Tracey Gold is an American actress and former child star (
No pics pre 1987) who is still probably still best known for playing 'Carol Seaver' on the 1980's sitcom 'Growing Pains'. With her family background she unsurprisingly has been an actress since the age of four, first appearing in a Pepsi print ad. She appeared in two canceled series, 'Shirley' in 1979, and 'Goodnight Beantown' in 1983. She played one of Albert Finney and Diane Keaton's four daughters in the 1982 feature film 'Shoot the Moon'.
In 1985, she auditioned for the role on 'Growing Pains', but was not cast in the pilot but was for the series. 'Growing Pains' ran from 1985 until 1992 and Gold became a teen star. In 1988, she also starred in the teen film 'Dance 'til Dawn' ..... little did she know that this was her peak fame career moment (
but they never do, do they?). After the end of the, Gold continued to work as an actress but almost entirely in made for TV or straight to DVD movies.
She then spent a few years battling with anorexia nervosa, and photos of her body were plastered all over tabloid magazines, and she was one of the first celebrities ever to be
formally outed for anorexia, but eventually she recovered and resumed her film career aged 25 in the 1994 TV movie 'For the Love of Nancy' (
pics below) .... She was a contestant on 'Celebrity Mole 2: Yucatán' in 2004
She is currently hosting the mini-show 'Trapped in TV Guide' and is the host of 'The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom'. In early 2009, she co-hosted on the live show 'GSN Live'.
Arrest:
In 2004, she was
arrested by officers of the California Highway Patrol for
drunk driving after rolling her SUV down a California freeway embankment .... somewhat shamefully (and unusually for DUI's on this thread), her husband and three young boys were passengers when she chose to drive the vehicle.
She was charged under her married name, Tracey Gold Marshall with a felony count of driving under the influence causing injury. According to a CHP spokesman, she was driving on Route 118 when she lost control of the vehicle ... one child broke a bone but no one was fatally injured in the late-night crash .... she spent five hours in the Ventura police cells before being
released on $50,000 bail.
Trivia:
- Her younger sister is fellow actress Missy Gold, who appeared on the TV series Benson from 1979 to 1986.
- The surname "Gold" is a shortened form of the name acquired by Tracey and Missy when they were adopted by Actor and Agent 'Harry Goldstein'.
- Missy and Tracey have three younger half-sisters, two of whom, Brandy and Jessie Gold, are actresses.
- Gold was originally cast as the youngest daughter in the original pilot series of the show 'Gimme A Break!' but was replaced by actress Lara Jill Miller when the show went to series.
Pictures:
All
growed up pics ... she hasn't actually done any nudes, but she's in a bikini in the 1988 season of the 'Growing Pains' series at age 19 (
she looked younger due to her weight issues... which I guess was the point) ... US TV rules ensure that girls are over 18 before bras and bikini's can be shown
She has changed her appearances a lot over the years, but I have checked and as far as I can tell these are all her.
