Things have been going great for Lori Loughlin since the sitcom Full House made her a familiar face to televiewers around the world. Since her Full House character, Rebecca Donaldson won televiewers’ hearts, Loughlin has become a shoo-in for TV matriarch roles.
And why not? She has the real-life experience to show for it. The wife of fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, creator of the famous fashion label, Loughlin has a teenage stepson and two daughters, aged nine and 10.
Her job is to strike a happy balance between being wife and a mother. And, from the looks of it, she’s succeeding. Her sunny, glamorous image shows it. So do her wife and mother roles, such as the one on Star World’s 90210 (premieres Nov. 4, 9 p.m.).
As Debbie Wilson, Loughlin is a dutiful wife who moves with her husband and two children to posh Beverly Hills but has a hard time coping with the transition. Wives out there will feel for her as she is forced to live with her opinionated mother-in-law (Arrested Development’s Jessica Walter). Moms will identify with her as she helps her children adjust to their new school and its rich students.
Loughlin herself is just as hands-on in real-life. In fact, she thinks she’s too hands-on for her own good.
“My character (on 90210) is always very calm and level-headed,” she says. “And as often as I try to be like that, sometimes as a mum you can lose your footing. So I tend to raise my voice a lot more than my TV character.”
After all, no one says raising a teenager is easy. As the stepmom of a 17-year-old boy, Loughlin has to strike a balance between letting go and holding on.
“Teenage children are becoming young adults and they want a lot more freedom, more than what their parents are willing to give them,” Loughlin observes.
All is not lost, however. Parents need not wring their hands in despair. There is a solution. And to Loughlin, it lies in openness.
“The most important thing about raising kids no matter what they are,” she declares, “is keeping the lines of communication open. Being able to speak to your kids, even in the teenage years when they don’t want to answer back, and finding a common ground is very important.”
If she sounds like she’s having a lot of fun, it’s because Loughlin herself is having the time of her life as an actress.
She finds working with John Travolta and Robin Williams in the film Old Dogs a dream come true.
“They are the nicest people — professional, warm and welcoming,” she gushes. “It was one of the best experiences and one I never thought I would have this late in my career.”
If Loughlin sounds like a fan, it’s because she adores good actors as much as she’s crazy over her work.
Says she, “I absolutely get such joy from being an actor that I’m so happy to this day. Going to a set is very exciting and I really, truly, with every ounce of who I am, love what I do.”
Now, if her work happens to lighten people’s burdens, so much the better.
Loughlin hopes 90210 will do the job, especially in this time of rising costs when we have to escape from our troubles now and then.
“For everyone that tunes in the show,” she says, “I hope we bring them a little joy and put a smile on their faces. I hope we do strike a chord with viewers and, if they are going through a tough time, help them forget about their problems for an hour. It’s entertainment, so hopefully they’ll be entertained.”
Okay, it’s a (TV) date, Lori.