Shelley Fabares, the actress known for her roles in The Donna Reed Show and several Elvis Presley movies, has died. She was 82.

Fabares’ family, including M*A*S*H star husband Mike Farrell, announced that the 2x Emmy-nominated Coach actress died “surrounded by those who loved her” on Saturday in Los Angeles.

“To her family and friends, Shelley was a source of love, strength, laughter, and comfort,” the family said. “She was a devoted wife, cherished stepmother, daughter, sister, niece, aunt, family member, and loyal friend whose warmth, generosity, humor, and grace made an enduring difference in the lives of everyone who knew her. She had a remarkable ability to make people feel welcomed, valued, and cared for.”

They added in part, “We will remember Shelley for her kindness, loyalty, wit, courage, and beautiful spirit. We will miss her deeply—not only as a celebrated performer, but as the loving and extraordinary person she was in our everyday lives.

“We are heartbroken by her loss, yet profoundly grateful for the years we shared with her and for the joy, compassion, and love she brought to so many. We ask that our family’s privacy be respected as we grieve. We take comfort in knowing that Shelley’s work and the memories she created with those who loved her will continue to live on,” the family wrote.

Born Jan. 19, 1944 in Santa Monica, Michele Ann Marie Fabares began acting at age 3, before making her TV debut at 10 in a 1954 episode of The Loretta Young Show. Over the years, she went on to appear in such shows as Annie Oakley, Walt Disney Presents: Annette, The Twilight Zone, The Incredible Hulk, Fantasy Island, Mork & Mindy, The Love Boat, Newhart and Murder She Wrote.

From 1958 to 1965, Fabares was known for playing daughter Mary Stone on the ABC sitcom The Donna Reed Show.

During this time, Fabares also had a recording contract, which resulted in her Top 40 hit “Johnny Angel” going to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1962. The song sold over a million copies, becoming certified gold.

Fabares also played Craig T. Nelson’s TV news anchor love interest Christine Armstrong in the ABC sitcom Coach, which ran for nine seasons from 1989 to 1997, earning her two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

On the big screen, Fabares starred opposite Elvis Presley in the movies Girl Happy (1965), Spinout (1966) and Clambake (1967). Her other films credits include The Bad Seed (1956), Hot Pursuit (1987) and Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006)

Anna Paquin, Christy Carlson Romano and Melissa Gilbert are calling on Hollywood to protect child actors following the deaths of Hayden Panettiere, Michelle Trachtenberg and Daveigh Chase.

Panettiere’s death at age 36 last Sunday prompted the three actresses, who were child stars themselves, to take their concerns public. Trachtenberg died at 39 in February 2025, while Chase died in July at age 35.

“It’s not a coincidence that so many former, specifically pre-sexualized female, child ‘stars’ have profoundly sad lives and untimely ends. We were not as protected by the ‘systems’ that look great on paper, as we are supposed to be,” Paquin wrote on Instagram Friday. She rose to fame at 11 years old with her film debut in 1993’s The Piano, which earned her an Oscar for best supporting actress.

“RIP HP, MT, DC and too many others. It’s a strange small club we belong to and you are worthy of support no matter how our industry makes us feel,” Paquin continued. “Literally DM me. I believe you and I will stand by your side. You aren’t alone. Let’s have each other’s backs. It might make public disclosure less terrifying.”

The True Blood alum added in a separate post, “One more thing– As an adult I’ve had the pleasure of working on productions where the welfare and mental health of young performers was handled incredibly carefully. Especially around material that was intense. It is possible to holistically look after the kids on set and tell complex and sometimes upsetting stories. It just has to be the top priority of the production.”

Earlier in the week, Elle published an essay by Romano — who appeared in 1996’s Everyone Says I Love You as a child before becoming a teen Disney star with her role in Even Stevens and voicing Kim Possible — where she compared child stardom to the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

“The former child actor exists in a category the world does not know how to hold. We are children when the public wants to feel protective of us, professionals when the industry wants to profit from us, and spoiled celebrities when we eventually show symptoms of having been both,” Romano wrote in part. “Early fame is like CTE. Not as a diagnosis. As a way of thinking about repeated impact. We now have language for youth sports: protocols, helmets, parents worried about concussions. But we have almost no language for what happens when stress, scrutiny, rejection, adult pressure, and the collapse of privacy become the architecture of a childhood.

She added, “Young performers are still treated as exceptions. Lucky exceptions. Cute exceptions. Talented exceptions. Exceptions whose labor powers one of the most profitable storytelling machines in the world, while their mental needs are treated as inconvenient or irrelevant. Social work be damned.”

