It’s been seven years since the beloved Disney sitcom Good Luck Charlie ended. Though it wasn’t considered one of Disney’s top shows, the series won multiple awards and enjoyed steady ratings during its four years on air. Even The Office’s Steve Carell was a fan; Carell once tweeted “watched an entire episode of Good Luck Charlie and realized that neither of my kids were in the room. I think I’m a Good Luck Charlie fan.”
Many fans have wondered what happened to the cast members since the sitcom ended. Bridgit Mendler, who played the eldest sister Teddy, moved on to become a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jason Dolley, who played Teddy’s older brother P.J., still works as an actor and has appeared on American Housewife and The Ranch. Mia Talerico, who starred as the adorable Charlie, is also still working in television, appearing on the shows Conrad and Mani.
But what happened to Leigh-Allyn Baker, who played the iconic mom Amy Duncan? Leigh-Allyn has worked hard to continue her career in acting and has found success in other shows after Good Luck Charlie’s end.
Leigh-Allyn Baker’s Time on ‘Good Luck Charlie’
Making a career out of acting wasn’t easy for Leigh-Allyn Baker. In a 2015 interview with L.A. Parent, the 48-year-old revealed that she originally struggled to land roles in TV shows that stayed on air.
Luck changed, however, when Leigh-Allyn got some interesting advice from another woman at a Hannah Montana audition.
“You should have a baby,” Leigh-Allyn recalled the woman saying to her. “I always see you auditioning with me for parts, and you just need to get pregnant and have a baby. It’s the best luck ever. You’ll work nonstop.”
Already in her mid-thirties, Leigh Allyn decided to take the advice. “I thought, you know what, I’m going to take the power back … I’m going to create life. And I’m not kidding you, I worked nonstop after that.”
Sure enough, Leigh-Allyn landed the role of a talk show host on Hannah Montana when she was four months into her first pregnancy. That same month, she learned she was in the running for a role on Good Luck Charlie.
All of this meant that the Disney mom raised both her babies while working on set for the series. "I was nine months pregnant with Griffin when I first tested for Good Luck Charlie,” Leigh-Allyn explained. “I had him and helped raise him even on that set. I worked through my entire second pregnancy, working for Disney Channel.”
How did the star hide her baby bump on set? According to her, she held lots of laundry baskets and stood behind tables, among other creative ways of covering her stomach.
Leigh-Allyn then described a few other challenges that came with playing Amy Duncan. During a live taping, for instance, nine-month-old Mia Talerico peed on her shirt. But this didn’t faze Leigh-Allyn in the slightest.
“To another actor, that may have been frustrating, but I’d been peed on so many times, it didn’t matter to me,” she said.
It was also important for Leigh-Allyn to set boundaries, with love, for the kids on the show. Mia apparently began calling the actress “mama” after spending so much time pretending to be her daughter. Leigh-Allyn gently taught her to say “Mama Leigh” instead. This nickname stuck during the rest of the actress’s tenure on the show. Apparently, all the kids that worked with her on Disney still call her Mama Leigh.
Overall, Leigh-Allyn has had nothing but good things to say about Disney. In a 2013 interview with Celeb Secrets 4U, she expressed her love for the TV channel and the series.
“It’s been great,” she said. “I love working for Disney Channel. It’s just been a wonderful company to work for, the most approachable, charismatic, fun-loving people. It’s how business should be done.”
When Leigh-Allyn was asked to choose her favorite moment on set, she struggled to pick just one. “I’ve loved every single second of playing this character,” she said. “I know I’ll see my girls and my castmates all the time, we love each other so much. But saying goodbye to that character was really hard.”
Life After ‘Good Luck Charlie’
Leigh-Allyn has continued to pursue her acting career on the Disney channel and elsewhere. She has even branched into producing and directing. In 2015, she played Liz in the movie Bad Hair Day and worked as the movie’s executive producer.
From there, Leigh-Allyn went on to land a steady role as Ellen in Will & Grace. She has also appeared in the show Real Rob, the TV series short Mickey and the Roadster Racers, and Christmas in the Pines, which is still in post-production.
Leigh-Allyn frequently catches up with the rest of the Good Luck Charlie cast and was invited to Bridgit Mendler’s wedding in 2019. During quarantine, she enjoyed spending time with her two sons and husband.
Some critics may ask, why did such a talented actress choose to work with Disney for so long? Many may have assumed that this stunted Leigh-Allyn's career, but to her, it was just the opposite. In the interview with My Boys & Their Toys, Leigh-Allyn explained that she wanted to help children and work in comedy from an early age.
Disney was the perfect fit, she realized: “I’m an adult in a kids’ world and this is exactly what I wanted to do.”