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Throwback! See ‘The Facts of Life’ Cast Then and Now

“You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life, the facts of life…”

Can you believe it’s been more than 35 years since Mrs. Garrett, Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie first stole our hearts on The Facts of Life? We sure can’t!

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The cast has changed so much — see the stars then and now in the gallery below! — since 1979, but thankfully the Eastland School girls are still good friends today.

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The Facts of Life cast in the 1980s.

During a recent Good Morning America reunion, main cast members Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett), Lisa Whelchel (Blair), Kim Fields (Tootie), Mindy Cohn (Natalie), and Nancy McKeon (Jo) gushed about the nine years they spent together starring on the sitcom.

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When asked why she wore roller skates throughout the first season, actress Kim — who was just nine years old when the show began! — candidly replied, “The roller skates got me the job! I was small for my age and so they put me on roller skates to make me taller. I’m grateful to the wheel.”

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The Facts of Life cast in 2011.

The group also opened up about their salaries on the series — and revealed they were earning much less than TV stars today. “We got paid and we had residuals but then it faded away,” Charlotte said.

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“We don’t exist in the time of now when you do have million-dollar salaries per cast member, per show,” Kim chimed in. “But I think the important thing for us was not just the financial blessing that it was but [how the show blessed us] in so many other areas.”

Check out the gallery to see The Facts of Life cast then and now!