Lori Loughlin’s former co-star says she was 'a very driven person’ before college admissions scandal

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Lori Loughlin’s former co-star says 'she was a very driven person' before college admissions scandal

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Pamela Donnelly first met Lori Loughlin on the set of “The Edge of Night” back in 1983 — and she was surprised by what she witnessed while filming the soap opera series.

“We were friends,” Donnelly told Fox News about meeting the-then budding starlet who had a dressing room right next to hers. “Listen, she’s America’s Sweetheart — a beautiful, friendly, nice person. Anyone who has known Lori would agree that she’s a really amiable human being.”

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Pamela Donnelly (left) and Lori Loughlin filming "The Edge of Night." — Courtesy of Pamela Donnelly

“She was a very driven person,” continued Donnelly. “She had a primary role on the show that we shared. She had a lot of fans… She was a wonderful, outgoing, talented, beautiful American woman doing her thing.”

But Loughlin, who would later find fame in the hit sitcom “Full House,” has taken on a completely different role these days. The 54-year-old and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded not guilty in April to charges that they paid $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California.

The couple is among 50 prominent parents, athletic coaches and others charged in a sweeping college admissions bribery scam that has embroiled elite schools across the country, including Stanford, Georgetown and Yale.

Lori Loughlin in "The Edge of Night" circa 1983. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images)

“My goodness, I was really so sorry to see that news,” said Donnelly. “I had crossed paths with her several years before the scandal broke, at a mutual friend’s house. There was a little party. And I had seen her and I said, ‘Hi, remember me?’ And she was like, ‘My goodness, yes!’ And I knew that she had become a mom. Yes, I was very surprised to hear the news. And what can I say? It’s unfortunate, but we all have to deal with the choices that we make.”

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Loughlin and Giannulli are charged with paying bribes to have their daughters designated as crew recruits to USC, even though neither of them is a rower. Authorities say Loughlin and Giannulli helped create fake athletic profiles for the teens by submitting photos to admissions consultant Rick Singer of their teens posing on rowing machines.

Mossimo Giannulli and Lori Loughlin were accused of helping their children get into universities through a bribery scheme. (Getty Images)

After their older daughter was admitted to USC, authorities say Giannulli sent Singer an email with the subject line, “Trojan happiness,” thanking him for his “efforts and end result!”

Their daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli — a social media star who has a popular YouTube channel — was dropped from deals with cosmetics retailer Sephora and hair products company TRESemme after her parents’ arrest.

Each of the charges Loughlin and Giannulli face call for up to 20 years in prison, although first-time offenders would get only a small fraction of that if convicted.

In this Aug. 13, 2017 file photo, actress Lori Loughlin poses with her daughters Bella, left, and Olivia Jade at the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles.   (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

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As for Donnelly, her life also took a completely different direction. After appearing in shows like “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” she stopped acting in 1988 after welcoming her first daughter. Donnelly, who has long been passionate about education, became a college admissions specialist and is now CEO of GATE College System, a patented curriculum that aims to prep high school students in hopes of gaining acceptance into the schools of their choice. She said it attempts to demystify the grueling application process, giving children a more competitive edge.

“For the last 22 years, I’ve been working with students, helping them through the college admissions process,” she explained. “That’s why I’m now focused on college access for underserved students… Let’s face it, if somebody helps you, you’re going to do a better job and some of these kids can’t afford that… I’m driven because I was first generation and my parents didn’t have college degrees. They didn’t know how to help me.”

“I was fortunate, I ended up in New York on TV,” shared Donnelly. “It sounds more glamorous than it was — all that glittered was not gold. I would have had a much easier time of it had someone been able to show me how to get into college while I was in that public school in a little town in Virginia, but nobody showed me… I went out, I got myself a patent, so I’m now an inventor and a lady who’s trying to make a difference for other kids who grew up like me. Who are just looking to have a fair shot.”

Donnelly admitted that when it came to her new career, things weren’t always smooth sailing. In fact, Donnelly claimed she was previously approached by high-profile personalities and CEOs looking for a “backdoor” to get into top universities.

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“My first business prior to opening GATE College System is an elite tutoring agency in Los Angeles,” she explained. “A lot of our clients have big mansions in Malibu overlooking the ocean. They live in Bel Air, Beverly Hills, etc. I would say over the last seven years at Valley Prep Tutoring I’ve probably had maybe five or 10 percent of the parents that have consulted with me either give me a wink and nudge.”

“I remember one father asking me point blank, ‘My daughter’s language is not primarily English, that’s her second language. How much for you and your staff to write her essays for her?’ Not, ‘Will you coach her? Will you help her?’ Just write it, how much for the check? I just said, ‘I’m sorry you’ve come to the wrong place, we don’t do that here. But I’ll tell you a secret — I’m getting ready to dissolve Valley Prep Tutoring next year because guess what doesn’t thrill me anymore? Working with rich people. I want to help the kids who can’t get the help. God bless you all who are already on third base, but I’m looking to help the kids who are just trying to get up to plate.”

Donnelly said Loughlin, who hasn’t publicly addressed the allegations, should release a public apology if found guilty. She pointed out actress Felicity Huffman who pleaded guilty in May in the college admissions bribery scheme as an example. The 56-year-old admitted in federal court to paying an admissions consultant $15,000 to have a proctor correct her older daughter’s answers on the SAT.  According to authorities, Huffman also considered going through with the plan for her younger daughter before ultimately deciding not to.

Actress Felicity Huffman is seen inside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles, on March 12, 2019.   (DAVID MCNEW / AFP)

Singer arranged for the cheating by having students obtain permission for extra time on the exams through diagnoses for things like learning disabilities, and then taking the exams at his testing center, prosecutors say.

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In court, Huffman explained her daughter had been seeing a neuropsychologist for years and been getting extra time on tests since she was 11 — an apparent attempt to explain that her daughter’s doctor had no part in the scheme.

The former “Desperate Housewives” star could face prison time after she admitted to participating in the nationwide scam.

Felicity Huffman arrives at federal court Monday, May 13, 2019, in Boston, where she is scheduled to plead guilty to charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

“I thought Felicity’s letter that was released as she pled guilty was a phenomenal exercise in throwing yourself in humility on the mercy of not just the court, but of public opinion,” said Donnelly. “And I think that was very wise. I know she’s not going to be sentenced until September, so she’s got a long summer ahead… You can only hide behind rhetoric for so long. We’re all smart people out here and we can see when privilege has created an unfair situation. And maybe sometimes the best thing to do is what my grandma taught me growing up, which is to say you’re sorry and try to do better next time.”

Donnelly said her one regret is not getting the chance to stay more closely connected with Loughlin, especially when it came to her children.

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In this Feb. 28, 2019 photo, actress Lori Loughlin poses with daughters Olivia Jade Giannulli, left, and Isabella Rose Giannulli at the 2019 "An Unforgettable Evening" in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

“I so wish that I had sat down with them when they were in ninth grade,” she said. “That’s what kills me. I feel like I could have made such a positive difference for them, but I didn’t get the opportunity. So that’s actually sad. At this point, my advice would be to do the inner work of exploring why you didn’t pause to consider the other students who were being displaced by your behavior.

"Did you not think of the fact that every time you took an advantage unfairly, you were taking something from someone who might have been getting up at like four in the morning, and working their what off, trying to make sure that they had a fair shot. And really I see it as something that was robbed from someone else.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.