After heart-breaking news emerged last week that '80s television star Charlotte Rae has been diagnosed with bone cancer, we got to wondering what happened to the cast of The Facts of Life.
Set in Peekskill, New York, The Facts of Life was a spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes. The series followed Edna Garrett as she left her job as the Drummonds' housekeeper to become the housemother at a private school for girls. Premiering in 1979, the show ran for nine seasons on NBC.
Charlotte Rae (Edna Garrett)
While the Emmy nominee is best known for the role of Mrs. Garrett, Rae was an accomplished Broadway actress before she joined Diff'rent Strokes. She earned two Tony award nominations in the 1960s. Rae left The Facts of Life after the show's seventh season. Following her departure, Rae guest-starred in several television shows, including Murder, She Wrote, Sisters, Diagnosis: Murder, and ER. She also appeared the films You Don't Mess with the Zohan and Ricki and the Flash.
As mentioned above, Rae revealed last week that she has been diagnosed with bone cancer. The 91-year-old also admitted that she had previously battled pancreatic cancer.