Lacey Chabert was classically trained at Juilliard. She has worked with all of the great American directors; Scorsese, Coppola, Spielberg, and even Kubrick. At the age of nine, Chabert became the youngest-ever Academy Award winner. She has followed up that Oscar win with two more, plus several nominations. Not to mention her Emmies, Grammies and Tony Awards. Chabert is one of only 12 people in history to win all four awards to qualify for EGOT status. There is no denying that she has forever changed the face of cinema and all of pop culture.

Well, maybe not. She’s actually a child actor who grew into a curvy Maxim cover girl. In fact, I have long considered her ineligible for the “What the Hell Happened” series due to her limited filmography. But two things convinced me to reconsider (and probably not the two things you are thinking of)*. First, to be completely honest, Chabert started showing up in the search terms that drive traffic to this site without even having an article devoted to her! That got me to thinking… how much traffic would Chabert generate if I actually wrote a picture-filled article about her?

But even being the sell-out that I am, that didn’t immediately convince me. What would I write about? Chabert’s only done a handful** of movies. So I looked over her filmography for an angle. And I made a startling discovery. These days, Chabert does a lot of voice work. I mean A LOT of voice work. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for celebs to dabble in voice work to make a quick buck. But typically, cartoon voice-overs are done by talented actors who are not loved by the camera. But the camera LOVES Chabert. Allow me to present a visual demonstration:

Lacey Chabert – Maxim

This woman is working off camera! What the hell happened?

*The first of many boob jokes to follow

**I exercised a great deal of restraint to not turn the word “handful” into the second boob joke of the article***

***The footnote explaining how I resisted the impulse to make a boob joke is essentially the second boob joke of the article.

Lacey Chabert – Video Toy Chest – 1990

But Chabert’s story wasn’t always about her endowments. Chabert started off as a child actor. In 1990, at the age of 8, Chabert appeared in a commercial for the toy store chain Child World (also known as Children’s Palace). The video was essentially a series of toy commercials strung together to highlight all of the hot toys in the company’s catalogue. The name of the video was Video Toy Chest… okay so maybe jokes about Chabert’s chest are unavoidable.

Lacey Chabert – A Little Piece of Heaven – 1991

In 1991, Chabert appeared opposite Kirk Cameron and Cloris Leachman in a TV movie called A Little Piece of Heaven. The movie was directed by Mimi Leder who was at the time primarily a television director. But she would go on to direct feature films like The Peacemaker and Deep Impact. According to Wikipedia, here is the plot of A Little Piece of Heaven:

Will Loomis (Kirk Cameron) is living with his handicapped sister Violet. She wants a young child to play with, so brother Will takes a child (and later another) from the local orphanage. The children are told they have died and are in heaven. Will and Violet try to make their farm ‘a little piece of heaven’ for the kids, while the authorities wonder what has happened to the missing children.

That totally sounds like something Kirk Cameron would do.

Lacey Chabert – All My Children – 1992-1993

In 1992, Chabert appeared opposite Susan Lucci on the daytime soap, All My Children. And apparently at least two children kidnapped by Kirk Cameron.

Chabert appeared on only two episodes. But more importantly, I have to ask, who draped a giant orange oven mitt over Susan Lucci?

Lacey Chabert – Les Misérables – 1992

Also in 1992, Chabert made her Broadway debut playing Young Cosette in the Broadway production of Les Misérables. She was nine years old at the time. Chabert stayed with the production into 1993.

Lacey Chabert – Gypsy: A Musical Fable – 1993

In 1993, Chabert appeared in the TV movie, Gypsy. Gypsy was an adaptation of the stage musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable. It starred Bette Midler, Cynthia Gibb and Peter Riegert. Mad Men‘s Elisabeth Moss also made a childhood appearance.

