Lori Loughlin
Lori Anne Loughlin is an American actress, model, and producer. She is known for her role as Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House and its Netflix sequel Fuller House. Loughlin is also known for her roles of Jody Travis in The Edge of Night, Debbie Wilson in The CW series 90210, Jennifer Shannon in the Garage Sale Mystery television film series, and Abigail Stanton in When Calls the Heart. Loughlin was a co-creator, producer, and star of the two seasons of The WB series Summerland.
On March 12, 2019, Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli were arrested in connection with an alleged nationwide college entrance exam cheating scandal. They were charged with conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud; both were released on bail. On May 22, 2020, Loughlin “pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud,” and her husband pleaded “guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud." Their pleas have not been entered but are pending a review of pre-sentencing reports by the presiding judge.
Early life
Loughlin was born in Queens, New York City, and moved to Hauppauge, New York, on Long Island when she was one year old. She has one younger brother, Roy, and is of Irish descent; their parents are Lorellee and Joseph Roy Loughlin, a foreman for the New York Telephone Company.Loughlin attended Oaks School No. 3 Elementary School in Oceanside, New York, and graduated from Hauppauge High School.
Career
Loughlin became interested in acting as a young child; she began her career at age 11 as a print model, recalling:At 15, she was cast in the ABC soap opera The Edge of Night, playing the part of Jody Travis, an aspiring dancer, appearing in the series from 1980 to 1983. From 1983 to 1988, Loughlin appeared in more than a dozen of feature films and television guest spots.
From 1988 to 1995, Loughlin was cast in the ABC sitcom Full House as Rebecca Donaldson, Danny Tanner's co-host, and later, Jesse Katsopolis's wife. She was initially set for a six-episode arc, but then became a regular after becoming a popular character on the series. A few months after Full House ended, Loughlin co-starred with Tony Danza in the ABC sitcom Hudson Street. The series was cancelled after one season.
In 1993, she starred in the television adaptation of Sidney Sheldon's novel A Stranger in the Mirror, a roman à clef on Groucho Marx and Erin Fleming, in which Loughlin plays Fleming's role. In 1997, she starred alongside Bruce Campbell in the film In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory. In 2000, Loughlin co-starred opposite Treat Williams in the Fred Olen Ray-directed thriller film Critical Mass. She also guest starred in Suddenly Susan, Spin City, Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show, and as the superhero Black Canary in the Birds of Prey series in 2002.
From 2004 to 2005, Loughlin co-created, produced, and starred in The WB drama series Summerland. She played Ava, the aunt who raises three children after their parents die in a car accident. The series was canceled after two seasons due to low ratings on July 11, 2005. In 2007, Loughlin co-starred in the ABC sitcom In Case of Emergency with David Arquette. She appeared in the film Moondance Alexander, co-starring with her former Summerland castmate Kay Panabaker. Loughlin also was in attendance at Comedy Central's The Roast of Bob Saget which was hosted by John Stamos and premiered on August 17, 2008. At her table were Full House co-stars Dave Coulier and Jodie Sweetin. In 2010, Loughlin starred in the television film Meet My Mom, which premiered on the Hallmark Channel on Mother's Day. For the network, she most notably starred in the drama When Calls the Heart and the telefilm series Garage Sale Mystery before she was fired in 2019. On April 10, 2019 it was reported that When Calls The Heart would be returning after a production hiatus without Loughlin's character.
She co-starred in seasons one through three of the Beverly Hills, 90210 spin-off 90210 as Debbie Wilson from 2008 to 2011. She reprised her role in the season five premiere episode in 2012.
Loughlin made a brief appearance as Rebecca Donaldson, alongside John Stamos as Jesse Katsopolis, on a July 2013 episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, following a reunion performance by Jesse and The Rippers. She has since made several appearances as Rebecca on the Full House sequel series Fuller House, which premiered its first season on Netflix on February 26, 2016.