Gilbert also shared a lengthy post on Substack Saturday, where she asked, “Why are these three sweet, wildly talented, vibrant, vital young women gone?” Gilbert landed her breakout role at just nine years old, playing Laura Ingalls Wilder on Little House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1983.

“I did not know Hayden personally and only worked briefly with Mishy and Daveigh. It feels personal because I was them,” Gilbert wrote. “We are all members of the same tribe; Female Former Child Performers, and when one of us dies, it runs through all of us like an electrical current. When three of us die so close together, something is very, very wrong. We all know the stories of how the entertainment industry uses, abuses, exploits and then throws away it’s youngest, but for some reason, this trend is getting worse.”

She later added, “Where is our Union in all of this? Where is the collective outrage? Where are the regulations? Where is the protection of privacy?”

“It really seems like no one cares enough to enact real change. At least, not until the next death and everyone talks about how sad they are and how we must do something and then they forget and get on with their lives until it happens again and again and again,” Gilbert continued. “Yes, addiction is a real disease. Family dysfunction is real. PTSD is real. In actors, all those things are assets. They enable us to access emotion and share it with an audience. But when it comes through children, it should be treated tenderly, protectively, respectfully and in a way that is as limited as possible.”

Gilbert’s post comes as her husband, Timothy Busfield, awaits trial in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after being accused of child sex abuse on the set of the former Fox/Warner Bros. Television series The Cleaning Lady. Gilbert has defended Busfield, who has denied the allegations.

Panettiere started working in Hollywood at a young age, appearing in the soap opera One Life to Live at just four years old before starring in 2000’s Remember the Titans at 10, among other projects. As for Trachtenberg, she appeared in the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete as a child, as well as 1996’s Harriet the Spy and 1999’s Inspector Gadget. Chase was known for voicing Lilo in 2002’s Lilo & Stitch when she was younger as well as starring in the 2002 horror film The Ring.

A24’s Tony landed at no. 7 in a big expansion to 1,642 runs (from just under 40). It’s cooking with a $5 million weekend and $6.6 million cume in week 3 for the Matt Johnson film starring Dominic Sessa as a young Anthony Bourdain and Antonio Banderas as an early mentor.

The coming-of-age story imagines a Cape Cod summer working at a lobster restaurant that helped shape the beloved late chef and TV host into the icon he ultimately became. The film is Certified Fresh at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 92% audience score, excellent exits and great word of mouth across age demos.

Black Bear’s ensemble company Spa Weekend, at no. 9, opened  to an estimated $3 million on just over 2,00 screens. Three childhood besties embark on a much-needed spa getaway that descends into chaos when their trainwreck friend joins. Stars Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau and Anna Faris.

With a B+ CinemaScore, it played strongest in the South, Midwest, and West Coast and reached an older audience who often continue to turn out for films later in their theatrical run.

Mubi’s Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma by Jane Schoenbrun starring Gillian Anderson and Hanna Einbinder rounds out the top ten with $1.9 million on 1,036 screens in a nationwide week 3 expansion. A stellar opening puts the edgy horror at a cume of $3.7 million.

One of the best reviewed horror films of the year and with strong word of mouth, it’s building on momentum established during its limited release in New York, LA and other major markets and continuing to find an audience among moviegoers drawn to unconventional horror and indie cinema.

Vertical’s first family film The Magic Faraway Tree based on a beloved U.K. book series and starring Andrew Garfield debuted to $1.4 million at 1,611 theaters. Played well on the coasts with top performers NYC’s AMC Lincoln Square and Alamo Brooklyn, LA’s AMC Century City and Cinemark’s Bella Terra in Huntington Beach, and Sacramento’s Cinemark Blue Oaks. 

The distributor also noted strength across the country from Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, Providence and Portland to Oregon, Honolulu and Anchorage. Cinemark’s heartland-based theaters were particularly strong, speaking to the family audience.

Moderate releases: Prathyangira Cinemas’ family actioner Irumudi, a Telugu film by Shiva Nirvana, opened to a cool $1 million from 345 locations, as per Rentrak.

Sci-fi drama Hot Spot from Focus Features debuted to $250k at 268 locations. Will continue its limited theatrical run in coming weeks.

Never Stop Chasing, Abramorama’s storm chasing documentary with Reed Timmer and his crew, opened to $164k at 126 theaters.

Limited releases: Neon horror It Ends opened on 5 screens to $60k.

Watermelon Pictures’ documentary American Doctor took in $32k at 2 theaters in NY and LA for an $82k week 2 cume. Expands to Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle next week.

Greenwich opened French hit The Marching Band in NYC at the Angelika Film Center for an estimated 3-day weekend gross of $12.2k.