The young cast of Saved By The Bell captured the attention of fans right away, and the memorable characters couldn't be ignored, especially Lisa Turtle. The fashion-loving teenager tries her best to be kind to Screech Powers, as she doesn't share his feelings, and wears some fabulous, colorful outfits. The sitcom was a great place to spot talent, as stars were on Saved By The Bell before fame in small roles, and it seemed like Lark Voorhies would have a successful acting career afterward like her co-stars.
However, while Mark-Paul Gosselaar has played iconic roles, Lark Voorhies hasn't been acting much since her time on Saved By The Bell. She shared the difficult times that she has experienced and the reason why she stepped away from Hollywood.
Why Did Lark Voorhies Take A Break From Acting?
Fans like the Saved By The Bell reboot because it mixes a fresh cast with the characters viewers know and love, and it was great seeing Lark Voorhies come back for season 2. However, she hadn't acted in many years, and in 2012, she appeared on Entertainment Tonight. The actress spoke about her then-husband Jimmy Green, a music producer, and her statements didn't make much sense.
In the same interview, Voorhies addressed that her mother, Patricia Voorhies, said that Lark struggled with bipolar disorder. Lark said that wasn't true.
In 2020, Lark Voorhies appeared on Dr. Oz with her mother and with her psychiatrist, Dr. Modir, and said that she has Schizoaffective thought disorder. She mentioned when she appeared on Entertainment Tonight and explained, "that was a perfect example of what it does and how it behaves and what it creates around and about it."
She said, "In life and in the entertainment industry, the show does go on." Dr. Modir said, "It's just gonna require some patience and some understanding of what the condition is and allowing her to have a script... and I think she'll shine."
While there are open discussions of mental health in Hollywood and otherwise today, Schizoaffective thought disorder isn't something that is talked about as much as depression and anxiety, so it's important that Voorhies has shared what she has gone through.
What Has Lark Voorhies Acted In Since Saved By The Bell?
Lark Voorhies starred as Lisa Turtle on Good Morning Miss Bliss from 1988 to 1989 and came back as her beloved character on Saved By The Bell, which aired from 1989 to 1992. Afterward, she began acting on soap operas, playing Wendy Reardon in 51 episodes of Days of Our Lives and Jasmine Malone in 65 episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful.
Voorhies starred as Mercedes Langford on the TV series In the House alongside LL Cool J, which aired from 1995 to 1999, but besides that, she didn't have any major roles that fans would know her from.
When season 1 of the Saved By The Bell reboot became available, it was surprising to see that almost the entire cast was back, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen back as now married Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski, Mario Lopez playing AC Slater, and Elizabeth Berkley playing Jessie Spano. But Lisa Turtle was nowhere to be seen, which was a shame given the love for her character and the fact that she was such a big part of the original series.
Voorhies did come back to play Lisa again, and she said on The Dr. Oz Show that Berkley made her feel welcome on the reboot. She explained, "It was very exciting. I received a call from Elizabeth Berkley, who plays Jessie. She sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. And we had a great time shooting it."
Lisa appears in season 2 of the Saved by the Bell reboot and goes to the Max restaurant with her old friends.
They talk about their friend Screech Powers, who passed away on the series after the real-life death of actor Dustin Diamond from cancer. Lisa also helps Jessie see that she's ready to open her heart up to love again after her tough divorce and appears in an episode about a Bayside High career fair.
Voorhies said on The Dr. Oz Show that she was "hurt" at not being in season 1 of the reboot and added, "Yet of course, I also realized that having this puzzling disorder may have played a major part in that factual decision.” It was sad to hear her say these words so it's good news that she was asked to appear in season 2.
Peter Engel, the show's creator, shared that the Saved By The Bell cast was close and told Feeling The Vibe, "They were absolutely magical. They worked from the first day. They never ever missed, ever. We were like a family together. Screech was so young. He started at 11 years old. I was the papa of everyone. When we went to Hawaii for the Hawaii movie, we had the parents, the kids, and the school teachers. It was like a family going on vacation."
This closeness was definitely why the show was so much fun to watch, as it was clear that the actors enjoyed working together, and fans still feel nostalgic toward Lisa Turtle and her friends.
Lark Voorhies Is Doing Much Better Since Sharing Her Story
Fans will be happy to know that Lark Voorhies is in a better place in the years since she shared what she has been experiencing. She has made several public appearances where she has connected with fans.
In June 2021, she shared on her Instagram account that she would appear at the Bell County Comic Con, and in October 2022, she announced that she had a TikTok account and asked her fans to follow her over there.
The actress uses her platform so she can talk about mental health struggles, and when she posted a photo of herself in 2022, she wrote in the caption "Hello everyone I hope today brings you all the joy you seek! How are you spending your weekend?" and added the hashtag #mentalhealthawareness.
While Lark Voorhies hasn't posted on her Instagram account since 2022, and she doesn't have any upcoming roles on her IMDb page, fans definitely hope that she will return to acting someday if that is what will make her happy.