Recast "The Facts of Life" and Win a Prize!

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Wed, 09/05/2007 - 1:16pm by BuzzSugar

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Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

Oh, how I miss Tootie, Blair, Jo and Natalie! And Mrs. Garrett, always at the ready with her witticisms and kindly advice. I know nothing and nobody can replace the comfort and joy that the original cast of "The Facts of Life" provided, but if you could recast this beloved sitcom in this day and age, who would you pick for the central characters?

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, September 11, complete with a "new" cast photo. To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Characters to recast:
Blair (Lisa Whelchel)
Tootie (Kim Fields)
Natalie (Mindy Cohn)
Jo (Nancy McKeon)
Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae)

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

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43 Comments Post a Comment

leeluvfashion [+]

Blair - Emma Roberts
Tootie - Keke Palmer
Natalie - Kallie Flynn Childress
Jo - Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque
Mrs. Garrett - Jane Fonda

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 1:45pm Report Comment

Hootie [+]

Mrs. Garrett ~ Doris Roberts

Blair ~ Jessica Simpson

Jo ~ Jessica Alba

Natalie ~ America Ferrera

Tootie ~ Rihanna

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 1:48pm Report Comment

schnappycat [+]

Mrs G: Joy Behar
Natalie: Nikki Blonski
Blair: Amanda Seyfried
Jo: Missy Peregrym
Tootie: Taylor Parks

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 2:01pm Report Comment

alynn [+]

Blair - Blake Lively
Tootie - Shareeka Epps
Natalie - Nikki Blonsky
Jo - Michelle Trachtenberg
Mrs. Garrett - Kelly Bishop

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 2:04pm Report Comment

rinxy [+]

Blair - Amanda Seyfried
Tootie - Raven-Symoné
Natalie - Nikki Blonsky
Jo - Amanda Bynes
Mrs. Garrett - Caroline Rhea

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 2:11pm Report Comment

Whiplash [+]

Blair - Hayden Panettiere
Tootie - Monique Coleman
Natalie - Nikki Blonksy
Jo - Zooey Deschanel
Mrs. Garrett - Brenda Blethyn

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 2:33pm Report Comment

ddene5713 [+]

oh my god, natalie was a hard one to pick a character for...

Blair - Hayden Panettierre

Tootie - Meagan Good [when she had braces in the famous jett jackson, she def. reminded me of tootie]

Natalie - Kaycee Stroh [High School Musical] OR Nikki Blonsky [Hairspray]

Jo - Jessica Biel [they have similar smiles and eyes]

Mrs. Garrett - Katey Sagal (w/ red hair) [they have the EXACT face pretty much]

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 2:39pm Report Comment

holysnap [+]

Blair-Nathalia Ramos[frm:bratz-the movie(2007)]
Tootie-Kyla Prat
Natalie-Nikki Blonsky
Jo-Lacey Chabert
Mrs. Garrett-Ana Gasteyer

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 3:09pm Report Comment

ToddMP06 [+]

Blair~Lindsay Lohan
Tootie~Keshia Knight-Pulliam
Natalie~Nikki Blonsky
Jo~Amanda Bynes
Mrs. G~Mindy Cohn

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 4:19pm Report Comment

SugarySweet022 [+]

Blair - Sara Paxton
Tootie - Keke Palmer
Natalie - Kaycee Stroh
Jo - Amber Tamblyn
Mrs.Garret - Debbie Reynolds

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 4:35pm Report Comment

angelcakesugar [+]

Blair- Amanda Seyfried
Tootie- Raven Simone
Natalie-Nikki Blonsky (Traci in 'Hairspray')
Jo- Eliza Dushku
Mrs. Garret- Reba McEntire

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 5:18pm Report Comment

Kazagirl [+]

Blair- Heidi Montag (The Hills)
Tootie- Lil Mama (Rapper)
Natalie- America Ferrera (Actress)
Jo- Michelle Rodriguez (Actress)
Mrs. Garret- Sharon Gless (Actress- "queer as folk")

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 5:51pm Report Comment

MindayH [+]