Lacey Chabert – Party of Five – 1994-2000

In 1994, Chabert began her run on the TV show, Party of Five. The show starred Neve Campbell, Scott Wolf and Matthew Fox as siblings who are orphaned when their parents are killed by a drunk driver. The show was not initially a hit. In fact, Fox considered cancelling it after the first season.

In 1995, Party of Five won the Golden Globe for Best Drama beating out shows like E/R and NYPD Blue. It was a shocking upset that brought attention to the fledgling drama. The win brought more viewers and better ratings. Party of Five ended its run after six seasons in 2000.

Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles

Lacey Chabert – Anastasia – 1997

In 1994, Chabert did her first voice work on the Disney cartoon, Gargoyles. She voiced Bobbi Porter in two episodes of the animated kid’s show. In 1996, she appeared in an ABC Afterschool Special and did voice work for the Nickelodeon cartoon, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters.

In 1997, while still appearing on Party of Five on TV, Chabert was also doing voice work in several animated TV shows. Chabert also leant her voice to the animated feature film, Anastasia. Kirsten Dunst voiced the title character as a child. Adult Anastasia was voiced by Meg Ryan. Her young and adult singing voices were, respectively, supplied by Chabert and Liz Callaway. So four different actresses were required to play a single character. Anastasia received mostly positive reviews and was a modest hit at the box office.

Lacey Chabert – Lost in Space – 1998

In 1998, Chabert made the jump to the big screen with the big budget adaptation of the cheesy 60’s sci-fi TV show, Lost in Space.

Like the TV show, the movie told the story of the Robinsons, a family that is lost in space and has to find their way home. The talented cast included William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Gary Oldman, Joey from Friends (aka Matt LeBlanc) and Heather Graham.

The reviews for Lost in Space were deservedly negative. But in spite of the reviews, Lost in Space was actually a modest hit at the box office. In fact, it finally unseated long-standing box office champ, Titanic, after an amazing 15-week run. As successful as Lost in Space was, it still fell short of the studio’s expectations. The cast was signed on for sequels that would never be made.

Lacey Chabert – The Wild Thornberrys – 1998-2004

In the late 90’s, Chabert was juggling her Party of Five gig with various voice work. She provided the voice of Eliza Thornberry on the Nickelodeon show, The Wild Thornberrys, from 1998-2004. In 2002, she voiced the character in The Wild Thornberrys Movie and again in 2003 for The Rugrats Go Wild. Both were theatrical releases. Chabert also provided the voice of Young Vitani in Disney’s direct to video sequel, to The Lion King.

Chabert’s Party of Five co-star, Neve Campbell voiced Kiara, the only daughter of Matthew Broderick‘s Simba. Reviews were mixed to positive. Even the positive reviews put their praise in the context that Lion King 2 was good by the standards of direct-to-video movies but poor by comparison to the original. Disney had high hopes for the project and shipped 15 million copies. They sold only 13 million which is still impressive even if it fell short of their original projections.

An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island/An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster – 1998-1999

Chabert also voiced Tanya in An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island in 1998 and in An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster in 1999.

While Chabert was living out her awkward teen years on TV, she was also developing a second career as a very prolific voice actor. She also provided voices for a Wild Thornberrys video game and TV movie, Disney’s Hercules and various other projects most of which went directly to video. It would turn into a very steady back-up career when her movie career failed to take off.

Lacey Chabert – The Family Guy – 1999-2000

Chabert voiced Meg Griffith on The Family Guy from 1999-2000. When Chabert had to drop out, Mila Kunis took over the role. Remember what I said at the beginning of the article about voice work usually being ideal for actors who are not necessarily photogenic? Forget that. Apparently only hotties voice cartoons.

Tart – 2001

Speaking of Chabert’s movie career, in 2001 after Party of Five ended its run, Chabert returned to live action movies. She started with a small role in the coming-of-age drama, Tart.

