What Really Happened To Six From Blossom?
Six from Blossom was the example of a great best friend. At least in our "opinionation," that is.
Six LeMeure was played by Jenna von Oy on the NBC series that aired from 1990 to 1995. The character was Blossom's fast-talking, fellow floppy hat-wearing teen with whom she shared life's big ups and downs, including her parents' divorce, a broken heart, and her first period. For von Oy, this character marked her first big break. According to her website, von Oy's career started at the age of 6 in a JELL-O Pudding Pop commercial. She then went on, of course, to get cast in Blossom.
Von Oy has had several other acting roles, but her face hasn't been in the limelight for decades. Many fans wonder what happened to their favorite TV best friend from their childhood and what her life is like now that she's all grown up. Here's what really happened to sassy sidekick Six from Blossom.
The actress behind Six from Blossom went on to play another TV best friend
After making her mark as the ultimate BFF as Six from Blossom, Jenna von Oy went onto play another main character's best friend in UPN's The Parkers, Stevie Van Lowe, the quirky best friend of Kim Parker, the show's main protagonist. The Parkers was a spinoff of the popular show Moesha and helped launch the career of comedian and actress Mo'Nique. According to von Oy's website, The Parkers was the no. 1 show in African-American households.
The show was a hit and filmed over 100 episodes during its five seasons. The Parkers also starred Countess Vaughn as Kim Parker, Ken Lawson as Thaddeus Tyrell "T" Radcliffe, Dorien Wilson as Professor Stanley Oglevee, Mari Morrow as Desiree Littlejohn, and Yvette Wilson as Andell Wilkerson.
With the popularity of old-school show reboots happening, such as Saved By The Bell, could the cast of The Parkers be ready for a reboot? Some of the cast members appear to be on board, and fans are loving it. But only time will tell if The Parkers piques enough interest to come back to TV.
The woman who played Six from Blossom proved she's all grown up with a revealing magazine spread
Kid stars go through different phases to prove they're all grown up. Some turn to drugs and alcohol, while others shake it off and wow audiences on Dancing With the Stars. Von Oy's solution was to appear in a sexy photoshoot for King magazine in 2004. According to von Oy's autobiographical book Situation Momedy: A Very Special Episode in Toddlerdom, she called the decision her "midcareer crisis."
Regarding the shoot, von Oy, who's still well known as Six from Blossom, said, "Was I wearing skimpy underwear and bathing suits? Yes. Was I striking provocative poses and hoping boys would salivate over the images as a result? Sure. I was an insecure, wannabe sex symbol who needed serious validation."
As noted by her website, von Oy made her way into adulthood and appeared in many other TV shows, including a guest lead on Cold Case, and she guest-starred on such shows as Chicago Hope, 7th Heaven, Martin, and Unhappily Ever After.
You may have recognized a voice in Pepper Ann as Six from Blossom
Jenna von Oy has a recognizable face, but you may also know her voice pretty well, as the actress who played Six from Blossom voiced one of the characters on Disney's 1997 animated series Pepper Ann.
The show featured a nerdy protagonist named Pepper Ann and her friends as they maneuvered life in middle school (sound familiar?). It aired as part of Disney's One Saturday Morning block and was the very first animated Disney television series created by a woman. Von Oy voiced Trinket St. Blair, a spoiled rich girl who is at odds with the show's main character.
The show has been lauded as being a groundbreaking and largely underrated show for young girls. At the time of its release, it made forward-thinking statements about gender and female roles. In an interview with Vice, the show's producer and writer Nahnatchka Khan said, "I would define her as a feminist, absolutely, in as much as a feminist to me is a strong woman who believes that women are just as equal to men in all aspects.
The actress behind Six from Blossom left Los Angeles to become a songwriter
Stardom. Celebrity. Smog. These are all words to describe life in Los Angeles. Even though Jenna von Oy was part of two sitcoms that defined a decade, her true passion was songwriting.
In an interview with Tennessean, the actress behind Six from Blossom said that, after visiting Nashville as a kid to promote Blossom, she was drawn to the simpler life down south, but she didn't make the official move to Nashville for nearly a decade. When von Oy took a break from filming The Parkers, she went back to Nashville and wrote some songs. It was then that she really fell in love with the city.
