The Facts of Life ran from 1979 to 1988, featuring Nancy McKeon and other young cast mates who had to collectively face scrutiny for their weight on set. Unlike today, when the body positivity message embraces people of all sizes, the ‘80s were a time when being thin was considered beautiful, leading young ladies to starve and develop eating disorders.
McKeon recently told Page Six that she and her co-stars had to endure pep talk about their appearance behind the scenes, making them conscious of their bodies and keeping up with the standard.
‘The Facts of Life’ cast’s young stars were concerned about their weight
McKeon played tomboy Jo Polniaczek from season two, joining Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn, and Kim Fields, who were already castmates from the first season. They were all teenagers actively going through puberty, and the world practically watched them grow into their twenties.
With development comes a change in appearance, and although this was beyond their control, the show’s creators made it their responsibility to keep their weight within acceptable limits. In retrospect, McKeon realizes it was unfair to put such a burden on early teenagers.
Nancy McKeon explains why their weight was an issue on ‘The Facts of Life’
McKeon also explained things from the perspective of the show’s creators, noting that it was a show business for a reason. She is thankful that times have changed because human beings come in diverse shapes and sizes, and there is no ideal look.
McKeon also encouraged more shows to embrace the uniqueness of people and employ people of different sizes, shapes, and colors because that’s what makes art special. She believes this will create a connection for more people in real life when they see a TV character that looks like them. Whelchel made similar statements during her 2023 interview with Yahoo Entertainment, where she narrated how she was sent to Fat Farm multiple times during filming breaks.