Iconic 80s sitcom star who ditched Hollywood forever: ‘I was always going to leave’
Follow Iconic 80s sitcom star who ditched Hollywood forever: ‘I was always going to leave’ Nicky Morris Thu, August 20, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC 3 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.
UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 12: FULL HOUSE – Season Three – Gallery – 9/12/89, Pictured, from left: Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie), Bob Saget (Danny), Candace Cameron (D.J.), John Stamos (Jesse), Mary Kate/Ashley Olsen (Michelle), Dave Coulier (Joey), (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) (Disney General Entertainment Con)
Key takeaways Powered by Yahoo Scout. Yahoo is using AI to generate key points from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Full House, a beloved family sitcom from the 80s and 90s, ran for eight seasons and became a cultural phenomenon due to the chemistry of its cast. Anne Marie McEvoy, who played Kathy Santoni on Full House, left acting to pursue a career in teaching and earned a PhD in developmental and educational psychology. Despite initially not wanting to be famous, Anne Marie McEvoy returned to acting to reprise her role in the 2016 Netflix reboot, Fuller House, at the encouragement of her daughter. See more Full House was one of the most iconic family sitcoms of the 80s and 90s. Running for eight seasons between 1987 and 1995, the ABC hit won over audiences with its blend of wholesome humour and moral life lessons. But it was the chemistry between the tight-knit cast that transformed the show into a cultural phenomenon, catapulting its young stars to global fame.
Full House ran for eight seasons (@ ABC)
While household names like John Stamos , Lori Loughlin , and Candace Cameron Bure have remained in the spotlight, not everyone chose to pursue a career in Hollywood. Anne Marie McEvoy, known to fans as popular girl Kathy Santoni, eventually decided to trade her acting career for a completely different path. Keep reading to find out more about her life after fame.
Why Anne Marie McEvoy quit acting While appearing on the How Rude, Tanneritos! podcast in 2024, co-hosted by Full House stars Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber, Anne explained that she never set out for a career in acting.
Anne Marie McEvoy (left) alongside Andrea Barber, and Candace Cameron Bure (@ Disney General Entertainment Con)
Speaking about her role on Full House , which she landed aged 13, Anne, now 50, said: “I didn’t do it because I wanted to be an actress at all. It was a job to get money for college. I was always going to leave Hollywood … I never had a thought that I was going to stay.”
The actress, whose previous TV credits include Family Ties and Mr. Belvedere, added that she never wanted to be famous. Instead, she desired to “be a mom, have a PHD and be a professor”.
Anne Marie McEvoy’s career in teaching Anne Marie earned her PhD in developmental and educational psychology at the University of California in 2007, before joining the faculty as an assistant professor of education.
You may also like Advertisement Advertisement “I study adolescent development and teach classes on it,” she revealed. “And I taught a whole version of the course around Full House. I used examples from Full House.”
Anne pictured in Mr. Belvedere in 1989 (@ Disney General Entertainment Con)
Anne said it’s a “fantastic show” for dealing with themes of “adolescent sexuality, drinking, family and peers”. “All the biggies about identity. Your sense of who you are and trying on makeup and fighting with your friends and Full House, I mean, that’s what it is, was,” she said.
Anne Marie McEvoy’s return to acting It was actually her daughter who convinced Anne Marie to reprise her role for the 2016 Netflix reboot, Fuller House.
“I was not going to say yes and then finally my now-19-year-old said, ‘I don’t know, Mom, I think it’d be kinda cool’, ” she recalled. “I was like, ‘You know what? I better do that.’ Lightning shall strike. So that was that.”
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