"I really became enamored with the town," she said. "I could sink my teeth into something that would be challenging in a creative way that wasn't smog-filled and didn't have quite the rampant narcissism of L.A." In short, von Oy said, "People waved hello," and she "missed that terribly living in L.A."
The woman who played Six from Blossom released her debut album
Moving to Nashville paid off for the actress who played Six from Blossom, Jenna von Oy, and she spent time there writing and recording music. According to her website, von Oy released her debut album, Breathing Room, in September 2007. She told The Newtown Bee, "Breathing Room, which came first, was sort of a cathartic project that happened when I was moving out of LA." She explained, "Having grown up in Newtown and moving to LA — that strange bubble — I had to get some grass back under my feet."
According to a 2009 interview with People, von Oy had one of her first experiences songwriting at the age of four called "Little Pollywoggy." Interestingly, country music wasn't von Oy's original genre of choice. "I dabbled in R&B and pop, but there was an honesty about country that I didn't find anywhere else. I used to assume it was all about drinkin' whiskey and your dog dying. And now I'm biting my tongue!"
According to her website, von Oy later released another album in 2009, called Coffee & Men: An EP For Childish Adults.
The actress who's known as Six from Blossom got married in a low key wedding
A former TV star walks into a bar... and found her future husband!
"My mama told me never to meet a man at a bar — so I did," Jenna von Oy told People magazine. The woman many recognize as Six from Blossom met Dell computer analyst Brad Bratcher at a wine bar in Nashville, and the pair bonded over their love of writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez and a shared love of the simple life. Two years later, von Oy and Bratcher wed in a low-key wedding ceremony in Newtown, Conn. There, 83 guests ate truffled popcorn and watched the couple say "I do" in a garden outside a bed and breakfast.
Down-to-earth von Oy wanted to include personal touches in her wedding, with one being that the couple's dog, Bruiser, served as ring bearer. Von Oy also put her songwriting to good use, as the DJ played a song von Oy wrote for her husband as they took to the dance floor. Von Oy said, "He looked at me and his eyes welled up."
The actress who portrayed Six from Blossom took on her hardest role yet
Two years after her wedding, the former child star known for playing Six from Blossom took on her hardest role yet when she became a new mom. Jenna von Oy and husband Brad Bratcher welcomed their daughter, Gray Audrey, into the world in May 2012, as reported by People.
With von Oy's colorful personality, it seemed only natural for her to name her daughter after, well, a color. She told People that the name selection was simple: "We were just so drawn to it, we knew early on that it was the right one."
Although motherhood is an exciting time, von Oy got real about her new leading role as a mom. Speaking with ABC News in 2013, she shared, "When you have your child throwing up on your shoulder, and your dog is puking on the couch in the other room, and you're not really sure what to do first, those are really the frustrating days."
The actress behind Six from Blossom relishes her time out of the spotlight
Though she grew up in the spotlight, Jenna von Oy prefers a softer light these days. She enjoys her time as a stay-at-home mom, lounging in sweatpants, and has chronicled her life as a parent on her blog The Cradle Chronicles and as a People magazine contributor, according to People. Her transparent posts include topics about imaginary play, a humorous family vacation, and the importance of finding mommy "me-time."
Von Oy was interviewed by Modern Mom and said about her experience chronicling her life, "If I'm going to have a voice as a mom and as an actress, and if I'm going to use my blogs as a platform to stand up and voice my opinions, I really feel it's imperative that I make sure there's honesty and vulnerability in my words."
The actress known for playing Six from Blossom has also admitted that parenting has its hard moments. She shared, "Part of it is the first-hand realization that, as cliché as it is, 'There is no rule book.' Nobody really knows what they're doing."
The woman behind Six from Blossom swapped lives on NBC's Celebrity Wife Swap
Jenna von Oy has a life many of us can only dream of, right? After all, she's experienced fame, marriage, motherhood, and a bustling artistic career. But von Oy and her husband wanted to give their lives up (temporarily) for the challenge of switching up their everyday routine on Celebrity Wife Swap.
