'WHEN CALLS the HEART' CAST BIOS LORI LOUGHLIN (Abigail Stanton) – Best Recognized for Her Role As Rebecca Donaldson on Th
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‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’ CAST BIOS LORI LOUGHLIN (Abigail Stanton) – Best recognized for her role as Rebecca Donaldson on the long-running hit comedy series “Full House,” Lori Loughlin added another iconic series to her resume: The CW’s “90210.” In it, she played the mother of two teenagers who struggle with their family’s move from the normalcy of Kansas to the fast lane of Beverly Hills. Film projects include the 2009 comedy feature “Old Dogs,” in which Loughlin starred opposite Robin Williams and John Travolta, playing the latter’s love interest. Another recent feature film of Loughlin’s was “Moondance Alexander,” in which she portrayed an eccentric mother whose daughter finds a pony and is determined to win the Bow Valley Classic. Loughlin has starred in the Hallmark Channel Original Movies, “Meet My Mom” and “Garage Sale Mystery.” Born and raised in Hauppauge, Long Island, Loughlin got her start in show business at a young age. She was cast in the daytime drama “The Edge of Night,” for which she received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actress in a Daytime Series. In 1985, Loughlin was cast in the feature film “Secret Admirer,” a romantic comedy co-starring C. Thomas Howell and Kelly Preston. Loughlin also starred opposite Treat Williams in “Critical Mass,” in the beach movie spoof “Back to the Beach,” in “Rad,” a film about BMX racing, and in “Amityville 3-D,” the third installment of the “Amityville” horror franchise. In addition to “Full House,” Loughlin was a regular on “Hudson Street,” a comedy starring Tony Danza. She was also the star and producer of The WB’s family drama “Summerland.” Other television roles have included an after-school special entitled “No Means No,” for which she received an Emmy® nomination for Best Actress. Loughlin also worked with Jim Carrey in the TV movie “Doing Time on Maple Drive” and starred in “In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory.” She has made repeat performances in a number of series, including “The Drew Carey Show” and “Spin City,” and guest-starred in such series as “Seinfeld,” “Suddenly Susan,” “The Larry Sanders Show” and “Birds of Prey.” Loughlin resides in Los Angeles with her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, and their three children. ### JEAN SMART (Frances Tunnecliffe) – A versatile and gifted actress, Jean Smart continues to exhibit her extraordinary talents in theater, television and film. Since completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Washington, Smart’s career has launched into worldwide critical acclaim. Before coming to Los Angeles she made her Broadway debut in Piaf and originated the role of Lil in Last Summer at Bluefish Cove off-Broadway, for which she received a Drama Desk nomination. In the 2010-2011 television season, Smart did double duty with recurring roles as both the Governor of Hawaii in the re-imagined version of “Hawaii 5-0” for CBS and as a love interest for (more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’– Cast Bios – Page 2 William Shattner on “*%# My Dad Says” also for CBS. Other recent works include the Hallmark Channel Original Movie “William and Catherine: A Royal Romance” and the independent film “Barry Munday” starring Patrick Wilson and Judy Greer. She most recently joined Katherine Heigl, Josh Lucas, Josh Duhamel and Christina Hendricks in the Warner Brothers feature film, “Life As We Know It” as Helen, Heigl’s character’s mother. Smart also recently played Michael Cera’s mother in Miguel Arteta’s comedy “Youth in Revolt,” which hit theatres in early 2010. In addition, Smart has been seen in the Emmy® Award winning comedy series, “Samantha Who?” with Christina Applegate, for which she earned her third Emmy® Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. In 2006, Smart received her fourth Emmy® nomination, this time for her role as the troubled and medicated First Lady Martha Logan on the Fox drama “24.” That same year the show won the Emmy® for Best Drama and received a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actor’s Guild nomination for Ensemble Cast. In 2001, Smart won her second Emmy® for her guest-starring role on “Frasier” and was nominated for Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her recurring role on “The District.” In 2000 Smart received recognition in theater, film and television when she earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her critically acclaimed performance in the Miramax feature film “Guinevere” opposite Sarah Polley, was awarded her first Emmy® for her hilarious recurring role on “Frasier” and was nominated for a Tony® for Best Actress in a Play for her