Kim Fields

Kim Fields was nine when she was cast as Tootie on The Facts of Life, and by 2026 she had spent close to five decades on screen and behind the camera. She was born in New York City on 12 May 1969, which makes her 57 as of 4 November 2026 [3] [2]. Most people know her face from one of two sitcoms, but the longer story is about a child actor who moved into directing and kept working.

Harlem, and a mother already in television

Fields grew up in Harlem, and her memoir later returned to those years [5] [7]. Her mother, Laverne "Chip" Fields, was an actress, singer and television director who appeared on Good Times and Living Single [8]. Her younger sister, Alexis Fields, is also an actress and is best known for Sister, Sister, which ran from 1994 to 1999 [8].

She started as a very young performer. Her agency bio lists a co-starring part in the sitcom Baby, I'm Back, and TheFamousPeople puts that at age five, along with a Mrs. Butterworth's syrup commercial and two episodes of Good Times in 1978 [2] [5]. In a 2017 interview she said she auditioned for the syrup spot against a young Janet Jackson, and that her mother told her not to let anything or anyone intimidate her, "including your own mind" [6].

Tootie on The Facts of Life

Fields first appeared as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on Diff'rent Strokes in 1979 [4]. The character then moved to the spin-off The Facts of Life on NBC, where Fields played her from 1979 to 1988 [5] [4]. The show followed four girls at a boarding school [6].

She told Fox News that she was about nine when she was cast and almost left the audition because she felt intimidated. Because she was small for her age, the producers put her on roller skates to make her look taller for a part written for a 12-year-old [6]. Growing up on camera had a cost. She recalled that Joan Rivers called the cast "The Fats of Life" and that the teasing about their developing bodies was hard to handle in front of cameras [6]. She credits her family with keeping her grounded: "I didn't want to be a statistic" [6]. Her mother, who had played Janet Jackson's mother on Good Times from 1976 to 1979, was the person who coached her through that first audition, and Fields said she stayed close with the core cast, especially Charlotte Rae, long after the show ended [6].

Music was a side track. Her agency bio says she released two singles in 1984, "He Loves Me He Loves Me Not" and "Dear Michael" [2]. TheFamousPeople calls them two albums, so sources disagree on the format [5].

School and the move into directing

TheFamousPeople says she graduated from Burbank High School in 1986 and from Pepperdine University in 1993, in communication and film [5]. Her agency describes the degree as telecommunications, so the exact name of the subject varies by source [2]. The same profile says she runs a production company called Victory Entertainment [5].

Regine on Living Single

After college she took the role that defined her adult career. From 1993 to 1998 she played Regine Hunter on the Fox sitcom Living Single [3] [2]. The casting had a family detail: Fields's own mother played Regine's mother on the show, in the season one episode "She Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother" [8]. Her ABC profile lists Living Single among the series she directed [1].

A director with hundreds of episodes

Directing became a second career rather than a hobby. Her ABC profile says she has directed hundreds of television episodes, including The Rickey Smiley Show, Kenan & Kel, Living Single and Let's Stay Together, plus Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns and House of Payne [1]. TheFamousPeople dates her Kenan & Kel work to 1996 through 2000 [5]. The same ABC profile says the Black American Cinema Society named her Director of the Year for her short film Silent Bomb [1].

She also made her own seasonal specials. Holiday Love, a Christmas special she co-produced and directed, aired on TV One in 2010 [2]. By November 2013 she was preparing the fourth special, Holiday Love: The Rebirth, which she directed, produced and starred in while in the third trimester of a pregnancy [9]. In 2017 NewsOne noted that she had directed and starred in the Lifetime movie Wrapped Up in Christmas [7].

Family

Fields has been married to the actor Christopher Morgan since 23 July 2007 [5]. Before that she was married to Johnathon Freeman, from 1995 until their divorce in 2001, and TheFamousPeople says the marriage had no children [5]. With Morgan she has two sons, Sebastian, born in 2007, and Quincy, born in December 2013 [5] [9]. Her husband is also in the business, a fellow actor whom ABC News described in 2013 as the father of their then six-year-old son [9]. The second pregnancy was a surprise: she told ABC News she learned of it at 44, about two months in [9].

Reality television in 2015 and 2016

In 2015 she joined the eighth season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta [2] [5]. In 2016 she competed on Dancing with the Stars, season 22, partnered with Sasha Farber [1]. Bravo reported that she was eliminated in a double elimination with Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, after judge Len Goodman called her samba her best dance [10]. She finished eighth [2] [5].

Blessed Life and later acting

In November 2017 she published her memoir, Blessed Life [5]. NewsOne reported that it covers her Harlem beginnings and her career, including her doubts at auditions and what she described as unkind media commentary about the weight of her castmates and herself [7]. That year she also played Theresa Newman in the faith-based film A Question of Faith [2].

Her agency lists business ventures too: a coffee brand, Signature Blends By KF, and a lifestyle brand, Refresh By KF [2].

The Upshaws and where she is now

Fields played Regina Upshaw on the Netflix comedy The Upshaws from its debut in May 2021 [11]. Regina is Bennie's wife, and the cast includes Mike Epps and Wanda Sykes [11]. TVLine reported that Netflix would release the last 12 episodes, called Part 7, on 15 January 2026, and that the show would end there [11].

Best-known work

Year	Title	Role or format
1978	Good Times	Guest child actor, two episodes [5]
1979 to 1988	The Facts of Life	Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey, NBC sitcom [5] [4]
1993 to 1998	Living Single	Regine Hunter, Fox sitcom [3] [2]
1996 to 2000	Kenan & Kel	Director [5]
2010	Holiday Love	Co-producer and director, TV One special [2]
2015	The Real Housewives of Atlanta	Cast member, season 8 [2] [5]
2016	Dancing with the Stars	Contestant, season 22, eighth place [2]
2017	A Question of Faith	Theresa Newman, film [2]
2021 to 2026	The Upshaws	Regina Upshaw, Netflix [11]

Awards and net worth

The one award we could source is Director of the Year from the Black American Cinema Society for Silent Bomb [1]. We found no net worth estimate from a reliable outlet, and the figures on content sites contradict each other, so we leave the question open.