In a 2014 blog post for People, the actress known as Six from Blossom explained, "Curiosity got the better of me. The challenge of being in someone else's home, living in their (as it happens, very fancy) shoes for a week, and walking away with a dose of self-reflection and inspiration, was just too intriguing to pass up."
Von Oy swapped lives with Real Housewives of New York City cast member Jill Zarin. In her People blog post, von Oy, who left her family for a week to film the show, got a brief glimpse of what life would be like leaving her daughter for work every day. "I know a lot of you are working parents, and I have the utmost respect for you," she wrote, noting, "It's always painful to bid farewell to your child as you head off to work."
In 2014, the actress who played Six from Blossom welcomed another child
It was a matter of time until Jenna von Oy's family blossomed. The actress most know best as Six from Blossom gave birth to her second child, Marlowe Monroe, in 2014.
"We are so blessed to welcome another healthy, beautiful, profoundly enchanting baby girl into our family!" von Oy and husband Brad Bratcher told People. "Little Miss Marlowe is already very loved and adored, and we are savoring this special bonding time we have with her."
As People reported, big sister Gray helped the family land on the name Marlowe for their new addition. "We began mulling over names at the beginning of my pregnancy, and came up with a few we were fond of," von Oy said. "When we mentioned them aloud in front of Gray, Marlowe was the name that resonated most with her." She added Gray kept using the name Marlowe, and von Oy eventually decided on using the moniker.
The actress behind Six from Blossom reunited with her former cast
Full House. 90210. Family Matters. Roseanne. Reboots and TV show reunions are all the rage, as '80s and '90s babies are all grown up and so are their favorite childhood stars. Unlike the casts of many young adult shows these days, Blossom and Six weren't overly perfect-looking teens. They were normal, awkward kids basically playing themselves, and we can only imagine what this dynamic duo would be like as adults.
The entire main cast of Blossom met up for an Entertainment Weekly reunion, including The Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik, Joey Lawrence, Michael Stoyanov, Ted Wass, and, of course, Six from Blossom herself, Jenna von Oy. And there may be some hope for a Blossom reboot. In July 2017, Joey Lawrence told Us Weekly, "Mayim and I talk frequently. Mayim is interested in doing some type of reunion with the show and so am I, if we can find the right piece and the right way in for a reboot/reunion, we're both open to it..."
It would only seem natural for Bialik and von Oy to still have the chemistry for a reboot all these years later. The dynamic duo talk frequently about motherhood, and, according to a People cast reunion video, the show's creator said the two had instant chemistry as children.
The woman who played Six from Blossom wrote a hilarious book about parenting
Being a mom of two must have plenty of comedic moments. Fortunately, Jenna von Oy has been transparent about motherhood, and she wrote a book series about her journey.
Released in 2015, Situation Momedy: A First-Time Mom's Guide to Laughing Your Way Through Pregnancy & Year One is a funny firsthand account of motherhood. According to PR Newswire, the actress known as TV's ultimate BFF Six from Blossom wrote this book in a friendly voice, not in a "clinical" voice like many guides out there. In a blog post she wrote for People, von Oy opened up about the inspiration for writing her book, saying, "How could I ignore an opportunity to merge my lifelong love for comedy with my passion for raising my daughters?"
She noted that she also penned the book to give her fellow moms a good laugh. In her People blog post, she wrote, "I believe we are all better parents when we can take a step back and find the funny."
Did the woman who played Six from Blossom find a new love?
Jenna von Oy doesn't appear to be with her husband, Brad Bratcher, these days. Instead, based on her Instagram posts, she may have found a new love with a woman.
Though von Oy has not officially confirmed the relationship as of this writing, if you look at von Oy's Instagram posts, it seems she's in a new relationship. In a Valentine's Day post from February 2019, von Oy wrote, "Love can show up in so many different forms... each one no less awe-inspiring than the last. Because if you're lucky, each love brings more meaning and clarity along with it." She added, "Thank you for loving me and letting me love you, @kalelemy..." The two can be seen spending birthdays together, traveling to Disney World, and enjoying time with family.
Six from Blossom wasn't very close with her own family, but it looks like the actress who played Six has made family her top priority.