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‘I am Enamored’: Kim Fields Reacts to Gabrielle Union Playing Her In ‘The Facts of Life’ Live Reboot

It’s a nod of approval from actress Kim Fields to actress Gabrielle Union for Union’s portrayal of Fields’ iconic character in the live version reboot of the 1980s sitcom “The Facts of Life.”

The live broadcast of the classic sitcom created by Norman Lear aired on Dec. 7. The 99-year-old living legend produced the reboot with Jimmy Kimmel and was in attendance for the live show.

Kim Fields and Gabrielle Union hangout after “The Facts of Life” Live. @kimfieldsofficial/ Instagram

Gabrielle Union portrayed the character Tootie, the role played by Kim Fields on the original “The Facts of Life.” Fields was also in attendance and reunited with Lear.

The actress from the show “The Upshaws” praised Union for her portrayal in an emotional Instagram live video that she also shared on Twitter. Fields wrote a caption with her post, noting her approval and gratitude.

“#LiveInFrontOfAStudioAudience Facts/Strokes got me like… impromptu LIVE personal recap; overwhelming vibes included: joy truth gratitude & clapback @jimmykimmel@TheNormanLear@kerrywashington@itsgabrielleu@KevinHart4real.”

“What an incredible, incredible time we had, um, Tuesday night, live in front of a studio audience,” she said as tears began to stream down her face. “So many great feelings.”

The actress went on to ask fans to wave if they had seen “The Facts Of Life” live.

“How much fun was that?” she asked. “I know you’re saying, ‘Don’t cry,’ but you have to understand what that means. I was nine years old ’til I was 18 years old, and um, to walk through that set and to see all the details … I’m gonna get to amazing goddess, as Kerry Washington called her, goddess Gabby … If you’ve not yet seen it, it’s so much fun. It’s so much fun.”

Fields discussed her time on the show and how emotional it was to be on the recreated set for the live version. The actress was moved by the number of people on the set who were inspired by the show and her portrayal of Tootie, especially by people of color. She also expressed her gratitude and praised Union for her performance.

“Gabrielle Union,” Fields continued about 10 minutes into the video. “I am enamored with how you lost yourself in trying and achieving what you achieved with your portrayal to be again, as Kerry said, the goddess that you are and to reverse engineer who you are, to find and totally commit and deep dive into the awkwardness of Tootie at that time? Bravo, Gabby.”

She went on to say that she appreciated her getting the details right, such as her Tootie’s braces, hairstyle and topsider shoes.

The cast also included actress Ann Dowd as Mrs. Garrett, Jennifer Aniston as Blair, Allison Tillman as Natalie and Kathryn Hahn as Jo. The original Natalie, Mindy Cohn, was reunited with Fields and castmate Lisa Whelchel, who played Blair for cameos on “The Facts of Life” live.

Anyone feeling a bit of nostalgia for the original Tootie and the show’s theme song can see a glimpse below.

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