The movie starred Dominique Swain (best known for the Lolita remake). It’s basically Mean Girls set in a Manhattan prep school. Except instead of being played for laughs, Tart is deadly serious. Mischa Barton plays the leader of the popular girls and Brad Renfro plays the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Chabert (who doesn’t even merit a mention in the trailer) plays the nice girl. Melanie Griffith also makes an appearance.

Tart went straight to video in the US.

Lacey Chabert – Not Another Teen Movie – 2001

Chabert returned to mainstream movies with the coming-of-age drama spoof, Not Another Teen Movie.

Not Another Teen Movie is one of those parodies where the jokes are all based on the audience recognizing references to other movies. In this case, John Hughes movies and teen flicks of the late 90s were the primary targets.

Fittingly, Molly Ringwald had a cameo. Chabert played every teen’s dream girl. She seemed to be making a statement. She wasn’t that awkward-looking kid from Party of Five and Lost in Space anymore. And yes, the jock is played by Captain America himself, Chris Evans.

Audiences were not yet sick of these kinds of spoofs yet. So despite mostly negative reviews, Not Another Teen Movie was a hit.

So, you want to know how in-depth my research is. I pulled up a list of all the Maxim cover-girls so I could tie in Chabert’s cover appearances with her career. I wondered if Chabert had done a cover to coincide with Not Another Teen Movie.

Lacey Chabert – The Scoundrel’s Wife – 2002

In 2002, Chabert appeared opposite Tatum O’Neal, Julian Sands and Tim Curry in the World War II drama, The Scoundrel’s Wife.

O’Neal played a woman unjustly accused of being a saboteur. Then she falls for a German played by Sands. Tim Curry plays Tim Curry as a priest. And Chabert plays O’Neal’s daughter who would probably be on the cover of Maxim if Maxim were published in the 1940’s.

If the movie is known for anything, and I’m not sure it is, it would be for Chabert’s bath scene. Yes, Chabert is nude.

Lacey Chabert – The Scoundrel’s Wife – 2002

And with that, rentals of The Scoundrel’s Wife doubled overnight.

Lacey Chabert – The Drew Carey Show – 2002

Meanwhile, Chabert was also making guest appearances on TV shows like Strong Medicine and The Drew Carrey Show (pictured). The role required her to stretch beyond her usual range. Instead of just looking hot, Chabert had to look hot in glasses. Standing next to Drew Carrey probably helped. Everyone looks better standing next to Drew Carrey. When I stand next to Drew Carrey I look like this:

Lebeau as seen standing next to Drew Carey

Little something for the ladies. Try to offset some of the cheesecake with some beefcake. To that end, here’s Daffy Stardust standing next to Drew Carrey:

Daffy Stardust as seen standing next to Drew Carey

I seem to have lost control of this one. Where were we?

Oh yes. Lacey Chabert’s acting career. Well, this shouldn’t take long.

Lacey Chabert – Mean Girls – 2004

In 2004, Chabert starred opposite Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried in the high school comedy, Mean Girls.

Lohan played a new girl in school who joins the popular clique lead by McAdams. Seyfried played the girl who was unbelievably dumb. Like, “she should really be in a special school dumb”. Once again, Chabert shows her incredible range. Instead of just playing a hot girl, she played a hot girl who is also a gossip

Mean Girls was adapted from the book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Saturday Night Live star, Tina Fey. After Fey had Lorne Michaels purchase the rights to the book, she realized it had no central story and she would need to create one for the movie.

Reviews were positive and the Mean Girls was an unqualified hit. It made Lohan an A-list star, it helped launch Fey’s post SNL career and it brought attention to McAdams, Seyfried and Chabert. Many expected McAdams in particular to go on to bigger and better things. Turns out, that didn’t really happen. It was Seyfried who would go on to greater success.

Lacey Chabert – Dirty Deeds – 2005

In 2005, Chabert appeared opposite a pre-Heroes Milo Ventimiglia in the high school comedy, Dirty Deeds.

