Celebs Who Had Their Careers Revived By Hallmark

For more than a century, Hallmark cemented a legacy in greeting cards, occasions ranging from graduation to Valentine's Day. Hallmark was the go-to for a sentimental, heartfelt message.. The company applied this strategy to its cable channel, which was first established in 2001. It wasn't until the 2010s that the Hallmark Channel leaned into TV films centered around the holidays, especially Christmas, often following a comforting formula and promising a happy ending. As a New Yorker piece put it, "The familiarity of the films is essential to their success." Part of that familiarity is the network's leading faces — placing actors who enjoyed popular roles in the 1990s and early 2000s, like Lacey Chabert of "Mean Girls" or Danica McKellar of "The Wonder Years," center stage and having them return for dozens of movies.

In recent years, some of Hallmark's most prominent stars, like Candace Cameron Bure, have defected to rival channel Great American Family, which is run by a former Hallmark CEO. Hallmark remains highly rated and is the 12th most popular channel on TV, according to the U.S. Television Database, and that's thanks to its stable of familiar faces. Below, see which celebrities have experienced a career revitalization thanks to Hallmark.

Lacey Chabert may be best known for starring as Regina George's sidekick, Gretchen Wieners, in 2004's "Mean Girls," and as the youngest sister, Claudia, in "Party of Five" from 1994 to 2000, but at Hallmark, she's always a main character. Chabert got her start at the network in 2010 as Liberty Taylor in "Elevator Girl," about a working-class woman who falls for a lawyer. She has gone on to star in (and, apparently, make a fortune from) over 40 Hallmark movies, including the Netflix 2024 fan-favorite Christmas film "Hot Frosty."

Reflecting on what starring in 40 Hallmark films meant to her, Chabert said on "Sherri," "You know how this business is, you never know what one turn and the ebb and flow and the journey ... I never knew that when I did the first one, which was called 'Elevator Girl,' that I would have the chance and the opportunity to tell 40 of these sweet heartwarming stories." She is also grateful for the chance to travel; reflecting on her experience filming in Iceland for 2024's "A Christmas Quest," Chabert told "The Talk," "I was there for about a month and it was just incredible. I mean, we were filming on ice glaciers and inside lava caves and in places I probably never would have gone in my life. That's one of my favorite parts of my job. I always bring my family if I can."

According to People, next up for Chabert is a starring role in Hallmark's TV adaptation of Jenn McKinlay's book "Paris Is Always a Good Idea."

Chabert's fellow "Mean Girls" star, Jonathan Bennett, (who played love interest), with whom she is extremely close, has followed in her footsteps in finding a new home at Hallmark. Since 2015, he has starred in over a dozen films for the network; he also co-created and hosted its first reality-competition series, "Finding Mr. Christmas," in which he and the judges searched for Hallmark's next leading man. He had an unlikely inspiration when pitching the show: "When I was pitching the show to Hallmark, I said, 'It's Kelly Clarkson syndrome. Why does America and everyone love Kelly Clarkson so much?'" he said on "The Kelly Clarkson Show." "We're actually letting the audience in on the process of us finding the next Hallmark hunk ... I created the show so that way we can literally help people, help actors have their dream come true."

On a more personal note, Bennett partnered with Hallmark to produce, write, and star in the network's first LGBTQ-led film, 2022's "The Holiday Sitter." He then went on to star in 2025's "The Groomsmen: Second Chances," which featured Hallmark's first onscreen gay wedding. "What's so powerful about what Hallmark Channel is doing is it's telling stories about the holidays that are for everybody — because the holidays are for everyone — and creating a space that's safe where people feel seen," Bennett told Them magazine. "I'm just so proud to be part of a place that is doing inclusive programming because it's so important as a gay man myself, to see what my love looks like onscreen next to everybody else."

An actor who didn't seem so thrilled with Hallmark's more inclusive direction was Candace Cameron Bure, who was best known for playing the oldest sister, DJ, on "Full House" from 1987 to 1995 before going on to star in over two dozen Hallmark films, including 18 installments of the "Aurora Teagarden" franchise. For over a decade, she enjoyed a good relationship with the network; while promoting her 2019 film "Christmas Town," Bure said in an interview, "I started this journey ten years ago with Hallmark Channel and I remember my first Christmas movie, 'Moonlight and Mistletoe,' and to think of all the different journeys I've been on over the years ... it's been really great."

