What Mary Stone From The Donna Reed Show Looks Like Now

"The Donna Reed Show" was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1950s and 1960s — and it's not hard to see why. After all, before the show's premiere, Donna Reed herself had previously wowed audiences with her performances in classic films like "It's a Wonderful Life" and "From Here to Eternity," the latter of which earned her an Academy Award, in 1954, for best supporting actress. However, another standout on "The Donna Reed Show" was Shelley Fabares, who co-starred as Mary Stone, the daughter of Reed's Donna Stone. In fact, so significant was Fabares' role that her departure as a full-time cast member later in the show's run necessitated a significant cast shake-up. But that was decades ago, and the fact that Fabares has been retired from acting altogether for quite some time now begs the question: What does she even look like these days?

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Well, since leaving Hollywood behind in 2006, Fabares has largely opted to live a quiet, private life alongside her husband, former "M*A*S*H" star Mike Farrell (though the former sitcom star does give the occasional interview here and there). One of Fabares' last known public appearances came in September 2018, when she and Farrell hit the red carpet for a performance at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. However, more recently, the happy couple was spotted smiling while strolling around the city together in July 2025. The pics in question, one of which you can see above, were taken six months after Fabares' 81st birthday. And, we have to say, 81 looks pretty good on her.

Notably, the primary reason why Shelley Fabares decided to take a step back from "The Donna Reed Show" all those years ago was so she could essentially follow in her most famous character's footsteps by pursuing more big-screen roles. Fabares left the sitcom as a full-time cast member during Season 5, in 1963, though she occasionally returned for guest appearances as Mary Stone up until Season 7, in late 1964. That very same year, Fabares starred in the film "Ride the Wild Surf" alongside 1950s teen idol Fabian. She subsequently shared the screen with none other than Elvis Presley in not one, but three films; 1965's "Girl Happy," 1966's "Spinout," and 1967's "Clambake."

At a certain point, though, Fabares largely pivoted back to TV, perhaps most notably appearing as Francine Webster in the final three seasons of "One Day at a Time" after previously having a smaller role as the character earlier in the show's run. She subsequently enjoyed a lengthy tenure on the Craig T. Nelson-led sitcom "Coach" from 1989 to 1997. Coincidentally, Fabares' final acting credits were for playing the exact same character across multiple different projects.

In 1996, she began voicing the character of Martha Kent, the Man of Steel's adoptive mother, in "Superman: The Animated Series." She appeared in a handful of episodes up until the year 2000. Fabares then reprised her voice role for an episode of the "Justice League" animated series in 2003 and, eventually, the animated movie "Superman: Brainiac Attacks," in 2006, the latter of which proved to be her final performance to date.