Interview: Morgan Fairchild is ‘Reinventing herself’ and up for ‘New Adventures’

Morgan Fairchild. Photo Credit: Martin Mann.

Veteran actress Morgan Fairchild (“Dallas” and “Friends”) chatted about her new podcast, which she does with her sister Cathryn Hartt.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” A woman that embodies this quote is Morgan Fairchild.

Background on Morgan Fairchild

Morgan Fairchild is one of America’s best-known actresses. Her breakout role as Constance Weldon Carlyle in “Flamingo Road” (earned her a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Actress”), and it was followed by Racine in “Paper Dolls,” Jordan Roberts in “Falcon Crest,” and she originated the role of Jenna Wade in “Dallas.”  

She broke ground playing Sandra Bernhard’s lesbian lover on “Roseanne,” and an appearance on “Murphy Brown” earned her an Emmy nomination.

Fairchild’s feature films include “The Seduction” with Andrew Stephens, “Holy Man” with Eddie Murphy, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Walk Hard” with John C. Riley, “Red-Headed Stranger” with Willie Nelson and “Campus Man” with Kim Delaney.  

Most recently, Fairchild appeared in the “Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas” on Lifetime.

New podcast with Cathryn Hartt

On her new podcast, she remarked, “It has been so fabulous. We are having such a good time doing it. The reaction has been great fun because so many people seem to really like it.

“It is great reconnecting with old friends and getting them to tell their stories,” she admitted. “It has been a lot of fun. We are getting a lot of positive comments. People are saying that it’s so nice to hear ideas being discussed without me cuddling and yelling.”

“Our newest guest is Stephen Tobolowsky, who is hysterically funny. I think that’s our funniest episode yet,” she admitted.

“I think Stephen is just a great storyteller and has had such a weird, interesting life. He is so funny and so crazy at the same time,” she added.

‘Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas’

Two years ago, she noted that she was thrilled to be a part of “Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas” on Lifetime alongside Donna Mills, Nicollette Sheridan, Loni Anderson, and Linda Gray.

“That was great, and a lot of fun,” she said. “I wish we would do another movie together. We were hoping we would do another one because we had so much fun. Again, it was Linda Gray, Loni Anderson, Donna Mills, Nicollette Sheridan and myself. I’ve known most of them for over 40 years.”

“We would sit around and talk, and it was wonderful,” she admitted. “I always used to tease them and say that back in the day, we would talks about what we were wearing and who we were dating, but now, we talk about grandkids, hip replacements, and those sorts of things. We had a lot of fun.”

“That was a great catch up with everybody, We had time sitting around in between takes and we talked about how everybody was doing, so that was great fun,” she said.

Remembering Loni Anderson

Fairchild paid her respects to her late “Ladies of the ’80s” co-star Loni Anderson, who passed away on August 3rd, 2025, at the age of 79.

“It was very sad to lose Loni,” Fairchild said. “Loni was just the sweetest, nicest, and the most wonderful lady. Loni would give everybody her recipe for mulled wine, which she said was ‘the best recipe’ for it.”

“Loni was just such a dear lady and so devoted to her kids, grandkids, and her family and she made sure they had everything. It was devastating when she passed away because she was just the dearest lady and friend,” Fairchild elaborated.

Working with Travis Burns

Fairchild had great words about working with Australian heartthrob actor Travis Burns in that Lifetime film.

“Travis is such a nice young man. Some of the young actors you work with these days are not so friendly, but Travis was a sweetheart,” Fairchild exclaimed.

Tom D’Angora

Fairchild also discussed working with Tony-nominated producer Tom D’Angora on “Mélange.”

“I adore Tom; he is such a wonderful person. During COVID, he came to the rescue for Birdland and the West Bank Café,” Fairchild said. “Every actor and producer and New York arts person I know is very grateful for Tom and his interventions and help with everything.”

“Tom is just a wonderful human being as well as being a terrific producer. So, I’m hoping to work with him again on something,” she added.

Stage of her life

On the title of the current chapter of her life, Fairchild revealed, “New Adventures and Reinventing Myself.”

“Psychic John Edward inspired me to look for new things, so that was the beginning of the podcast. He made me think outside of the box of what I usually do,” she said.

“John Edward motivated me to branch into new areas. We are just learning so much. One way to keep your brain alive is to learn new things,” she elaborated.

“My sister and I wanted to find something new and preferably something we could do together, so we started this podcast,” she noted.

