What Happened to Andrea Barber – What She’s Doing Now in 2018

American actress Andrea Barber is best known for playing the character of Kimmy Gibbler in the popular TV series, Full House. Raised in Whittier, California, she started acting at the tender age of four- while performing at a local theater production during her preschool years, she was scouted by a talent agent who happened to be in the audience. Recognizing her as a potential child star, he quickly signed her up for the show business. At the age of seven, Barber made her television debut in an episode of the comedy drama, Fantasy Island (1983). Not long afterward, she received a big break when she was cast as Carrie Brady in the popular soap opera, Days of Our Lives (1983). Her first time playing a prominent character on television, it brought her much fame as a young rising star; during her many years on the show, she won a number of accolades including two Soap Opera Digest Awards (e.g. Outstanding Youth Actress) and two Young Artist Award nominations (e.g. Outstanding Supporting Actress).

While she was starring on the NBC series, Barber also made a couple of guest appearances in the TV shows, St. Elsewhere (1985), The Twilight Zone (1985), Our House (1986) and Wonderful World of Color (1986). Around that same time, she also appeared in the made for television film, Do You Remember Love (1985), where she co-starred alongside Richard Kiley and Joanne Woodward. At the age of eleven, the rising child actress received another major break when she was cast as Kimmy Gibbler in the ABC coming of age sitcom, Full House (1987). After appearing as a recurring character for the first four seasons, Barber was promoted to a series regular during the fifth season in 1991. Successfully juggling several projects at once, she also made brief appearances in Growing Pains (1990), and The Skateboard Kid II (1995) during her time on the award-winning sitcom.

Possibly her most well known role on television to date, her portrayal of Kimmy Gibbler has netted her many awards including two Young Artist Awards (e.g. Best Young Actress in a Supporting Role) among a total of five nominations. Following the end of Full House in 1995, the actress took a prolonged break away from the show business- presumably to spend more time with her family. From there, it wasn’t until 2012- well over a decade after her last acting appearance, that she returned to the small screen in an episode of Funny or Die, after which she left the industry temporarily once again. More recently in 2016, Barber made a comeback in the highly anticipated Full House sequel, Fuller House. In total, the California-born actress has appeared in well over a dozen different projects.

So what has the former child actress of Days of Our Lives and Full House fame been up to since then? Has she appeared in any other shows as of late? Can we expect to see more of her this upcoming year? What happened to Andrea Barber? Where is she now in 2018?

Andrea Barber’s Early Life and Career Beginnings

Born on July 3, 1976 in Los Angeles, California, Andrea Laura Barber (her name is derived from the Greek name, Andreas) is the daughter of Sherry and Donald Barber; the youngest of three siblings, she has two older brothers named Justin and Darin. A performer ever since she was a young girl, Barber started to act at the age of four. While she was still in preschool, she participated in a local theater production- it was then that she caught the eye of a talent agent who happened to be in the audience. Noticing her on-stage presence and talents, he eventually initiated contact with her parents- which later resulted in her signing up to work as a young actress.

At the tender age of seven, Barber made her official acting debut in an episode of the comedy drama, Fantasy Island (1983). Just a few months later, she received a big break in her career when she was cast as Carrie Brady in the popular soap opera, Days of Our Lives (1983). In terms of her education, she went to Whittier College in Denmark during the mid 90’s, from which she later graduated from a few years later. Since then, she has also attended England’s University of York as a graduate student.

Andrea Barber’s First Major Break in Days of Our Lives

Written by Ryan Huan and Dena Higley, Days of Our Lives depicted the ups and downs of the Horton family in the American suburbs. Throughout the series, additional families were also brought into the series for various story lines. In the NBC soap, Barber played as Carrie Brady- the daughter of Anna Fredericks and Roman Brady. As a child, she has faced a number of ordeals including a kidnapping, and a nearly fatal drowning accident. Her character was first introduced in the summer of 1982. After starring on the show for four years, Barber opted to depart from Days of Our Lives in 1986. Following her departure, the role of Carrie Brady was taken over by actress Christie Clark, who was only eleven years old at the time.

One of the longest running soap operas in America history, Days of Our Lives first debuted on television on November 8, 1965- it wasn’t until close to two decades later that Barber joined the cast as a young actress. Universally acclaimed, it constantly draws in millions of viewers every week during its broadcast- to this day. The winner of countless industry awards including four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, the soap opera also earned Barber- who was only seven years old at the time of the casting, two Soap Opera Digest Awards for the category of “Outstanding Youth Actress in a Daytime Serial/Soap Opera” and two Young Artist Award nominations for “Outstanding Young Actress”.

