We Never Realized (or Forgot!) These Celebs Were in Hallmark Christmas Movies
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Given that more than 30 originals usually premiere each year, even the biggest Grinch has probably stumbled across one or two Hallmark Christmas movies. Filled with the heartwarming goodness of long-lost loves, sweet romances, and family reunions, these festive films are akin to comfort food during the holiday season.
While there are a few familiar faces you can count on seeing year after year, like Lacey Chabert from Mean Girls, there are other major celebrities who you may have never realized (or completely forgot!) have appeared in one or more Hallmark holiday movies. Seriously, even if you are a devoted "Countdown to Christmas" viewer, you might not remember all of the big names—like Mariah Carey, Dolly Parton, and Patti LaBelle. (See?)
Luckily, with three channels (the original Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) airing new and old movies all season long—along with select movies being available on the streaming service Hallmark Movies Now—we have a feeling you'll spot at least one of these celebs during your Christmas movie marathon this year.
Carrie Fisher
It's Christmas, Carol (2012) features Princess Leia herself as a ghostly presence in a modern retelling of the Dickens classic. (Yes, it's just as amazing as it sounds.)
Mariah Carey
The self-proclaimed "Queen of Christmas" not only starred in A Christmas Melody (2015), but she also directed it! It also stars Lacey Chabert, and the two are high school rivals who face off during a school snowflake pageant.
Patti LaBelle
The iconic singer plays a doting aunt-turned-matchmaker in A Family Christmas Gift (2019). Kudos to the writers who worked in an opportunity to showcase her voice in a performance of "O Holy Night."
Lacey Chabert
The Mean Girls star stopped trying to make "fetch" happen (or did she?) and decided to take over the Hallmark Channel. (And we love it!) She's appeared in over 30 films for the network, including A Merry Scottish Christmas (2023).
LeAnn Rimes
Grammy Award-winning Rimes plays a superintendent who is being forced to cut budgets, including a music program, in It's Christmas, Eve (2018).
Anne Heche
In Silver Bells (2005), Anne Heche stars alongside Tate Donovan (who Friends fans will recognize as Joshuaaa) in this holiday romance.
Dolly Parton
It's Christmas at Dollywood (2019), so of course, the iconic singer is on hand to give out some sage wisdom to a party planner who is tasked with decking the halls.
Carson Kressley
The RuPaul's Drag Race judge and former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy expert stars alongside Carrie Fisher in It's Christmas, Carol (2012).
Priscilla Presley
Surely it was a no-brainer to have Elvis's daughter appear in Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays (2019).
Jennifer Beals
Beals went from Flashdance and The L Word to The Night Before the Night Before Christmas (2010), in which she's a workaholic who meets an amnesiac Santa.
Kristin Chenoweth
The Tony award-winning Wicked star takes a turn as a youth choir director (naturally) in Hallmark Hall of Fame: A Christmas Love Story (2019).
Billy Ray Cyrus
In the early days of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, the country singer—also known as Miley Cyrus's father—starred in the Christmas in Canaan (2009) as a widow who falls for his son's physical therapist.
Ashley Greene
You can spot the Twilight star in Christmas on My Mind (2019) and A Little Christmas Charm (2020).
Shirley MacLaine
That's right—the Oscar-winning Terms of Endearment actress stars as an angel in A Heavenly Christmas (2016).
Teri Hatcher
Hatcher reunites with her Desperate Housewives co-star James Denton in A Kiss Before Christmas (2021), a modern take on It's a Wonderful Life.
Brandon Routh
The former "Man of Steel" from Superman Returns trades his cape for firefighting gear, rescues a bunch of kittens, and falls for a cute cat lover in The Nine Kittens of Christmas (2021).
Christopher Lloyd
The Back to the Future star plays a mysterious train conductor who sends Lyndsy Fonseca back in time (no Delorean needed) to relive fond memories in Next Stop, Christmas (2021).
