The Facts of Life stars Lisa Whelchel and Geri Jewell hold 'family' reunion
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT "We aren't technically family, but since we played one on TV… and we've known each other for almost a half a century, it sure feels like it!"

You take Lisa Whelchel, you take Geri Jewell, you take them both, and there you have… a Facts of Life reunion!

On Friday, Whelchel posted a collection of photos of her and Jewell, who played her onscreen cousin Geri on the beloved sitcom. On the actress' Instagram account the pair can be seen wearing similar red shirts and heart-shaped necklaces.

“We aren’t technically family, but since we played one on TV (Cousin Geri) and we’ve known each other for almost a half a century, it sure feels like it!” she captioned the photo set. “So good to catch up with the funny and wise and deep and talented Geri Jewell!”

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NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Whelchel starred as the preppy Blair Warner across all nine seasons of The Facts of Life, which aired from 1979 until 1988. Jewell, who lives with cerebral palsy, played Blair’s cousin Geri Tyler across 12 episodes during the show’s second season.

This isn’t the first Facts of Life reunion to happen this year. Whelchel also met up with her former costars Nancy McKeon (who played Jo Polniaczek) and Mindy Cohn (who played Natalie Green) as part of a surprise appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show back in February.

Barrymore later expressed just how influential the series and its characters were to her when she was growing up.

"I think for those of us who didn't grow up in a traditional mother-father or two-parent household… I saw myself with you guys because you were raising yourself, you were raising each other, and Mrs. Garrett [the late Charlotte Rae] was at the helm of that," she explained. "Television [was] heavy on family, and I didn't relate and I didn't identify, didn’t see myself there… What I was learning was to be a strong, independent female who could take care of themself and value female friendship and know that there was someone there watching out for them.”

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