starring role on Broadway opposite Nathan Lane in The Man Who Came To Dinner. Smart has also starred in the HBO drama series “Maximum Security” and the popular sitcom “Designing Women.” Several TV series and television films followed, including “Overkill,” the critically acclaimed story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, “High Society,” in which she played neurotic novelist Ellie Walker opposite Mary McDonnell (an Americanized version of the British phenomenon “Absolutely Fabulous”), Peter Tolan’s comedy “Style and Substance,” “In-Laws” opposite Dennis Farina and “Center of the Universe” opposite John Goodman. In 2003 Smart starred with husband Richard Gilliland in the Hallmark Channel Original Movie, “Audrey’s Rain.” Smart’s recent film credits include Curtis Hanson’s “Lucky You” opposite Eric Bana and Robert Duvall, “Hero Wanted” starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Ray Liotta, “Garden State” for first-time director and writer Zach Braff opposite Braff, Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard, “Mistress” with Danny Aiello and Robert DeNiro, “Flashpoint” with Kris Kristofferson, “Bringing Down the House” with Steve Martin and Queen Latifa, “The Kid” with Bruce Willis, “Sweet Home Alabama” with Reese Witherspoon and “I ♥ Huckabees.” Smart currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two children. ### (more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’– Cast Bios – Page 3 MAGGIE GRACE (Aunt Elizabeth) – Maggie Grace made her Broadway debut in Roudabout's Picnic with Mare Winningham, Ellen Burstyn and Elizabeth Marvel. She is perhaps most recognizable from Fox’s “Taken” franchise, the blockbuster action drama, opposite Liam Neeson. Grace established her character Irina in Summit Entertainment's highly anticipated “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1,” which was followed by “Breaking Dawn – Part 2.” Grace also portrays Faith on the popular SHOWTIME series “Californication,” opposite David Duchovny. No stranger to the world of indie film, Grace has had notable roles in “The Experiment,” opposite Adrian Brody, “The Jane Austen Book Club,” opposite Maria Bello, Kathy Baker and Emily Blunt, “Flying Lessons” and the newly released “Decoding Annie Parker,” with Helen Hunt. Other film credits include Fox’s “Knight and Day” for director James Mangold and CBS Films’/Sony International’s “Faster.” Grace also stars opposite Anna Paquin on the web series “Susanna” on the YouTube channel, “Wigs.” Grace recently revisited television with “The Following,” opposite Kevin Bacon and is remembered for her years as Shannon Rutherford on ABC’s ground-breaking television series “Lost.” Grace currently resides in Los Angeles and New York. ### STEPHEN AMELL (Wynn Delaney) – Best known for his role as the crime-fighting vigilante Oliver Queen in CW’s “Arrow,” Canadian actor Stephen Amell has performed in a variety of diverse roles. Beginning his acting career portraying a spinning instructor in Showtime’s “Queer as Folk,” Amell has also added a number of television series to his resume including CTV’s "Degrassi: The Next Generation," ESPN’s original drama series "Tilt" and ABC Family’s "Beautiful People." Amell also played the role of Joran Van Der Sloot in Lifetime's "Justice for Natalee Holloway," which told the true story of Beth Holloway's quest to bring Joran, the presumed killer of her daughter, to justice. Amell received praise for his chameleon-like role as the Dutch sociopath. On the small screen, Amell has been seen opposite Zooey Deschanel on FOX’s "New Girl" and had a recurring arc as EMT Scotty on the ABC series "Private Practice." In the HBO series "Hung," Amell joined the cast as Jason, a young gigolo who becomes the competitor of Thomas Jane’s character Ray. (more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’– Cast Bios – Page 4 Other notable guest star appearances include "CSI: Miami," "NCIS: Los Angeles," "The Vampire Diaries" and "90210." In the fall of 2007, Amell won a Gemini Award for Best Actor in a Guest- Starring Role for his work in "Regenesis," a dramatic series on Canada's The Movie Network. ### POPPY DRAYTON (Elizabeth Thatcher) – English-born actress Poppy Drayton is a rising newcomer with a diverse array of talent, portraying both on-and off-screen roles. Drayton has graced the theater stage, playing Rosalind in As You Like It, Mika in Monkey Bars, Laura in The Glass, Varya in The Cherry Orchard and Edward in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me. Drayton has also been seen in many short films including “Extras,” “London to Brighton,” “The Duchess,” “I Captured the Castle” and “Close My Eyes.” Currently, Drayton is attending Arts Education Schools London and has won the John Gielgud Award and the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. ### --HALLMARK CHANNEL-- .