“As a result, I am up for new adventures, reinventing myself and reviving all kinds of things,” she acknowledged.

Podcast episode with Donna Mills

“We’re learning a lot about the tech space for this podcast, and we are finding a new way to just keep your brains alive,” she said. “Also, I like to keep conversations going and have conversations about ideas and life experiences. Our first podcast episode was with Donna Mills.”

“I’ve known Donna for about 45 years, and I just thought her life story was so interesting,” she said. “That’s what I wanted to talk to her about. We are going to have Linda Gray coming up. I love Linda Gray. I talk to them about their life experiences because to me, that’s more interesting than just rehashing who shot J.R. in the show ‘Dallas’.”

Fairchild on what makes her podcast stand out from the rest

“It’s the life experiences of people that interest me,” she underscored. “That’s where you can have interesting conversations. It’s all about the exchange of ideas and how you make decisions.”

“Just getting ideas flowing and just talking to people as if they are sitting around the kitchen table is what makes it fun. I mean, everybody laughs a lot,” she admitted.

“Those are the conversations and that’s the kind of response we’re getting a lot from listeners, which I find very gratifying. It feels like sitting around with my friends in front of a fireplace where we are just talking,” she elaborated.

“It’s just the nature of talking about ideas that I find to be very gratifying. People seem to really like our podcast because our approach is very friendly. My motto is to always ‘be kind.’ I always sign everything with the hashtag be kind,” she explained.

Fairchild on her ‘Super Looks’ book

Fairchild shared some of her beauty secrets by authoring the book “Super Looks,” which is a complete guide that includes makeup, exercise, and dieting tips.

On the commercial success of the book, she said, “It’s kind of funny. I still have people on Twitter getting in touch and saying that they’ve learned how to do certain things from my ‘Super Looks’ book. They still do this. They go on and share some of the best tricks I ever gave them.”

“There’s a whole generation of ladies who actually got something from the book, which I appreciate,” she added.

Success

Regarding her definition of success, she remarked, “In this business, success is surviving. I’ve been doing this since I was 10 years old. I’m so grateful to still be at it and still finding ways to move forward. Like I said, with the podcast, I’m always finding ways to move forward.”

“Success is forward motion. One step in front of the other. and you keep going and you move with the times, and you reinvent yourself,” she observed.

“You don’t become an old fuddy-duddy, where you sit at home and wonder what happened to your life. You keep reinventing your life,” she underscored.

“I’ve always loved biographies and I was not going to spend my life reading about other people’s fabulous lives. I was going to make my life something people would want to write about,” she explained.

“My life is going to be a great adventure, and I set out to make my life a great adventure. I think I have succeeded in that, so that is success. Also, success is keeping the adventure going,” she added.

Remembering Matthew Perry

Fairchild recalled the late but great Matthew Perry, whom she had the good fortune to play his mother, Nora Tyler Bing, in the hit sitcom “Friends.”

“Matthew was such a sweet young man. What a shame. He was so talented, obviously, but most importantly he was a real sweetheart. People loved him on ‘Friends’ as Chandler. I knew his family. He used to hang out on set with his father. We developed a real kinship and it just breaks my heart.”

“Matthew was such a nice young man with so much talent, and to see that go away was very heartbreaking,” she noted.

“When Matthew passed away, I was getting condolences from all over the world, because to most people around the world, I was his mom. People had such an affinity for that show,” she elaborated.

“It seemed that they didn’t really see those characters as characters. They saw them as their own personal friends, and it was a very personal loss when Matthew died. I was getting very personal condolences of what Matthew meant to his fans,” she explained.

“I’m sure they replayed the ‘Friends’ Thanksgiving episode ‘The One with All the Thanksgivings’ the other day,” Fairchild added.

Message for her fans

For her fans and supporters, Fairchild said, “Thanks for sticking around with me all these years.

“I’ve been doing this for so long, and I just always appreciate the people who write to me on Twitter, Blue Sky, and Instagram,” she said. “I also enjoy doing the Comic Cons and autograph shows.”

“It is really special when people come up to me, and they recite lines that I’ve forgotten how to do. When you get into acting, that’s what you want to do, is to touch people’s lives,” she explained.

“One of my mentors, when we were growing up always said, ‘Acting is reaching out in love to your fellow man,’ and that’s the way my sister Cathryn and I have always considered it,” she concluded.

Her “Super Looks” book is available on Amazon by clicking here.

To learn more about Morgan Fairchild, follow her on Instagram, Twitter (X), and her official homepage.