However, the relationship seemed to sour in 2022, when she departed Hallmark to become the chief creative officer at the cable channel Great American Family — sparking some backlash among other Hallmark alums. Bure highlighted that Great American Family was more aligned with her values. "My heart wants to tell stories that have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them," Bure told The Wall Street Journal. "I knew that the people behind Great American Family were Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment." She added of Hallmark, "It basically is a completely different network than when I started because of the change of leadership," referring to Hallmark's former CEO, Bill Abbott, leaving the network after he refused to air commercials featuring same-sex kissing and faced subsequent backlash. Abbott went on to become the CEO of Great American.

Bure's former "Full House" co-star, Lori Loughlin (who played Aunt Becky on the ABC show), on the other hand, might be relieved to return to the Hallmark Channel. Starting in 2010, Loughlin starred in several films for the network; she also had a six-season stint as Abigail Stanton in the original series "When Calls the Heart." However, her time with Hallmark came to a halt in 2019 after she was charged and sentenced to two months in prison for her role in a college admissions scandal, when she and her husband allegedly paid bribes to have their daughters accepted into USC. At the time, Hallmark released a statement saying, "We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations. We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin," per Us Weekly.

Enough time has passed for the network to have a change of heart. It was announced that Loughlin would return to "When Calls the Heart" season 14, airing in 2027. Loughlin made a surprise appearance at a December 2025 panel for the show, where the announcement was made. "I just want to thank everyone at Hallmark for being so loving and so welcoming ... and this just feels incredible," she said, per People. She also thanked her fans: "I would just like to say to the fans, thank you for your support over the years, it really means a lot," she said at the premiere for "Hope Valley 1874," per KSNV News. "And thank you for championing my coming back because they heard you and I appreciate that."

In the 2000s, Jesse Metcalfe was known for starring as the playboy John Tucker in "John Tucker Must Die" and as gardener John Rowland in "Desperate Housewives." He was picked up by Hallmark in 2015, making his leading-man debut in "A Country Wedding" and starring in several installments of the "A Martha's Vineyard Mystery" series. However, the Hallmark project he seemed most proud of was the original series "Chesapeake Shores," on which he starred from 2016 to 2021. He got to provide input on the direction of his character, Trace Riley. "That's the great thing about working with this network, is that they're very collaborative and really give you a lot of creative leeway to create and come up with story lines in character and a character that you really relate to," Metcalfe told "Build Series."

Metcalfe is also an aspiring musician and appreciated that some of the songs he wrote made it into the show: "The fact that they wanted to bring a music element into the series, which wasn't in the books, was very appealing to me because it was an opportunity for me to show people another side of me and to bring one of my other passions to the screen," he told The PC Principle, adding that he was proud of the three songs that made it into the series' first eight episodes.

Despite this collaboration, Metcalfe left "Chesapeake Shores" before production of its fifth season in 2021, implying that he didn't have as much creative input as before. "That creative relationship was not really established this time around," he told Entertainment Tonight, though he added that he hoped to one day return to Hallmark.

From 1988 to 1993, audiences fell in love with Danica McKellar as Winnie Cooper in the coming-of-age series "The Wonder Years." Though McKellar had appearances in small films and TV shows, including a stint on "How I Met Your Mother," she mostly stepped back from acting for many years. In 2015, however, she found a new home on Hallmark when she starred in that year's "Perfect Match." She ended up being the face of over a dozen Hallmark films, including three installments of "Matchmaker Mysteries." In 2021, however, McKellar followed in Candace Cameron Bure's footsteps out of Hallmark to work with Great American Family. McKellar explained on Cheryl Burke's "Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans" podcast, "Great American Family Channel was started by the man who ran Hallmark Channel for 20 years. Bill Abbott is his name. I credit him with reviving my career ... when he left to start his own network and he asked me to come along, I was like, 'Yeah!'" She added that Great American gave her multi-picture deals and got her involved in the creative process.

McKellar has nothing but good things to say about Hallmark, however: "I've done 16 movies for the Hallmark Channel and I loved my time there," McKellar told Insider in 2022. "...If you look at most movies, it's mostly guys. I've been in the business for over 30 years, and to have gotten to tell these stories and not be 'the girlfriend of' or 'the wife of' or 'the daughter of,' it's been wonderful."

Rachael Leigh Cook is best known for starring as geek turned prom-queen candidate Laney Boggs in 1999's classic "She's All That" opposite Freddie Prinze Jr. After booking several direct-to-video films over the years, she was scooped up by the Hallmark Channel in 2016 for a lead role in "Summer Love." Cook has voiced enthusiasm about where the rom-com is heading and Hallmark's role in pushing the genre forward. "I think we're at a place where people need and love [rom-coms] unapologetically more than ever..." she told Decider while promoting her 2026 film "Caught by Love." "I don't think that people are going to max out on wanting to see love be found and experienced, and I think that the future of the rom-com is bright."