Chabert plays a hot girl (of at least average intelligence this time) who is concerned about her younger brother who has agreed to perform ten heinous acts on a dare. She asks Ventimiglia to intervene, so of course he decides to perform the dirty deeds himself.

Obviously, the idea is to do something like American Pie. Instead, the movie makes you appreciate just how nuanced the gross-out teen comedy was by comparison. Standing next to Dirty Deeds, American Pie looks like this:

American Pie as seen next to Dirty Deeds

This article has it all: Disney movies, Maxim covers and Citizen Kane!

Bratz videos – 2006

Meanwhile, Chabert was continuing her voice work with various projects based around the Bratz dolls. She played Kaycee Kirhswell, a dim-witted blonde girl who always wears pink. Her character is always depicted with a Band-Aid on her nose because she has had frequent nose jobs. Why so many? She keeps running into things.

That’s about the level of the entire Bratz franchise. Bratz are just the worst. It’s like some toy manufacturer looked at Barbie and said, “These don’t do enough damage to a young girls self-esteem. What if we made dolls that also encouraged girls to dress like skanks?”

Lacey Chabert – Black Christmas – 2006

In 2006, Chabert appeared in five (count ’em FIVE) movies. Only one of them received a theatrical release. The lucky winner was a remake of the 1974 slasher flick, Black Christmas.

Wanna know the plot? A bunch of sorority girls get slashed on Christmas Eve. So, really, it should probably be called Black Christmas Eve.

I have an idea I’d like to pitch the makers of Black Christmas. It’s called Black Friday. Get this. A bunch of hot sorority girls go shopping for Christmas presents the day after Thanksgiving. The stores are crowded. The parking lots are a mess. And there’s a killer on the loose. Have your people call my people.

They seriously opened this thing on Christmas day. And despite universally negative reviews, it made some money.

Lacey Chabert – Hello Sister, Goodbye Life – 2006

In 2006, Chabert also starred in an ABC Family movie called Hello Sister, Goodbye Life.

Chabert plays a college student who is surprised to discover that her estranged father has named her the guardian of her half-sister. When her father and step-mother die in a tragic car accident (goodbye life indeed!), Chabert must put her vacation plans on hold to raise her sister. What are the odds that Chabert learns a life lesson before the movie is over? I’d say pretty good.

Lacey Chabert – The Ghost Whisperer – 2006

Chabert also guest starred on the Ghost Whisperer. Her appearance made for a mini-Party of Five reunion. Former Party of Five star and 4-time Maxim girl, Jennifer Love Hewitt seemed to be passing the torch to her younger co-star.

Lacey Chabert – Sonic the Hedgehog – 2006

But that’s not all. Chabert also did voice work on a Sonic the Hedgehog video game. What? Seriously? I’ll tell you something, folks, this series has taken me places I never expected to go.

Chabert played Princess Elise, a hot chick who gets rescued by a giant blue hedgehob in running shoes.

Lacey Chabert – Sonic the Hedgehog – 2006

When Chabert was asked about whether her character had a sexual relationship with a hedgehog, she responded, “Ha! No, you’re just being silly. It’s not an inappropriate relationship. Let’s just say Sonic and Princess Elise have an attraction for each other.”

Lacey Chabert – Sonic the Hedgehog – 2006

Yeah, right.

Being Michael Madsen – 2007

In 2007, Chabert appeared in the mockumetary, Being Michael Madsen. The film co-stars Virginia Madsen, David Carradine, Harry Dean Stanton, Daryl Hannah and of course Michael Madsen. The premise of the movie is that Michael Madsen is a big star hounded by tabloid journalists. Sorry, my suspension of disbelief just isn’t that strong.

Lacey Chabert – What if God Were the Sun? – 2007

Also in 2007, Chabert starred in the Lifetime movie, What if God Were the Sun? Wasn’t that a Joan Osborne song? If God were the sun, would that mean he was only watching us during daylight? I dunno. I’m sure the movie addresses these weighty philosophical topics.

