10 Things You Didn’t Know About Fuller House Star Lori Loughlin
Published on November 30, 2016. Updated July 27, 2017Lori Loughlin rose to fame through her role as cool Aunt Becky on the popular sitcom series Full House. The model turned actress is also well recognized for her role on the CW spin-off 90210 and the WB series, Summerland, which she co-produced and co-created. Loughlin also stars on the Hallmark series, When Calls the Heart. As a wife of nearly 20 years and mother of three, Loughlin has definitely been busy since the original Full House ended over 20 years ago. She’s come full circle since then by reprising her beloved role in the Netflix revival, Fuller House. Here’s a look at 10 things you probably didn’t know about Lori Loughlin!
10. Normal Childhood
Lori Loughlin was born on July 28, 1964 in Queens, New York City. Despite being born in Queens, she grew up in Hauppauge, New York on Long Island when her family moved there at the age of one. Her parents are Lorellee Loughlin and Joseph Roy Loughlin, who worked as a foreman for the New York Telephone Company. She also has one sibling, a younger brother named Roy. She had an extremely normal childhood, aside from the fact that she started a modeling career at the age of 11! “I grew up in a great neighborhood and I remember that you just walked out the front door and you had a ton of friends to hang out and play with. It was so different from how my kids are raised, with scheduled play dates and destinations…it was great. I really have nothing but really good memories of growing up in Hauppauge,” she said.
9. Accidentally Became a Model
Acting is a hard career to get into and when someone is given an in they take it! This is kind of what happened to Lori Loughlin when she first starting looking to start her career as an actress. She took a modeling gig and accidentally got swept up in the modeling industry instead! “I always had an interest in wanting to act, but my family wasn’t in the entertainment industry at all, and we didn’t know anyone. We didn’t really even know how you begin to crack that nut. Then a good friend of my mother’s was taking her daughters to a modeling agency…They ended up taking me. They gave us a contract, like, ‘Here, we want you to sign this,'” she said. Loughlin ended up modeling for several years before she finally got an audition on-screen.
8. Soap Opera Actress
Like many other actors and actresses, Lori Loughlin got her start in the acting world in the soap opera industry! She was just a teenager at the time when she landed a three and a half year contract with the soap show, The Edge of Night. “I had done a few commercials here and there but I was never super lucky in commercials. Then I went and auditioned for a soap opera and really was too young for the part. The casting director almost sent me out of her office…she said, ‘You’re really too young for the part but I like you, I’m going to bring you back for the producers.’ She brings me back and I ended up getting it. It was a three-and-a-half year gig on a soap opera called, The Edge of Night. It was great training ground for me, it really was. It was like getting paid to take acting class. I was there working with wonderful actors — a lot of the theater actors who were so great to me, took me under their wing, were happy to teach me. It was wonderful. I feel very fortunate that I got that opportunity,” she said.
7. Becky
Lori Loughlin was originally only hired for six episodes of Full House, but the audiences loved her so much that she was cast into a regular role on the show! In an interview with CBN, Loughlin talked about how she got the role as Becky. “I remember going to my agent and saying, you’ve got o get me a job because I’m like, I just paid my rent and I’m very low on cash. And he said, well, there’s six episodes of this show called Full House. Will that get you by? And I went and auditioned and then I was brought back for the producers and I auditioned with John Stamos. And they signed me for six episodes. And I ended up staying for seven years,” she said.
6. Relationship with John Stamos
Loughlin and Stamos were friends long before they starred on Full House together. They met as teenagers while working in the soap opera industry, and there was even a rumored romance between the two at one time! Apparently these two once went on a “date” to Disneyland to see a band. Stamos asked Loughlin to go with him, but she wasn’t exactly clear on whether or not it was a date. “We fight internally about that. I’m like, ‘Was that a date?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah!'” Stamos claims the two of them shared a kiss that night which sounds a lot like a date! The timing was never right for these two because, when Loughlin was married, Stamos would be single, then when she was divorced, he was dating Rebecca Romijn. She’s now been married for almost 20 years, but fans would still love to see these two together! In an interview with People, Lori said: “John and I had so much fun together, but even I am like, ‘Why are people so obsessed with these two?'”
5. She’s Religious
Lori Loughlin was raised Catholic and works hard to maintain her faith in an industry that can sometimes test the morals of her religion. As an actress, she said she’s always made sure to hand pick roles that were family-oriented or exuded good morals. “I do believe in God. I was raised Catholic. For me personally, I was always very thoughtful about projects that I chose for myself. I would say to myself, ‘Can my father watch this?’ If my father couldn’t watch it, I didn’t do it. And then when I had children…I always thought, I don’t want to do anything that one day might rear its ugly head and my children have to pay the price for that,” she said in an interview with CBN.
4. Dancing With The Stars
Around the same time her Full House co-star Jodie Sweetin took a spot on the competitive Dancing with the Stars series, Lori Loughlin was also approached about becoming a season 22 contestant, but she turned it down. In an interview with AOL, she said the reason she turned it down wasn’t because she doesn’t like the show — she is actually a huge fan of DWTS. It was because she was too scared! “I’m absolutely terrified. I don’t think I could ever do it. If I thought I could do it and wouldn’t make a complete fool of myself, I might give it a try. It’s just the fear of will I just look like — did you see Geraldo Rivera? God bless him, kudos to him, I’m so in awe…But he walked through the dance and that would be me,” she joked. Her other Full House co-star Candace Cameron Bure has also participated on DWTS.
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3. Audition for Full House
Loughlin talked about what her audition was like for the role of Becky and revealed she was pretty sure she wasn’t getting the job. When she was hired, no one was more surprised than her! “I remember walking into the casting office, and there were a lot of scantily clad girls. I had a turtleneck on with a jacket and boots, and I thought, Oh, I must be in the wrong place. I said, ‘Is this the Full House audition?’ and they said, ‘Oh yes, you’re in the right place.’ I really thought there was no way I was going to get this job. Jeff Franklin came out and brought me in…and I said, ‘I see the girls out there. I don’t think I’m right for the part.’…I went back to New York, and no sooner got home than they said they wanted me to come back out and read with John [Stamos]. I already knew John because we had both done daytime soap operas, so we had already met and were friends for a little while. But because we were on opposite coasts, we kind of lost touch for a little while. We reconnected again at the Full House audition…We always had chemistry,” she said.
2. Being a Mom
Loughlin is definitely a hands on mother! In addition to only taking roles that reflect her good morals and religion, she also only takes roles that will serve her family well because she’s extremely close with her teenage daughters, Olivia and Isabella. “I’d like to think I’m somewhat of their friend, but more importantly, I am their mother and a guiding force. I am strict with my girls,” she said. “Once I decided to have a family, I said that would be my priority. Life goes by so fast.” Her youngest daughter, Olivia, is already making a name for herself through her YouTube channel, Olivia Jade, which focuses on sharing beauty tips.
1. Married Twice
Many fans might not remember, but Loughlin was once married to investment banker Michael R. Burns from 1989 to 1996. It didn’t take her long to find another hubby after her divorce. On Thanksgiving of 1997, she eloped with fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli. He is the creator of the clothing line, Mossimo, which is found in stores like Target. She had met Giannulli in 1995, a year prior to her divorce from Burns. The couple share two daughters together, Isabella and Olivia, who are spitting images of their mother, and one stepson. Loughlin is a stepmother to Gianni, a son from Giannulli’s previous relationship.
