Kim Fields gained a tiny place in pop culture history as the spry (if eventually pudgy) know-it-all Tootie, one of the mischevious school girls in the improbably longrunning sitcom "The Facts of Life" (NBC, 1979-1988). Unlike many child performers, Fields made an effortless transition to adult roles and became credible playing a confident young professional. The sexier, more elegant Fields emerged first in a series of TV ads for Slimfast and later on "Living Single" (Fox 1993-97), where she co-starred with formidable rap goddess Queen Latifah playing young professional women sharing living quarters and complicated love lives.
Fields began acting with small roles in the features "Come Back, Charleston Blue" (1972) and "The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3" (1974) before landing a role in "Roots--The Second Generation" (1979), the sequel to the celebrated miniseries. When her nine year run on "The Facts of Life" ended in 1988, the then 18-year-old Fields enrolled at California's Pepperdine University. There she kept active by performing in plays and directing music videos. Fields returned to the small screen in 1992 with guest slots on "Martin", "The Golden Palace", "Roc", and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She moved behind the camera in 1994 when she directed, produced and co-wrote a 40-minute docudrama "The Silent Bomb", about a female police offer who contracts HIV.
Fields comes from a show business family. Her mother Chip Fields directs and her younger sister Alexis played a regular character on Fox TV's sitcom "Roc".