for herself.

She’s been cast in several vocal roles, including Scooby Doo and The Wild Thornberrys! Menace of Mecha Mutt. Merely pursuing that path might potentially lead her back to the A-List, akin to Anna Kendrick in Trolls or Reese Witherspoon in Sing, or simply maintain her relevance by gaining a new following of younger people.

Chabert, though, might be starting to follow Jessica Alba’s lead and become a mompreneur. Chabert continuously promoted Tyson Meal Kits, which she endorses, while on her press tour in late 2018.

Examples of these are here and here. She also said to Good Housekeeping that the brand and Hallmark’s current style of photography—hint: fast—go hand in hand.

Speaking of Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe, which was released in 2018, Chabert said Good Housekeeping, “This movie — and most Hallmark movies, in fact — was shot in 15 days.”

She continued, saying, “Working and being a very hands-on mom is a challenge but I’m thankful to work at a place that makes it easier for me,” she added, before plugging — you guessed it — Tyson Meal Kits again, which she described as “quicker and stress free.”

Well, somebody is aware of where her bread is buttered these days, and it’s not the huge studio system in Hollywood.

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