Christine Lakin had already played characters on television and done commercials before the landing the role of the feisty Alicia “Al” Lambert on Step by Step—the role most fans who grew up in the 1990s will recognize her for. Al was Frank’s (Patrick Duffy) only biological daughter on the sitcom about a big, blended family, and the tomboy was known for stirring the pot with her brothers, sisters, and stepmom, Carol (Suzanne Somers). Lakin told Today in 2016 that she feels that the TGIF sitcom, which premiered in 1991, portrayed the reality of families brought together by marriage realistically.
“I got a lot of fan mail from people that said that Step by Step really reminded them of their family because they suddenly had a stepbrother and a stepsister. And they loved them, but they fought with them,” she said, adding, “I feel like that resonated with a lot of people, and I thought that was really cool. I think if you can ever show other people’s lives on television that make them feel like they’re part of that world, it’s hugely impactful, especially for young kids growing up.”
While Step by Step had a lasting impact on some of its fans, Lakin moved on with her career when the show ended. Here’s what she’s doing now.
READ THIS NEXT: See ’90s Teen Idol Rider Strong Now at 42.
After Step by Step ended in 1998, Lakin continued to make appearances on TV with guest and recurring roles on shows including Veronica Mars, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Modern Family, and more recently, Station 19 and The Goldbergs. She’s also starred in some TV movies, but the bulk of her work since her ABC days has been onstage and in video games. She voices Jane in The Walking Dead video game series and Joyce in Family Guy: The Multiverse, among other characters. In 2009, Lakin won a LA Weekly Theater award for Havok Theater Company’s production of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, and she was nominated for an Ovation Award in 2012 for her role in Two Gentleman in Chicago.
For more celebrity updates sent right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Along with her acting work, Lakin has also taken on directing jobs, including directing herself in a documentary webseries she created called Lovin’ Lakin. She’s also directed over a dozen episodes of The Goldbergs and its spinoff, Schooled, along with episodes of Apple TV+’s children’s show, Puppy Place.
Step by Step was far from the only popular family sitcom on ABC at the time, and Lakin definitely made the most of having so many kids her own age around. “Family Matters was two stages down, Full House was across the way,” she reminisced to Today. “It was just this really weird but amazing sorority/fraternity of child actors who all worked on shows on the same network. You’d see each other all the time at parties or charity events. I was working out with Melissa Joan Hart I think when I was 14 or 15. I mean, that’s normal, right? Doing step aerobics because this is your P.E. ’cause you’re on set? I mean, who lives this life? It’s so weird. But it was so fun.”
In 2016, she, Jodie Sweetin of Full House, and Beverley Mitchell of 7th Heaven played exaggerated versions of themselves in Hollywood Darlings, a comedy series about former child actors trying to make it as grownups. They were joined on the show by fellow kid stars including Andrew Keegan and Soleil Moon Frye.
READ THIS NEXT: Former Child Actor “Was in Danger” on Movie Set, Co-Star Admits.
In 2014, Lakin married Brandon Breault, a fellow actor turned licensed therapist. (He appears as himself in Hollywood Darlings.) The couple have two kids together, a daughter named Georgia, born in 2016, and a son named Baylor, born in 2018. Lakin frequently posts about her family on Instagram, sharing birthday tributes, vacation shots, and everyday looks into their lives.