1985–2003: Beginnings and breakthrough with Party of Five Some of Chabert's earliest roles were in television commercials for
Burger King,
Triaminic,
Cough Syrup,
Zest and Secret Beauties dolls. In 1992–93, Chabert played the role of young Cosette in
Les Misérables on
Broadway. She appeared on
The Broadway Kids' first album
The Broadway Kids Sing Broadway (1994), where she sang her own solos on such songs as "The Girl I Mean to Be" (from
The Secret Garden) and "Castle on a Cloud" (from
Les Misérables). In 1994, she landed the role of Claudia Salinger on the
Fox network
teen/
family drama series
Party of Five. The show centered on the five Salinger siblings, who are orphaned after their parents are killed in a car accident caused by a
drunk driver. The show received positive reviews and ran for six seasons, from September 12, 1994 to May 3, 2000. She won
The Hollywood Reporter's annual YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Drama TV Series in both 1997 and 1998 for
Party of Five, and was nominated three other times for her work in 1999 to 2000. The YoungStar awards honor the best film, TV, and music performances made exclusively by 6- to 18-year-olds. Chabert made her big-screen debut starring as Penny Robinson in
Lost in Space (1998). She then had a supporting role as Amanda Becker in the parody film
Not Another Teen Movie (2001), and provided the voice of Aleu, the title character's daughter, in
Balto 2: Wolf Quest (2002). In addition to her animation voice work as Eliza Thornberry from 1998–2004, Chabert was the voice of Meg Griffin, uncredited, on the first season of
Family Guy in 1999.
Mila Kunis took over the role when Chabert became too busy with schooling and her other work.
2004–2013: Film success and television roles Chabert co-starred as Gretchen Wieners, the girl who tries to make her
slang term "fetch" catch on, in the hit film
Mean Girls (2004). She and her co-stars
Lindsay Lohan,
Rachel McAdams, and
Amanda Seyfried went on to win the 2005
MTV Movie Award for "Best On-Screen Team". Chabert also played the title role in
The Brooke Ellison Story, a 2004 television biopic produced and directed by
Christopher Reeve, based on a real-life quadriplegic woman who overcame obstacles to graduate from
Harvard University. Chabert then appeared in
Hello Sister, Goodbye Life (2006) on
ABC Family; had a role in a
2006 remake of the 1974 horror film
Black Christmas, and in an episode of
Ghost Whisperer opposite former
Party of Five co-star
Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her voice work in the second half of the decade included the roles of
Princess Elise in the video game
Sonic the Hedgehog and
Gwen Stacy in
The Spectacular Spider-Man animated series.
2014–present: Focus on Hallmark films From 2013 to 2014, Chabert had a recurring role on the ABC Family sitcom
Baby Daddy as Dr. Amy Shaw. In 2015, she starred in the television film
A Christmas Melody alongside
Mariah Carey,
Brennan Elliott,
Kathy Najimy, and
Fina Strazza. It was viewed by 3.95 million people when it debuted on the Hallmark Channel on December 19, 2015. In 2017, she provided her voice to the animated film
All I Want for Christmas Is You, based on the book of the same title, written by Carey and Colleen Madden. The film also stars the voices of Carey,
Breanna Yde and
Henry Winkler. She began 2018 with another Hallmark Channel original movie as part of its
Valentine's Day Countdown. In 2019, Chabert began starring in the
Crossword Mysteries series on the
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. After several actors left the Hallmark Channel in 2022 to go to the new
Great American Family network, Chabert voiced her allegiance to Hallmark, and signed a new contract allowing her to take on a larger role with the network, including producing some of her own movies. Chabert portrayed marketing executive Josie Wilder in the network's
romantic drama
Sweet Carolina in 2021, in which Josie returns home and suddenly becomes her niece and nephew's guardian. Chabert was credited as an executive producer and also contributed to the film's story with
Jonathan Prince and
Michael Reisz. In February 2022, Chabert signed an exclusive multi-film deal with Hallmark Channel's parent company,
Crown Media Family Networks. She co-starred with
Kevin McGarry in the popular‘‘The Wedding Veil’’ series. In November 2023, Chabert starred in a
Mean Girls-themed
Black Friday commercial for
Walmart, along with her original co-stars Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried,
Rajiv Surendra and
Daniel Franzese. A second commercial, titled "Gretchen's Wednesday", was entirely centered around Chabert's character Gretchen Wieners and her family life. On November 27, 2023, it was announced that Chabert was working on an unscripted Hallmark project,
Celebrations with Lacey Chabert, which premiered on
Hallmark+ on September 10, 2024. She was also credited as an executive producer of the series. Chabert starred as a widow who brings a snowman to life two years after losing her husband. Released on November 13, 2024,
Hot Frosty was placed at number one on Netflix in its first week after release. In 2025, Chabert starred in the Hallmark movie ''She's Making a List'' as Isabel who works for the Naughty or Nice Group. In 2026, Chabert starred in the Hallmark movie
Lost in Paradise as a fashion company founder named Sophia, who is marooned on an island with a struggling chef (portrayed by
Ian Harding) following a private airplane crash. == Business ventures ==