Andrea Barber Talks ‘Fuller House’ Ending and Her Love of NKOTB
She played the lovable next door neighbor with a natural ability to make people laugh turned a member of the She-Wolf Pack from Fuller House. Andrea Barber has entertained audiences on the beloved sitcom Full House and picked right up where she left off on Netflix’s spin off of Fuller House. For so many viewers, Andrea conjures a nostalgia that is next to none.
Who is this talented woman behind the role of “Kimmy Gibbler” ? We exclusively sat down with Andrea to catch up, learn about the very exciting return of Fuller House to Netflix for their final season, what she thinks of her castmates, how her love of the New Kids on the Block came to be, and so much more. Check it all out below.I don’t actually remember the specific audition but I remember that time in my life. I was 10 years old and was going out on a lot of auditions at the time. My mom probably remembers the Full House audition in specific. I remember that I auditioned for the role of DJ [Tanner] and obviously didn’t get it. The producers asked me to come back and read for the role of Kimmy. I remember my first time on the set of Full House and being a little intimidated but everybody was super nice. Candace and I were both 10 years old and Jodie was only 5. I had no idea it would all turn into the biggest role of my life.
From 6 to 9, I played the first Carrie Brady on ‘Days of Our Lives.’ I also filmed a ton of commercials. Commercials were very important back then when I was growing up. I did commercials for Barbie, toys, McDonald’s, and a lot of food brands. I also did guest spots on all the great family sitcoms like Growing Pains and Our House.
Did you go to a regular school or were you tutored on set?
I did both actually. I was in school on my days off which were usually Mondays. We worked three weeks on, one week off. So during those hiatus weeks, I would go to a regular public school . Then when I was working, I had a tutor on the set. Once I got to high school, my parents advocated that they wanted me to go to my first period class every day on campus which would be either biology or Spanish and then go to the studio. The producers agreed to it. At 8 am I’d go to my first period class and then after I’d drive out to Burbank and do the rest of my schooling out there. I had a good mix of regular public school and having a tutor on set. It was the best of both worlds.
We were actually reviewing the New Kids on the Block concert last year at Mohegan Sun where you were! We know you’re a big fan of the group. When did you first discover New Kids on the Block?
Oh man, I was young! I was 12 or 13. I went to the “Hangin’ Tough” tour and the “Magic Summer Tour.” I had really bad seats, way up in the nosebleed section. My poor parents were my guardians so they had to go with me.
There’s a bit of a discrepancy here. There was a time period where she was too cool for the New Kids on the Block believe it or not. She won’t admit this though. Actually, Candace’s sister, Bridgette was a Jon girl and I was a Joey girl, so she and I bonded and went to a concert together. Candace was into other music at the time. At some point, she came around and started liking the band. People don’t know this, so you are getting the exclusive on it. There was a time period where I was made fun of for listening to the NKOTB. It all started with me though. Now Candace is a huge fan of them of course. We go to all the concerts together and she screams for them. It took a little convincing though!
