Lacey Chabert's 'Protective' Upbringing Impacts How She Raises Her Daughter Julia

Now that she's a mom herself, Lacey Chabert completely understands why her parents were so protective of her. The "Mean Girls" star appeared on "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle" in July 2026, where she reflected on her daughter, Julia Mimi Bella Nehdar, reaching the same age she was when she started acting at age 7. "She was the age I was when I was performing in 'Les Misérables' on Broadway," Chabert said.

Lacey Chabert's life completely transformed after her Broadway debut as young Cosette, followed by her breakout role as Claudia Salinger on "Party of Five." Chabert was only in the fifth grade at the time she landed the gig (per IMDb) and had to be pulled out of school to be tutored on set. Now Chabert admits, "It is surreal as a parent to see my daughter the same age. It's made me appreciate more how protective my parents were. Now I understand why they were so strict, too. I get it now."

Chabert welcomed Julia on September 1, 2016, with husband David Nehdar (per People), and Lacey Chabert wants her daughter to know the sky's the limit. "I'm very thankful that I'm also able to continue working," she told People in March 2019. "I hope to set that example for her to let her know that you can do it all, but with a lot of help and support!"

Lacey Chabert found a special way to pay tribute to her mother when she welcomed her daughter, naming Julia in her honor. When celebrating Mother's Day in 2019 and sharing an adorable throwback of her mom holding her as a baby, she captioned the post, "My beautiful sweet momma. I'm so glad I named Julia after such a special woman. I could never say thank you enough for all that you've done for me. I love you big as the sky!" Chabert followed up with another heartfelt homage to her mom and daughter when celebrating Mother's Day in 2025, sharing a photo of her mom Julia holding newborn Julia. "My two Julias💕 What a tremendous blessing my mom and daughter are to me. My heart is filled with the deepest love and gratitude for them both every day," she wrote.

Chabert is one of Hallmark's most iconic leading ladies, and her newest series on the network, "Paris Is Always a Good Idea," sees the star return to television playing a young ambitious woman who gets thrown into revisiting influential moments from her past in order to move forward in her future. When asked which life moments she could relive in her life, Chabert shared her desire to revisit parts of her childhood that she wasn't able to catch on camera. "I would love to go back to one day living — just one flashback of that part of my life," she told Woman's World. The other memory Chabert would gladly relive is the birth of her daughter, calling it "the most special, magical day of my life."