(Photo: Lacey Chabert, Pinterest)
- Lacey Nicole Chabert’s journey to becoming one of Hallmark’s top actresses began in Hattiesburg at Forrest General Hospital.
Recently, my “daughter-in-love” glanced at a stack of research papers I had placed on the back of the couch. Noticing the title on the top article, she asked, “Who is Lacey Chabert?” I began to elaborate on my research. After I finished my three-minute report, she said, “Never heard of her.”
When I submitted the idea to my editor, she responded, “I didn’t realize she was from Mississippi!”
Lacey Nicole Chabert’s journey to becoming one of Hallmark’s top actresses began in Hattiesburg at Forrest General Hospital on September 30, 1982. In a short Facebook reel from 2020, Lacey referenced her disappointment in being unable to return as the keynote speaker for the hospital’s Annual Spirit of Women Spring Event for the Pine Belt. She also expressed how much she missed the area.
At the time of her birth, her parents, Julie (Johnson) and Tony Chabert, who were originally from Louisiana lived near Purvis. Lacey’s siblings include two older sisters, Wendy, who passed from a heart attack in November 2021, Chrissy, and a younger brother, Tony.
According to an interview article published on November 8, 2018, from The Clarion Ledger, Lacey told reporter Billy Watkins, “Because my grandmother and most of my extended family live there, it’s a place we often visit—not as often since we’ve had a child. But Purvis is a place I’m extremely proud to be from. I appreciate the values that were instilled in me there. I love the people and appreciate the support they’ve shown me through the years.”
On Stage at an Early Age
In 1985, from the Mississippi’s Our Little Miss Facebook page, we learn that Lacey gained the title “World’s Baby Petite” in the “World’s Our Little Miss Scholarship Competition.” Next on the agenda was auditioning for television commercials.
Around the age of seven, Chabert and her family moved to New York. It was here that she began doing commercial auditions. Her first paid commercial was for Triaminic cough syrup. Other acting roles were for Burger King, Zest, and Secret Beauties Dolls. As an adult, she has done commercials for Raising Cane’s, Walmart, and Sirius XM.
Around age fifteen, Lacey was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. During their interview, he played a clip of her when she was eight and appeared on Star Search. Take a moment to watch the segment and listen to her fantastic voice. Additionally, she is an accomplished violinist.
Around age nine, Chabert landed an opportunity for a role in the Broadway play, Les Misérables, playing the part of Cosette for two years. By age eleven, her new role was that of Claudia Salinger in Party of Five. The television teen drama lasted six years and, in 1996, earned a Golden Globe for Best TV Drama.
Have you heard or watched the soap opera All My Children? Lacey played the part of Bianca Montgomery, daughter of Susan Lucci’s character Erica Kane, from 1992-1993. She also did voiceovers for over 90 episodes of Family Guy and The Wild Thornberrys.
You can also add to the initial employment list as a co-star in the hit film Mean Girls, along with Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, and Amanda Seyfried. Lacey had a role in ABC Family’s Baby Daddy, and the made-for-television movies: Gypsy with Bette Midler and A Little Piece of Heaven with Cloris Leachman.
The Hallmark Queen
The first Hallmark movie that Chabert starred in was Elevator Girl, in 2010, one of my favorites. Two years later, she starred in her first Christmas Hallmark movie, Matchmaker Santa.
In 2019, the Hallmark Crossword Mysteries series began on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. To date, they are A Puzzle to Die For, Proposing Murder, Abracadaver, Terminal Descent and Riddle Me Dead, with regular cast members Brennan Elliott, Barbara Niven, and John Kapelos.
Since 2010, Lacey has starred in over forty Hallmark movies, earning her the title of Queen. It seems appropriate for someone who started wearing a crown as the “World’s Baby Petite.”
Lacey Chabert’s skills include being an executive producer and establishing Lacey Chabert Productions. She starred and produced The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango, The Wedding Veil trilogy in 2022 and a sequel in 2023. However, there is more regarding Chabert’s alliance with Hallmark. In late 2024, an announcement was made: “New for Holiday 2025, the Queen of Hallmark Christmas movies is partnering with Hallmark to bring an exclusive product collection to Hallmark Gold Crown Stores and Hallmark.com.” This all-new collection of holiday lifestyle products is the ultimate solution for hosting festive celebrations throughout the season, while creating new traditions with family and friends.
Available later this year, the new collection features holiday must-haves including greeting cards, gift wrap, and unique entertaining essentials—all with Lacey’s signature touch and distinctive details inspired by vintage Hallmark designs. Beyond the holiday season, the Lacey Chabert Collection will extend into 2026 with everyday products that help people create joyful memories year-round. (For additional information, see Hallmark.com.)
Hallmark will also be producing the second season of Celebrations with Lacey Chabert, which will air later this year. “In season 2, the series will continue to spotlight deserving community members with surprise celebrations in recognition of their incredible contributions.”
Favorite Holiday
What do the following movie title names have in common? The movies are Matchmaker Santa, The Sweetest Christmas, Christmas in Rome, Winter in Vail, Christmas at Castle Hart, Haul out the Holly, and Hot Frosty.
If your answer is Christmas, you are 100% correct. It is, after all, Lacey’s favorite holiday. And that is not because she has starred in so many Christmas-themed movies, although that is part of it. Christmas is her favorite because of the treasured memories that began when she was a child, spending time with her grandmother and family in Purvis.
While researching, I found an interview Lacey Chabert did with Melissa Locker with Southern Living.com (updated May 23, 2024). In the article, Lacey stated that she begins the Christmas season early. She said, “I genuinely love Christmas, and anyone who knows me knows I’m pretty Christmas obsessed.” Her favorite tradition at Christmas is cooking and using family recipes from her great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother. Some of their family favorites are sweet potato pie made with white sweet potatoes. Because her father is Cajun French, they enjoy Cajun food on Christmas Day.
During the Christmas holidays of 2013 she married Dave Nehdar, her high school sweetheart and now an entrepreneur, on December 22 in a private ceremony in Los Angeles. She wore a beautiful strapless full-length lace gown. Something unique about her wedding dress: in the movie, A Royal Christmas (2014), she wore her wedding gown again.
Today, Lacey and Dave live in California with their daughter, Julia Mimi Bella Nehdar, born September 1, 2016. Most of her family members now live in Texas, but she still has relatives in Purvis.
Many of Chabert’s acting roles have her falling in love. However, after watching a few of her movies, you may fall in love with this vivacious, talented, award-winning actress from Purvis. Follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Laura Lee Leathers
