Shelley Fabares’ Final TV Role Was in One of the Greatest DC Shows to Ever Exist

Actress Shelley Fabares, who will be forever remembered for her role in The Donna Reed Show and also for Coach, passed away at the age of 82. The actress died on August 22, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. And yet, she left behind a sprawling body of work for us to remember her by across a career spanning more than seven decades.

She built her legacy as a television star (while also co-starring with Elvis Presley in three movies). Her memorable films and television shows include plenty of performances worth revisiting, from her early work to some of her later roles. And yet, the final role in the TV medium was unexpected. Her last TV performance was in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). More specifically, in the Justice League animated series, one of the best superhero shows of all time (95% on Tomatometer). She lent her voice to Martha Kent, Clark Kent, and Superman’s adoptive mother, who raised the alien child with her husband, Jonathan Kent.

Shelley Fabares’ Episode Aired as a Justice League Christmas Special 

Fabares voiced Martha Kent in the Justice League Christmas Special episode entitled Comfort and Joy. As the title suggests, instead of yet another huge crisis threatening the Earth, the episode is more relaxed. It featured a few members of the Justice League in the midst of holiday festivities. It was the only half-hour standalone episode in the show’s original run. Other episodes were part of multi-part story arcs (usually about supervillains like Darkseid).

Christmas was an occasion that saw Superman or Clark Kent travel back to Smallville to take a breather from all the superheroics and spend some quiet quality time with his adopted parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent. Interestingly, her husband, Mike Farrell, played Jonathan Kent. It was in this episode that fans got a chance to view a different side of Clark Kent as a character.

Her DC Legacy Began Earlier With Superman: The Animated Series

Shelley Fabares’s Martha Kent discovers baby Clark in the wreckage of his spacecraft in Superman: The Animated Series | Credits: Warner Bros. Television Animation

Fabares’ involvement with the DC Animated Universe and Martha Kent had actually begun earlier. She had lent her voice to Martha Kent in Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000). She played Superman’s adoptive mother in a number of episodes. Having already established the animated incarnation of Martha Kent, she came back to this role several years later for one last television appearance.

While the role in Justice League was the last television role of Fabares, it was not the end of her acting career. In 2006, she lent her voice to the animated film Superman: Brainiac Attacks. In light of her recent death, this is one more piece that contributes to her rich acting legacy. While the movie brought back several voice actors from Superman: The Animated Series, it is not canon to the DCAU.

What do you remember most about Shelley Fabares’ incredible career? Share your favorite performance in the comments below.