Vibrant, increasingly lovely teen fave Shelley Fabares withstood the test of time when she was able to transition successfully into adult parts unlike other 1960s "teen queen" peers who faded quickly into the memory books. She was born Michele Marie Fabares on January 19, 1944 in sunny Santa Monica, Californnia. As the niece of singer/comedienne Nanette Fabray, she was indoctrinated early into the show biz life. Taping dancing from age three, she was modeling while attending elementary school and began appearing on such TV shows as "Captain Midnight" and "Annie Oakley" (the latter a recurring role). At age 12 she made her professional film debut in the Rock Hudson/Cornell Borchers tearjerker Never Say Goodbye (1956) as Hudson's daughter and went on to play kid sis roles in the rock 'n' roll-themed Rock, Pretty Baby (1956) and its sequel Summer Love (1958) both starring John Saxon.Teen idol status came with her coming-of-age role as the ever-wholesome daughter Mary Stone on the classic "The Donna Reed Show" (1958), a part she played for five seasons before embarking on a grownup film career. During the run of the show, she and TV "brother" Paul Petersen were so popular that they both sprinted to an adjoining pop singing celebrity, although both admitted that their vocal talents were quite limited. Shelley especially enjoyed a #1 Billboard hit with the cooing and sultry-edged "Johnny Angel." Her role of Mary was gently phased out of the show as her character "left for college."By this time, Shelley had turned into quite a curvaceous stunner. Her acting mettle hardly tested, she managed to become part of the bikini-clad blonde set with top femme parts in such fun-and-frolic fare as Ride the Wild Surf (1964), Hold On! (1966), which was a vehicle for British singing sensation Peter Noone of "Herman's Hermits," and three of Elvis Presley's less-acclaimed vehicles of the later 1960s: Girl Happy (1965), Spinout (1966) and Clambake (1967).By this time, however, a serious Vietnam-era stream of consciousness began to pervade film audiences and Shelley's perky, lightweight innocence that found favor during the Camelot years had lost its appeal. After a notorious dry spell, she bounced back as the altruistic wife of a dying footballer Brian Piccolo in Brian's Song (1971) (TV), opposite James Caan. Shelley settled comfortably back into the TV realm with bright co-star roles on the series "The Brian Keith Show" (1972), "Practice, The" (1976)_ and "Highcliffe Manor" (1979). A more delightfully prickly character, however, reared its head in the late night soap spoof "Forever Fernwood" (1977) and this led to the equally vainglorious, vindictive role of Bonnie Franklin's business competitor on the already-established hit sitcom "One Day at a Time" (1975). The show also featured her aunt Nanette Fabray as Franklin's meddling mom. Shelley found a fleshier character with her part as Craig T. Nelson's resourceful mate on "Coach" (1989) winning steady work for eight seasons and two Emmy nominations in the process. A return to film stardom, however, would elude her.Married and separated from record producer Lou Adler during her fun-in-the-sun years of the mid 1960s (they eventually divorced in 1980 after a separation of almost 14 years), Shelley found marital stability with actor/activist Mike Farrell of M*A*S*H fame, and became stepmother to his two children from a prior marriage. Following a home accident that broke several ribs in 1998, Shelley was diagnosed with severe auto-immune hepatitis which resulted in a liver transplant in 2000. Thankfully, she survived the near-fatal ordeal and has since been heard (she last supplied the voice of Martha Kent on the "Superman" (1996) animated series) but not seen much in the ensuing years.