Personal life
Loughlin is Catholic. She married investment banker Michael R. Burns in 1989, and divorced 1996. On Thanksgiving 1997, Loughlin eloped with fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, the creator of the Mossimo clothing line, whom she met in 1995. They have two daughters, Isabella Rose and Olivia Jade, and Loughlin is a stepmother to Gianni, Giannulli's son from a previous relationship. Olivia has a YouTube channel of beauty tips and an Instagram account; both with over 1 million subscribers/followers.2019 college admissions bribery scandal
Loughlin and her husband Giannulli were among 50 individuals charged by the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office for fraud- and bribery-related offenses on March 12, 2019, in a nationwide college entrance exam cheating scandal. The indictment against the couple alleged that, disguised as a donation, they had paid $500,000 to the Key Worldwide Foundation so that the admissions committee of University of Southern California would believe their two daughters would join the women's rowing team although neither had trained in the sport of rowing nor had plans in doing so.On March 13, 2019, Loughlin and her husband surrendered to federal authorities in Los Angeles. In their subsequent appearances at United States District Court in Los Angeles, they were released on bail of $1 million and were permitted to retain their passports and travel outside of the United States as long as they informed the court. At her court appearance in Boston on April 3, she acknowledged her rights, charges, and maximum possible penalties; Loughlin waived a pretrial hearing, signed conditions of her release, and was free to leave.
As a result, the Hallmark Channel cut ties with Loughlin on March 14, 2019; they will edit out her scenes from season six of When Calls the Heart. On March 16, Netflix dropped her from Fuller House, and technology firm Hewlett-Packard announced it would remove Loughlin and her daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli from its advertising. Loughlin's daughters were able to remain enrolled at USC, but Olivia Jade Giannulli, a social media influencer on YouTube and Instagram, lost a partnership with cosmetics firm Sephora, as well as sponsorships for her beauty channel and Instagram posts.
Loughlin and her husband were named as defendants in a private class-action lawsuit brought on by Stanford University graduates, who allege their education and degrees have been devalued due to their school's association with the case.
Loughlin and Giannulli rejected a plea deal, including for the additional charge of money laundering, requiring both to spend two years in prison; on April 15 she pleaded not guilty.
On September 5, 2019, ET Online reported that characters in Lifetime's movie The College Admissions Scandal would be depicted by actresses Mia Kirshner and Penelope Ann Miller in roles inspired by Loughlin's and Felicity Huffman's involvement in the college admissions matter. Describing her role, Kirshner was quoted saying, "This story is about privilege and corruption and it's about people who don't follow the rules because they think they're above rules... My character is so corrupt, greedy, narcissistic, self-centered, and the dialogue is hilarious, so I'm glad that they're able to capture humor about this as well."
On October 22, 2019, federal prosecutors said Loughlin is facing additional charges in the college admissions cheating scandal. US Attorney Andrew Lelling said, Loughlin is now being charged with conspiring "to commit federal program bribery by bribing employees of the University of Southern California to facilitate their children’s admission. In exchange for the bribes, employees of the university allegedly designated the defendants’ children as athletic recruits – with little or no regard for their athletic abilities – or as members of other favored admissions categories."
On May 22, 2020, Loughlin “pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud” and her husband pleaded “guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud.” Based on the terms of a plea bargain, Loughlin “will spend two months behind bars, must pay a $150,000 fine and be placed on two years of supervised release with 100 hours of community service" and her husband will "serve five months behind bars, pay a $250,000 fine, also be placed on two years of supervised release and complete 250 hours of community service for his crimes.” Although their pleas have been entered, “the federal judge presiding over the case refused to accept their pleas until he gets a chance to see their pre-sentencing reports from the Massachusetts Probation Service.” Loughlin is scheduled to be sentenced on August 21, 2020 after "The couple admitted paying $500,000 in bribes to convicted college fixer William 'Rick' Singer, who got their daughters, Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Rose Giannulli, into the University of Southern California as bogus rowing recruits."