Fans will be well aware of what stars regularly appear in Hallmark movies, such as Lacey Chabert and Andrew Walker. But there are plenty of celebrities who have popped up in the channel’s films that you might not have known about.
For instance, check out these five famous figures who you may not have realized you can check out in a Hallmark story.
1. Julia Stiles
HallmarkFamous for her roles in “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999) and “Save the Last Dance” (2001) — not to mention her current appearance on “Dancing With the Stars” — Julia Stiles also starred in the 2013 Hallmark movie, “The Makeover” with David Walton, Camryn Manheim and Georgia Lyman.
In the “My Fair Lady”-like story, Hannah Higgins (Stiles) wants to run for Congress, but faces the fact that her elitism means that she’s not likable enough. That’s why she ends up “recruit[ing] a candidate — beer vendor Elliot Doolittle (Walton) — who is definitely a man-of-the-people,” according to Hallmark Family. However, Hannah has to “teach him to [act] like a gentleman” so that he “can run for Congress — and win.” Granted, “as Elliot becomes more ‘presentable’ and Hannah becomes less ‘proper,'” the two find they share an unexpected connection.
2. Mariah Carey
HallmarkThanks to the fact that Mariah Carey is known as the Queen of Christmas, she was the perfect person to appear in a Hallmark holiday movie. That’s just what happened when she was cast in 2015’s “A Christmas Melody” alongside Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott.
The story “revolves around Kristin [Chabert], a beautiful, stylish divorcee who is a talented clothing designer and her young daughter,” Hallmark explains. “Kristin has just had to close her small Manhattan boutique to return to her Ohio home town and live in her parents’ former home. It’s an adjustment for Kristin and Emily — especially when she runs into her former high school rival Melissa (Carey).”
3. Lauren Holly
HallmarkDuring the course of Lauren Holly’s show business career, the actress has popped up on shows like “Chicago Hope,” “NCIS” and “Designated Survivor” from Netflix, as well as movies like “Dumb and Dumber” (1994) and “What Women Want” (2000).
On top of that, she has also starred in Hallmark’s “Santa Jr.” (2002), “The Town Christmas Forgot” (2010) and “Debbie Macomber’s Call Me Mrs. Miracle” (2010), as well as “My Summer Prince” (2016) and the “Hailey Dean Mysteries” (2019).
4. Judd Nelson
HallmarkIf you didn’t realize that Lauren Holly appeared in “Santa Jr.,” then you might not have known that Judd Nelson also starred in the 2002 Hallmark movie.
The actor, who famously appeared alongside a group of talented young performers in 1985’s beloved teen flick “The Breakfast Club,” can also be seen in other holiday stories that you can check out on the Hallmark Channel, like “Cancel Christmas” (2011), “Kristin’s Christmas Past” (2013) and “Santa Fake” (2019).
5. Meghan Markle
HallmarkIt’s relatively common knowledge that Meghan Markle was an actress before she married into the British royal family. What’s not as well known is that while she was starring on “Suits,” she also tackled a couple of projects for Hallmark.
If that’s piqued your interest, then you’ll definitely want to watch the Duchess of Sussex in both “When Sparks Fly” (2014) with Christopher Jacot, and “Dater’s Handbook” (2016) with Kristoffer Polaha and Jonathan Scarfe.