"It's exactly what I would like to be known as having left behind," she told the "Hallmarkies Podcast" about her legacy as a rom-com icon. When asked what excites her most about continuing to work on Hallmark films, Cook said, "I know that there's going to be those moments on set where we do something that is just on the edge of being too silly to stay in the movie, but sometimes it does. I love so much about it."

Chad Michael Murray became a teen heartthrob after leading 2000s favorites like "Freaky Friday," "A Cinderella Story," and "One Tree Hill." His star faded by the 2010s, he has enjoyed a career resurgence on Hallmark with half a dozen films under his belt. What Murray liked best about the network was its relatable, appropriate content, as he told Culturess in 2021: "Over the years I've developed a fantastic relationship with Hallmark. I just feel like the world needs more and more good-hearted family content, right?" he said. "And so when these stories come across my table, I just try to find something where I know that I can identify with the character so I can bring his best foot forward."

However, signs point to Murray being done with Hallmark after he started working with Great American Family in 2021. Though Murray hasn't publicly commented on the move between networks, his faith and values seemed to play a role in it: "I stick to the things I believe in," he said, per PureFlix. "Let's just say a piece of material were to come across my desk, which has happened plenty of times over the last 22 years, that I don't necessarily feel is what I believe or what I'm selling — then that's not for me." Murray now stars in CTV's "Sullivan's Crossing," and he appeared in 2025's "Freakier Friday," so his future at Hallmark and Great American Family is unclear.

Alexa PenaVega — formerly known as Alexa Vega — starred as Carmen Cortez in four "Spy Kids" films as a teenager in the early 2000s. She had a recurring role on "Nashville" and made an appearance on "Dancing With the Stars" in 2015 before situating herself at Hallmark. From 2016 to 2023, she led a dozen Hallmark movies, several of which also featured her husband, Carlos PenaVega. Their real-life romance didn't seem to affect their performances, as Hallmark continued to put them together: "A lot of people say that they don't like watching couples on screen because there's no chemistry because they know each other so well ... but we're so flirty in real life ... we just have so much fun together," Alexa said on "The Unplanned Podcast."

Although the PenaVegas started working with Great American Family in 2024 and have considered quitting Hollywood altogether, they have sung Hallmark's praises. "If I had to work for one company for the rest of my life I would choose Hallmark," Alexa told AllMomDoes in 2017. Carlos added, "Hallmark has been the best to our family. Christmas is our favorite time of year and being able to make a feel-good Christmas movie is the best way to end each year."

Luke MacFarlane made a name for himself in 2006 as Scotty Wandell for five seasons on the ABC show "Brothers & Sisters." But on the Hallmark Channel, he has become a favorite leading man, starting with 2014's "The Memory Book" and continuing across more than 15 films. He's stated that one of his favorite perks of working with the network is the work-life balance it grants him: "I love making Hallmark movies ... So when they do call and they say, 'Come play with us,' I say yes because it's always one of the most joyful kinds of experiences I get to have as an actor," he told TVGoodness in 2026.

MacFarlane has even been granted the opportunity to move into development and creative production with Hallmark; as he told Variety, he is working on an LGBTQ Christmas film with the network, hoping to provide an escape from political attacks on the community. "I think what's interesting with Hallmark is their brand is so intact and part of their brand has never been to be overtly political, at least all the time that I've worked there," he said. "For them, it's just continuing to tell stories that really resonate with people that can still be an escape from the difficulties of our current situation."

Tamera Mowry-Housley is best known for her work with her twin sister, Tia Mowry, in the '90s WB sitcom "Sister, Sister" and the 2011–2013 reality series "Tia & Tamera." She has come into her own at Hallmark, beginning her solo career with the network in 2019 and starring in 11 films as of May 2026. One of her more recent films, 2024's "Scouting for Christmas," saw her playing Angela, a busy single mother, and Mowry-Housley found Angela's journey relatable. "I resonate with Angela on a cellular level," she told The Knockturnal. "I am one of those moms that still to this day struggle with balance ... that's the message that I want this movie to give moms and single moms. Single moms — they're rock stars."

Though many of her Hallmark co-workers moved over to Great American Family, it seems we can expect Mowry-Housley to continue working with her original network. "I love Hallmark; I love everything they stand for," she told The Knockturnal. "I feel like being in a Hallmark film is magical, but most importantly, I love that Hallmark films bring magic to the people."