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Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares (/fæˈbreɪ/; born January 19, 1944) is a retired American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcom Coach (1989–1997), the latter of which earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations. Her film roles include playing the leading lady to Elvis Presley in Girl Happy, Spinout, and Clambake. As the niece of singer/comedienne Nanette Fabray, she was indoctrinated early into the show biz life. Tap dancing from age three, she also modeled during her elementary school years and began appearing on such TV shows as Captain Midnight (1954) and Annie Oakley (1954) (the latter a recurring role). At age 12, she made her professional film debut in the Rock Hudson/Cornell Borchers tearjerker Never Say Goodbye (1956) as Hudson's daughter, and went on to play kid sister roles in the rock 'n' roll-themed Rock, Pretty Baby! (1956) and its sequel Summer Love (1957) both starring John Saxon. Teen-idol status came with her coming-of-age role as the ever-wholesome daughter "Mary Stone" on The Donna Reed Show (1958), a part she played for five seasons before embarking on a more grown-up film career. The character of "Mary Stone" was gently phased out of the show as her character "left for college". During its' run, she and TV "brother" Paul Petersen grew so popular that they sprinted to adjoining pop singing celebrity, although both admitted that their vocal talents were limited. In 1962, her recording of "Johnny Angel" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She left The Donna Reed Show in 1963 (she would return periodically until its end in 1966) to pursue other acting opportunities. This was followed by a second album, The Things We Did Last Summer, which included two hit songs "Johnny Loves Me" (no. 21) and "The Things We Did Last Summer" (no. 46). She released a third album, Teenage Triangle in 1963. She landed top femme parts in such fun-and-frolic fare as Ride the Wild Surf (1964), Hold On! (1966) in which she played the love interest of Peter Noone (of Herman's Hermits) and sings Make Me Happy, as well as three of Elvis Presley's less-acclaimed films of the later 1960s: Girl Happy (1965), Spinout (1966) and Clambake (1967). She then played the love interest of a young Hank Williams Jr. in A Time to Sing (1968). She had support roles in television films like Brian's Song (1971) (playing Brian Piccolo's wife with James Caan as Brian), and Two for the Money (1972). Her performance in Brian's Song earned her a Golden Globe nomination. For her work, she was nominated twice for a Primetime Emmy Award and, in 1994, she was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for her role as Mary Stone on The Donna Reed Show. From 2004 to 2011 she produced the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Known For

0.0

Self (archive footage)

Elvis: A Life in Music

2026

6.1

Martha Kent (voice)

Superman: Brainiac Attacks

2006

8.2

Martha Kent (voice)

Justice League

2001

6.0

Nancy Erickson

Playing to Win: A Moment of Truth Movie

1998

3.8

Lily Zarn

A Nightmare Come True

1997

7.1

Martha Kent (voice)

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton

1996

7.6

Superman: The Animated Series

1996

7.6

Martha Kent (voice)

Superman: The Animated Series

1996

4.0

Self (uncredited)

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story

1995

6.2

Millie Ridgeway

The Great Mom Swap

1995

Credits

Elvis: A Life in Music

as Self (archive footage)

2026

0.0

Superman: Brainiac Attacks

as Martha Kent (voice)

2006

6.1

Justice League

as Martha Kent (voice)

2001

8.2

Playing to Win: A Moment of Truth Movie

as Nancy Erickson

1998

6.0

A Nightmare Come True

as Lily Zarn

1997

3.8

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton

as Martha Kent (voice)

1996

7.1

Superman: The Animated Series

1996

7.6

Superman: The Animated Series

as Martha Kent (voice)

1996

7.6

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story

as Self (uncredited)

