Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares was born on January 19, 1944, and 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),earning her two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations.
Fabares was indoctrinated into the show business life early on as the niece of singer/comedienne Nanette Fabray. She began tap dancing at the age of three, modeled during her elementary school years, and made her professional film debut at age 12 in the Rock Hudson/Cornell Borchers tearjerker Never Say Goodbye (1956).
She gained teen-idol status 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. 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.
Fabares released three albums, including The Things We Did Last Summer (1962),which included two hit songs "Johnny Loves Me" (no. 21) and "The Things We Did Last Summer" (no. 46),as well as Teenage Triangle (1963). She also landed top femme parts in such fun-and-frolic fare as Ride the Wild Surf (1964),Hold On! (1966),and three of Elvis Presley's less-acclaimed films of the later 1960s: Girl Happy (1965),Spinout (1966),and Clambake (1967).
Fabares then played the love interest of a young Hank Williams Jr. in A Time to Sing (1968) and had support roles in television films like Brian's Song (1971) 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.