Despite it having been only her second role on television, it earned her much widespread attention as an up-and-rising child star. To this day, it remains to be one of her most well remembered portrayals on the small screen.

Andrea Barber’s Second Breakthrough in Full House

Shortly after her time on the NBC soap opera, Barber landed another big break in 1987 when she was cast as Kibby Gibbler in the popular American sitcom, Full House. Created by Jeff Franklin, the show followed the life of Danny Tanner, a single father who finds himself having to raise his three young daughters with the help of his two of his friends. Making her debut in the show’s third episode, Barber’s character- Kimmy Gibbler was originally introduced as a recurring characters. After appearing on and off for the first four seasons, she was promoted to a series regular during the fifth season which kicked off in 1991.

D.J.’s (Danny’s oldest child) best friend, Kimmy Gibler lives next door to the Tanners and have known each other since kindergarten. Although extremely close, their contrasting personalities often result in there being disputes in various situations throughout the show. In total, her character appears in 146 out of the 19e episodes; her last appearance being in that of the the twenty fourth episode of the eighth season entitled, Michelle Rides Again: Part 2, which aired on May 23, 1995.

A Warner Bros. Production, Full House originally premiered on the ABC Network on September 22, 1987. While it was not an instant smash hit, it garnered consistent ratings throughout its run, having attracted a sizable fan base in the United States. Eventually syndicated, the popularity of the show later climbed further during the 90’s and early 2000’s. Despite this however, critical reception for the series was generally negative- especially during its initial years. On Metacritic, the ABC sitcom holds an aggregated score of 31/100. Having said that, Full House played a significant role in the boosting of Barber’s acting career. For her portrayal of Kimmy Gibler, she received two consecutive Young Artist Awards for the category of “Best Young Actress in a Supporting or Re-Occuring Role” out of five nominations.

Andrea Barber on the Big Screen

After appearing on television for many years, the actress made her motion picture debut in the family comedy, The Skateboard Kid 2 (1995). Directed by Andrew Stevens, it centered around the adventures of a twelve year old teen named Sammy who has in his possession a magical, flying skateboard. While actor Trenton Knight portrayed the title character, Barber played as Tilly Curtis, one of the film’s many supporting characters. Some of the film’s other cast members include Dee Wallace, Bruce Davison, Andrew Stevens, Turhan Bey, Brooke Stanley and Andrew Keegan.

Filmed in Los Angeles, California, The Skateboard Kid 2 was released in theaters on March 22, 1995. Despite the performance put on by its talented cast however, reviews for the movie generally skewed toward the negatives- it currently has a score of 3.8/10 rating on IMDb. Still, it’s a noteworthy mention of Barber’s filmography simply due to the fact that it’s the one and only time that she has appeared on the big screen as an actress.

Andrea Barber in Fuller House

Following a prolonged absence from acting, Barber made her big return to the show biz in 2016 in the Netflix original series, Fuller House. A member of the main cast, the actress reprised her role as Kimmy Gibbler in the highly anticipated sequel of the original 80’s sitcom, Full House. Now the owner of a party planning business, she later moves in with D.J.- her best friend since childhood, to help her raise her young children alongside her younger sister, Stephanie. Aside from her, Fuller House also starred Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin, Andrea Barber, Michael Campion, and Elias Harger, among others.

Originally announced in the spring of 2015, the first season of Fuller House was released exclusively on Netflix on February 26, 2016. Following a thirteen-episode run, a second season aired on December 9, 2016. Despite having won a number of awards, including a Teen Choice Award nomination that Barber shared, the series was generally met with negative reviews- many critics having pointed out its vast differences compared to the original sitcom. On December 24, 2016, it was confirmed by Jeff Franklin, the show’s creator, that it has been renewed for a third season that is set to be released sometime in 2017.

What’s Andrea Barber Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates

Considering how Kimmy Gibbler is one of the principal characters of Fuller House, it’s probably fair to assume that she’ll once again be reprising the role in the upcoming third season, which is scheduled for a 2017 release. Aside from that however, it doesn’t look like the actress has any other TV or film projects planned.

Having said that, she has appeared in a couple of TV talk shows recently- more specifically in Entertainment Tonight (2017), and Home & Family (2017), the latter of which saw her as a guest co-hostess.

If you’d like to stay up to date and connected with the 40-year-old actress, you can do so by following Andrea Barber on social media- you can find her on Twitter at @andreabarber. Whie you’re at it, be sure to also visit her official Facebook page at @andrea.laura.barber.