Blair - Jessica Simpson
Tootie - Jennifer Hudson
Natalie - Tina Majorino
Jo - Jordana Spiro
Mrs. Garrett - Bette Midler

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 6:39pm Report Comment

BShax [+]

Blair -- Amanda Bynes
Tootie -- Jennifer Hudson
Natalie -- Emma Roberts
Jo -- Jenna Malone
Mrs. Garrett -- Queen Latifah

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 6:42pm Report Comment

brainstormchaser [+]

Blair (Alice Eve - "Starter for Ten")
Tootie (Tessa Thompson - "Veronica Mars")
Natalie (Kat Dennings - "40 Year-Old Virgin")
Jo (Martha MacIsaac - "Superbad")
Mrs. Garrett (Melora Hardin - "The Office")

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 8:15pm Report Comment

JennaV [+]

I think schnappycat nailed it!

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 9:17pm Report Comment

paperdahl [+]

Blair: Hayden Panatierre
Tootie: Keke Palmer
Natalie: Rachel Weisz
Jo: Patricia Arquette
Mrs. Garrett: Bette Midler

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 10:07pm Report Comment

tdamji [+]

Blair - Hilary Duff
Tootie - Raven-Symoné
Natalie - Mandy Moore
Jo - Liv Tyler
Mrs. Garrett - Annette Bening

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 10:34pm Report Comment

jpullman813 [+]

Blair - Liza Weil (yes she's a bit old for the part now, but she basically was a new version of Blair on Gilmore Girls)

Jo - Scarlett Powers (from Reba)

Tootie - Raven

Natalie - America Ferrara

Mrs. G - Kathy Najimy

Wed, 09/05/2007 - 11:12pm Report Comment

vawilliams [+]

Blair: Missi Pyle
Tootie: Raven
Natalie: Jenna Von Oy
Jo: Laura Prepon
Mrs. Garrett: Debra Jo Rupp

I don't think typecasting is really necessary, so here are my picks. The castings from 'That '70s Show' would bring in viewers!

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 5:47am Report Comment

krock19 [+]

Based on these ladies comedic timing:

Queen Latifah as Mrs. Garrett
Kristen Bell as Jo
Amanda Bynes as Blaire
America Ferrara as Natalie
Raven as Tootie

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 6:24am Report Comment

peskipiksi [+]

oK upfront, my cast is probably not in the spirit of what the challenge had in mind, but it was fun thinking up.

Mrs. Garrett - Shirley MacLaine

Blair - Angelina Jolie

Tootie - Countess Vaughn

Natalie - Camryn Manheim

Jo - Marisa Tomei

And as a bonus:
Beverly Ann Stickle (Cloris Leachman's character) - Jane Fonda
Her Son Andy Stickle - Sean Hayes
George Burnett (played by George Clooney) - Ashton Kutcher

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 6:45am Report Comment

LaLaLaurie06 [+]

Blair (Brittany Snow)
Tootie (Keisha Knight Pulliam)
Natalie (Nikki Blonsky)
Jo (Lizzy Kaplan)
Mrs. Garrett (Kathy Bates)

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 8:14am Report Comment

LaLaLaurie06 [+]

jpullman813- kathy najimy would be a GREAT choice for this recast! good job!

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 8:14am Report Comment

PRgirl03 [+]

Blair - Jessica Simpson
Tootie - Raven Simone
Natalie - Nikki Blonsky
Jo - Amanda Bynes
Mrs. Garrett - Reba McEntire

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 8:21am Report Comment

vawilliams [+]

PRgirl03, reba's a good pick, forgot she had a sitcom!

