Family makes great comedy, as scriptwriters everywhere will tell you. Sitcom child star, actress and director Kim Fields knows plenty about that – and a bit about reality too
Kim Fields has paid her dues in the entertainment industry. Having starred in the sitcom ‘The Facts of Life’ as a child, the actress went from strength to strength, climbing the ladder to the silver screen before delving into directing.
“In The Facts of Life I was able to grow up in front of the world,” Kim explains. “This could be good and bad. Thankfully I had a support system around me that made sure I wasn’t bitter or crazy at the end of it.”
She might not be bitter of crazy – a definite plus and not always a given after childhood stardom – but she is certainly grounded.
On screen, Kim’s family fortunes have risen and fallen by role, but behind the fourth wall there’s a reassuring consistency to her home life.
“Family is very important to me,” she affirms.
“People often ask me how I managed to stay grounded and sane having started as a child star and growing up in the industry – and really it’s God. But it’s also my family and God in my family. When I say my family, of course I mean my mother, my aunts, my dad, my sisters. And now, being married and having a child, my immediate family – my husband, my son – and of course you have your extended family. We really believe it takes a village and I don’t think just a village to raise a child, but it takes a village to maintain the village. So, in terms of tradition, I think if anything, of course the staple of going to church and praying and making sure that you have some sort of outlet for giving. My husband and I always make mac ’n’ cheese from his grandmother’s recipe, we always get the honey baked ham (laughs). So we’ve got some traditions that will stand the test of time.”
It may be kitsch in their kitchen, but that’s undoubtedly a recipe for a happy home life. Tradition is something which Kim has a healthy respect for, as her approach to recipes makes perfectly plain. That said, she’s not exactly stuck in the past.
“God-willing and prayerfully we are always growing and changing and developing personally and professionally,” she says.
“I recognise that every role I play I’m not going to play someone that has a ministry or that is a Christian and I don’t think that’s what God has called me to do.
Kim as Tootsie in “The Facts of Life”
“The gift and talent that he’s given me as an actor, director and producer is to entertain, sometimes to inform, most times to inspire. But when it comes to me as an individual if I can use the platform to then trumpet the same way that the herald angels did about Christ, then that’s a part of my ministry. So I think that all of these different platforms and components that God has blessed me to have success in is really because my heart is to inspire and to minister to, so that’s really the place that it comes from.
“You have your passions and to God be the glory if you are able to make a career and get paid to do what your passion might be. For me I really enjoy directing just as much as I enjoy acting. Acting, of course, is my first love but I’ve really developed an equal amount of passion for directing. So for the last couple of years my focus has been for me as a director.”
And as she steps up to the plate directing Kim has quite a clear idea of what she wants to present to her audiences.
“We’ve got to come up in terms of the quality and the content, in terms of the height of characters we are portraying, and in terms of the different types of cultures and generations we’re representing,” she says, firmly. “Uplifting entertainment is a tall order and one that won’t be fulfilled overnight.”
Holding together happy ham moments while single-handedly attempting to revolutionise the entertainment industry is no mean feat, though. It won’t surprise you to hear that Kim’s taken up juggling to help her manage.
“That’s the perfect word, juggling,” she laughs. “It’s a juggling act. There are several balls always up in the air. The goal always is don’t drop one. I’ve learned more and more to depend on my support system of my family and my friends. When I notice one ball is about to drop and hit the ground with a crash, someone from my family will try to definitely be there to try to catch it before it comes crashing down.
“I really believe that it’s God in my family saying, ‘Wait a minute Kim needs you about now. She’s about to drop a ball; run in there and save the day.’ Another thing is the idea of balance. I think that’s something we have to work on as women, as spouses and as parents.
“Balance doesn’t always means 50-50. Balance just means the ebb and flow. If you’ve given a little bit more this month because you can, you’ve got it like that, you’ve got the stamina, the energy, the peace of mind to do so and the next month, the next week you don’t have it that way that’s again that ebb and flow.”
In everything, though, Kim has learned to walk with God.
“I thank God for God. I thank God for giving me faith and for honouring it when we have faith as great as a continent or as small as a mustard seed. I’m really so grateful for God for keeping me.
“The difference for me certainly has been God. I’ve been able to take it to God. Even when I didn’t get on my knees or talk to God out of my mouth about it he still knows my heart. That’s so incredibly comforting to me and so beautiful. It’s my faith that has kept me and sustained me when I’ve been lonely and afraid of the fear of the unknown.”
If you’re hoping to get some shortcut tips to the perfect balance, juggling act, sadly, Kim’s not your woman.
“Keep getting tested!” she suggests. “I’m not super faith woman, supermom or anything like that. I don’t balance it perfectly but I try to make sure that I keep it going.
“I have my time where I sit down with my Bible or my reflection online. Sometimes it’s not so organised or easy. That’s when you learn to always talk to the Lord. I always make sure that I talk with him. I learned in an acting class that you need to give yourself permission to live imperfectly balanced. Once you embrace that… it is freeing. You use your opportunities. You learn.”