Kellie Pickler
The American Idol contestant-turned-country-singer starred in her first on-screen role in Christmas at Graceland (2018).
Katee Sackhoff
The Battlestar Galactica and Mandalorian star is out of space and down to Earth, playing a woman who reconnects with her hometown in Christmas Sail (2021).
Jordin Sparks
In A Christmas Treasure (2021), the American Idol winner tries her hand at making gingerbread while flirting with a chef.
Jodie Sweetin
The Full House and Fuller House star has appeared in more than a few Hallmark movies: A Cozy Christmas Inn (2022), Finding Santa (2017), Merry & Bright (2019), and Entertaining Christmas (2018).
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Terry O'Quinn
Eagle-eyed Lost fans might have spotted the former John Locke in Christmas Sail (2021), in which he plays a dad reuniting with his estranged daughter.
Tia Mowry
Sister, Sister star Tia Mowry takes a solo turn in A Gingerbread Romance (2018), where she's forced to make life-sized gingerbread house in order to get a promotion.
Tamera Mowry-Housley
The Santa Stakeout (2021) features the other Mowry twin as a police detective trying to bust a series of holiday party heists.
Kristin Davis
After her run as Charlotte on Sex and the City, Davis played an angel who helps a troubled soul in A Heavenly Christmas (2016).
Joe Pantoliano
A Sopranos star might seem like an unlikely fit for a cheery Christmas movie, until you find out that he's a suspect in a string of robberies in The Santa Stakeout (2021).
Chad Michael Murray
One Tree Hill's Murray has multiple Hallmark Christmas movies under his belt. Here, he's pictured in Love in Winterland (2020), where his high school sweetheart returns home as part of a dating show...and romance is rekindled, of course.
Tiffani Thiessen
Kelly Kapowski (Saved by the Bell fans know!) took a turn in the Hallmark hit movie Northpole (2014) as a hard-working single mom in need of some holiday spirit.
Scott Wolf
Everwood's Scott Wolf appeared alongside Kristin Chenoweth in A Christmas Love Story (2019)—but most recently, he's reuniting with his Party of Five sibling Lacey Chabert in A Merry Scottish Christmas (2023).
Holly Robinson Peete
The Hangin' With Mr. Cooper actress gets caught up in Patti LaBelle's matchmaking scheme in A Family Christmas Gift (2019).
Janel Parrish
Pretty Little Liars star Parrish has carved out a niche for herself on the Hallmark Channel, in movies like the tearjerker Holly & Ivy (2020), the cute Coyote Creek Christmas (2021), and—most recently—the new Never Been Chris'd (2023).
Ben Savage
The Boy Meets World star technically wasn't in a Christmas movie, but he headlined a different kind of holiday movie: Love, Lights, Hanukkah! (2020), which celebrates the Festival of Lights.
Sir Roger Moore
James Bond himself stars as a grandfather who turns out to be a Duke in A Princess for Christmas (2011).
Eric McCormack
Will & Grace's McCormack is a single dad who gets a visit from an angel in A Heavenly Christmas (2016).
Adrian Grenier
The Entourage star took a role in Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays (2019), the second Hallmark movie set at Elvis's mansion.
Bruce Campbell
My Southern Family Christmas (2022) features Evil Dead's Campbell as a Santa-type who discovers his long-lost daughter. He also stars alongside Peter Gallagher in One December Night (2021).
Danny Glover
Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover is a wise barber who inspires a young musician in A Way Back Home (2013).
Peter Gallagher
One December Night (2021) stars The O.C.'s Peter Gallagher as a retired rock star who is pulled back into the spotlight by his daughter.
Lisa Loeb
The pop singer is known for her '90s hit "Stay," and she picked up her guitar for a role in another Hanukkah Hallmark movie: Hanukkah on Rye (2022).
Lori Loughlin
The Full House alum starred in the Hallmark series When Calls the Heart, but she's also been in Homegrown Christmas (2018), Northpole: Open for Christmas (2015) and Every Christmas Has a Story (2016).
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