PERFECT TV STAR'S FRIGHTENING REALITY

Lauren Chapin's death ended a life laced with heartache

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CHILD actress Lauren Chapin played perfect, perky daughter Kathy “Kitten” Anderson on the hit sitcom Father Knows Best, but her real life was a hellish nightmare of drugs, jail, children out of wedlock and even prostitution until she was saved by her born-again faith. The former child actress, who died Feb. 24 at age 80 following a battle with cancer, said her perfect family life on Father Knows Best, where she starred from ages 9 to 15, was a far cry from her reality.

At home, her mom was an alcoholic, her father and a family friend molested her, and she described herself as a “manic depressive personality” by age 11.