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 8:28am Report Comment

megnmac [+]

Raven-Symoné

Blair - Brittany Snow (American Dreams, Hairspray, Nip/Tuck http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0811242/)

Tootie - Shavon Kirksey (Private Practice http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2058323/)

Natalie - Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0790057/)

Jo - Emma Stone (from Superbad http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1297015/)

Mrs. Garrett - Catherine Hicks (7th Heaven http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382819/)

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 9:21am Report Comment

City Love [+]

Mrs. G - Susan Surandon
Blair - Blake Lively (Traveling Pants)
Tootie - Raven Simone
Jo - Amanda Bynes
Natalie - Nikki Blonksy (Hairspray)

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 10:47am Report Comment

Libragirl [+]

Mrs. Garrett - Bette Middler
Blair - Jessica Simpson
Jo - Katie Holmes
Tootie - Rihanna
Natalie - America Ferrara

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 10:49am Report Comment

msdyanelk [+]

Blair---Tyra Banks
Tootie---Lil' Kim
Natalie---Niecy Nash
Jo---Queen Latifah
Mrs. Garrett---Oprah

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 10:50am Report Comment

laneylaney [+]

Blair- Ashley Tisdale
Tootie- lil mama
Natalie- Jordin Sparks (lord knows she needs the work)
Jo- Amanda Bynes
Mrs. Garrett- Diane Keaton

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 1:09pm Report Comment

Bee720 [+]

Tootie - Raven Simone
Natalie - Mandy Moore
Blair - Rachel McAdams
Jo - Pink
Mrs. Garret - Lauren Graham

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 2:40pm Report Comment

cammei [+]

Mrs. Garrett - Kirstie Alley

Natalie - Countess Danielle Vaughn

Tootie - Dakota Fanning

Jo - America Ferrera

Blair - Amanda Bynes

This is my interpretation.

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 6:01pm Report Comment

RCCway [+]

Blair - Mandy More
Tootie - Shar Jackson
Natalie - America Ferrera
Jo - Jesssica Biel
Mrs. Garrett - Fran Drescher

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 7:42pm Report Comment

RCCway [+]

Man! I meant Mandy Moore! Smiling

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 7:42pm Report Comment

Jacolina [+]

Blair - Elisha Cuthbert
Jo - Michelle Rodriguez
Tootie - Taylor Parks ("Little Inez" from Hairspray)
Natalie - Nikki Blonsky
Mrs. Garrett - Paula Deen

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 8:39pm Report Comment

Twyla [+]

For the win:

Blair: Jessica Simpson
Tootie: Monique Coleman (High School Musical)
Natalie: Brittany Murphy
Jo: Katie Holmes
Mrs. Garrett: Shirley MacLaine (Rumor Has it and Steel Magnolias)

(Loved Michelle Williams for Jo, Jacolina!)

Thu, 09/06/2007 - 10:05pm Report Comment

kikila [+]

Blair - Scarlett Johansson
Tootie - April L. Hernandez
Natalie - Drew Barrymore
Jo - Pink
Mrs. Garrett - Kathy Bates

Fri, 09/07/2007 - 10:50am Report Comment

Hollisterbabe01 [+]

Blair- Sara Paxton
Tootie- Kyla Pratt
Natalie- Niki Blonsky
Jo- Michelle Trachtenberg
Mrs.G- Jane Fonda

Sat, 09/08/2007 - 12:04pm Report Comment

lisab85 [+]

Blair- Ashley Tisdale (good at acting dumb)

Tootie- Keke Palmer (amazing actress that won many awards)

Natalie- Amanda Bynes (even though not overweight like Natalie I think she can pull off the part)

Jo- Lindsay Lohan (rebellious like Jo)

Mrs.G- Reba

Sun, 09/09/2007 - 8:15am Report Comment

lisab85 [+]

I choose actresses that are around the age they were when the show first started and i think can pull off the characters.

Sun, 09/09/2007 - 8:17am Report Comment

Foxy McGee [+]

Blair - Brittany Snow

Tootie - Lil' Mama ("My lip gloss is cool, my lip gloss be poppin'...I'm standin' at my locker, and all the boys keep stoppin'!" Does she act? She does now. Everyone loves a crossover celebrity.)

Natalie - Sara Rue

Jo - Michelle Rodriguez

Mrs. Garrett - Tovah Feldshuh

Tue, 09/11/2007 - 6:25pm Report Comment

Foxy McGee [+]

OMG! Other people thought of Lil' Mama and Michelle Rodriguez?! *Hyperventilating* Damnit, I was going for uniqueness!

Tue, 09/11/2007 - 6:29pm Report Comment

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