1995

4.0

The Great Mom Swap

as Millie Ridgeway

1995

6.2

Your Studio and You

as Shelley Fabares

1995

6.8

🎬

A Whole New Ballgame

as Christine Armstrong

1995

0.0

Deadly Relations

as Shirley Fagot

1993

5.6

Love or Money

as Lu Ann Reed

1990

4.4

Coach

as Christine Armstrong

1989

6.7

Run Till You Fall

as Kathy Reuben

1988

0.0

Hot Pursuit

as Buffy Cronenberg

1987

5.7

Suburban Beat

as Mimi

1985

2.7

The Canterville Ghost

as Lucy

1985

6.0

Murder, She Wrote

as Liza Caspar

1984

7.5

🎬

Memorial Day

as Ellie Walker

1983

5.3

Newhart

1982

7.1

Matt Houston

1982

6.2

Gridlock

as Louise Gregory

1980

6.0

Friendships, Secrets and Lies

as Mary Alice

1979

4.2

🎬

Highcliffe Manor

as Helen Straight Blacke

1979

5.0

Hello, Larry

as Marion Alder

1979

5.0

Donovan's Kid

as Grace Donovan

1979

6.0

Pleasure Cove

as Helen Perlmutter

1979

0.0

Vega$

1978

7.0

Mork & Mindy

as Cathy McConnell

1978

7.0

The Incredible Hulk

as Holly Cooper

1977

7.2

Forever Fernwood

1977

5.0

The Love Boat

as Cathy

1977

6.3

The Love Boat

as Mary Frances Bellflower

1977

6.3

Lucan

1977

6.0

Spencer's Pilots

1976

5.0

The Practice

as Jenny Bedford

1976

7.5

One Day at a Time

as Francine Webster

1975

6.7

Matt Helm

as Chris / Tina

1975

7.4

Sky Hei$t

as Lisa

1975

4.9

The Rockford Files

as Jolene Hyland

1974

7.6

Police Story

1973

6.9

The Brian Keith Show

as Dr. Anne Jamison

1972

5.0

The Rookies

1972

6.8

Two for the Money

as Bethany Hagan

1972

6.0

Brian's Song

as Joy Piccolo

1971

7.2

Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law

as Lorraine Latham

1971

6.3

McCloud

1970

7.1

Love, American Style

as Julie

1969

6.1

Love, American Style

as Sheila

1969

6.1

Medical Center

1969

6.1

Marcus Welby, M.D.

as Norma Fritchie

1969

6.5

Operation Heartbeat

as 'Mike' Carter

1969

0.0

Lancer

1968

4.7

The Ghost & Mrs. Muir

1968

6.4

🎬

A Time to Sing

as Amy Carter

1968

5.0

Clambake

as Dianne Carter

1967

5.9

Mannix

1967

6.7

Ironside

as Charlotte Black

1967

6.8

Spinout

as Cynthia Foxhugh

1966

5.5

Hold On!

as Louisa Page

1966

5.0

Girl Happy

as Valerie

1965

6.4

Daniel Boone

as Charity Brown

1964

7.0

Shindig!

as Self - Singer

1964

6.2

Ride the Wild Surf

as Brie Matthews

1964

4.8

Mr. Novak

as Dani Cooper

1963

6.5

Arrest and Trial

1963

7.7

Arrest and Trial

as Donna Blaney

1963

7.7

The Twilight Zone

as Ellen Tillman

1959

8.5

The Donna Reed Show

1958

6.2

The Donna Reed Show

as Mary Stone

1958

6.2

Marjorie Morningstar

as Seth's Friend (uncredited)

1958

6.2

Summer Love

as Twinkie Daley

1958

5.0

Jeanne Eagels

as Teenage Girl (uncredited)

1957

6.0

Annette

as Moselle Corey

1957

6.0

Rock, Pretty Baby

as Teresa "Twinky" Daley

1956

4.5

The Bad Seed

as Margie (uncredited)

1956

7.1

Never Say Goodbye

as Suzy Parker

1956

6.5

Matinee Theater

1955

5.0

Our Town

as Rebecca Gibbs

1955

0.0

The Girl Rush

as Young Kim

1955

3.7

The Wonderful World of Disney

as Grace Donovan

1954

7.8

Letter to Loretta

as Marie Schumann

1953

6.5

The Bob Hope Show

as Self

1950

7.0