Chabert played a nurse who cares for an ailing Gena Rowlands. Check out that bedside manner! How many nurses check up on you while wearing their prom dress?

Everybody sing along! “Just a slob like one of us. Trying to make his way home.” I still have no idea what that song was about.

What would I ask if I had just one question? Probably “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?” My kids keep asking me that one.

Lacey Chabert – Maxim Cover – 2007

Oh, I almost forgot. In 2007, Chabert graced the cover of Maxim for the first time. I have to admit, I was surprised it took this long to get Chabert in a state of undress on the cover of Maxim (aka the magazine for people who want to read Playboy but hate actual nudity). Apparently she was Maxim’s reader’s #1 choice and America’s new sweetheart. Must have been the Sonic the Hedgehog voice work that put her over the top.

The Spectacular Spider-man 2008-2009

So of course after becoming a Maxim covergirl, the next logical career step is a Spider-man cartoon, right? Chabert played Gwen Stacy on The Spectacular Spider-man from 2008-2009.

Lacey Chabert – Ghosts of Girlfriends Past – 2009

What the hell is Robert Forster doing to Chabert in that picture?!? I’m sure I don’t want to know.

Anyway, in 2009 , Chabert got what appears to be her last chance at a big Hollywood movie with a supporting role in the Jennifer Garner/Matthew McConaughey romantic comedy, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. The movie put a rom com spin on A Christmas Carol.

Reviews were terrible, but the movie made a surprising amount of money. Domestically, it grossed an okay $55 million. But world wide, it made over $100 million dollars!

Lacey Chabert – Elevator Girl – 2010

In 2010, Chabert starred in a Hallmark TV movie called Elevator Girl. Sadly, it had nothing to do with that Aerosmith song.

Lacey Chabert – In My Sleep – 2010

She also starred in a few movies that received incredibly small theatrical releases. In My Sleep was a thriller that screened at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival where it won the Audience Choice Award. It cost 9 million dollars and grossed less roughly $90,000. Ouch.

Thirst was another thriller. This one was produced in Canada, eh.

Lacey Chabert – Slightly Single – 2010

She also starred in a rom-com called Slightly Single. This one cost $2 million and grossed less than $15,000. Sounds like it’s time to voice some more cartoons.

Young Justice – 2011-2013

From 2011-2013, Chabert voiced the magician/super hero Zatanna on the cartoon, Young Justice. She would later reprise her role in the video game, Injustice: Gods Among Us in which the super heroes of the DC Universe beat each other up Mortal Kombat-style.

During that time, Chabert also did voice work on Transformers: Rescue Bots, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Robot Chicken.

Lacey Chabert – Baby Daddy – 2013-2014

Chabert also makes recurring appearances on something called Baby Daddy. The show, which I have never heard of, appears to star a giant. It airs on ABC Family which is apparently a channel people actually watch and not just something I flip through on menu when I am scrolling channels. It has been renewed for a third season.

Lacey Chabert – Maxim Cover – 2013

In 2013, Chabert returned to the cover of Maxim – sexier than ever. And with some kind of tattoo on her knee about wearing white after Labor Day.

Was anyone else surprised to find that Chabert was only on the cover of Maxim twice? I would have lost that bet.

Before I do the wrap-up, I’ll just say I skipped over about a dozen direct-to-video and TV movies that I have never heard of and realistically no one cares about.

So what the hell happened?

Chabert was a child actor who wisely started a career in voice work. If she had never blossomed into a world class beauty, that would have been her entire story. And that’s nothing to sneeze at.

But Chabert did grow up to be a sexy cover girl. That opened up some opportunities to try her hand at acting in movies. But Chabert, beautiful though she may be, was never cut out for the movies. Her range is well-suited to TV movies where she can smile and look pretty.

This isn’t a case of a great movie career gone wrong. It’s a case of a child actor and Maxim cover girl who made the most of her talents.

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