‘The Love Boat’ star credits her mom for never being arrested in Hollywood

Jill Whelan launched into a journey to Hollywood stardom – and he or she survived treacherous waters, because of her mom.

The actress, who performed Vicki Stubing on the hit sitcom “The Love Boat,” informed Fox News Digital that she credited her mom, Carol Garrett ,with serving to her navigate fame as a toddler star.

“My mom was incredible,” mentioned the 58-year-old. “She never forgot that she was a parent first before she was a ‘momager.’ And I attribute pretty much the fact that I haven’t been arrested to my mom.”

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Jill Whelan performed Vicki Stubing reverse her TV dad Gavin MacLeod (Captain Merrill Stubing) on “The Love Boat.” (Everett Collection)

“I’m still afraid of her at her 84 years,” Whelan chuckled. “She still wields a big stick. [But] I think in terms of any child in the industry . . . a lot of the parental responsibility is the reason why they are, or they are not able to navigate a somewhat normal life.”

Jill Whelan grew up in the general public eye. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content through Getty Images)

Whelan knew precisely how you can thank the matriarch. As a Celebrations Ambassador for Princess Cruises, Whelan has taken her household on cruise holidays around the globe, People journal reported. According to the outlet, she and her stepfather additionally spent high quality time collectively on board a Princess cruise over New Year’s 2024 earlier than his loss of life.

Looking again, Whelan admitted that she had discovered fame at a time when social media didn’t exist. It meant much less strain on the younger star’s shoulders.

“My mom was incredible. She never forgot that she was a parent first before she was a ‘momager.’ And I attribute pretty much the fact that I haven’t been arrested to my mom.”

— Jill Whelan

Jill Whelan and her mom Carol attend the Young Musicians Foundations Fourth Annual Celebrity Mother/Daughter Fashion Show on March 28, 1985, on the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection through Getty Images)

“Puberty in front of millions of people is super fun,” she joked. “But I would say in terms of navigating [fame], thank God there was no internet or social media then. . . . Even though we didn’t think it at the time, we did have our privacy as compared to what people have today. We are in an industry [today] where people are interested in what . . . [celebrities] do in their private lives. So, navigating [fame] for me was a lot easier.”

Jill Whelan informed Fox News Digital that her “Love Boat” solid mates made positive she stayed out of bother. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content through Getty Images)

Whelan additionally credited the solid of “The Love Boat” for guiding her alongside the best way.

The sitcom, which aired from 1977 to 1987, informed the romantic and sometimes comical tales of the passengers and crew of the Pacific Princess. Although initially scorned by critics, the collection proved immensely common, lasting 9 seasons and spinning off a number of TV films.

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Jill Whelan is a Princess Cruises Celebrations Ambassador. More than 40 years after her final go to to Australia, Whelan returned to the nation to have fun love at sea on board the Royal Princess.  (Rocket Weijers/Getty Images for Princess Cruises)

“My greatest joy is being able to talk about the relationship that we all had together,” Whelan mirrored. “And part of that was the way they educated me. . . . Gavin MacLeod and Bernie Kopell . . . had been in the industry for a really long time. And so, by the time ‘Love Boat’ came around, they were the senior members… and they had a lot of experience. And they set the tone for the rest of us in terms of how we were to behave as actors, and how lucky we were to be working actors.”

Barbara Rush and Gavin MacLeod, circa 1978. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content through Getty Images)

“They never let us forget that,” Whelan continued. “I think that was one of the greatest lessons they taught us, besides the classic ‘Show up early, know your lines and hit your mark.’ Those are some of the most basic rules, but a lot of people forget or don’t think it’s necessarily important. 

“The trade has modified a lot . . . due to unscripted TV reveals. Lots of people need to be in the trade to allow them to be well-known, and so they overlook it’s actually a craft, like anything. . . . It’s an artwork kind. And that’s the factor that we as actors have to recollect greater than something. I feel that’s the largest lesson that they taught me.”

“The Love Boat” aired from 1977 to 1987. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Even after the series came to an end, the cast remained “extremely shut,” Whelan famous. MacLeod, who died in 2021 at age 90, was “like a dad to me.”

“If it hadn’t been for ‘The Love Boat,’ I never would’ve been wherever,” she said. “They afforded me the chance to journey the world and get to study completely different cultures and completely different individuals. . . . [I] really feel so proud to have the ability to have such an appreciation for individuals everywhere in the globe.”

Jill Whelan on “The Love Boat,” circa 1983.  (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

And Whelan’s castmates weren’t the only ones to teach her some valuable lessons as she grew up in the public eye. “The Love Boat” was recognized for that includes greater than 500 celebrities, together with quite a few legends from Hollywood’s golden period, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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The cast of “The Love Boat” maintained a close bond over the years. (Princess Cruises)

“There have been a number of friends that shocked me, however not in a approach I’m feeling snug speaking about,” she said. “But what I’d say is that a number of the friends that have been the largest stars, the legends, like Olivia de Havilland, Ginger Rogers or Ethel Merman, for instance, have been those that I assumed could be untouchable, however have been in all probability a number of the most humble, most beneficiant. And that, I feel, was the largest shock. It appeared like the larger of a legend that they have been – Andy Warhol, for instance, the extra approachable and nicer they have been.”

Ginger Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. are seen here in a 1979 episode of “The Love Boat.” (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Whelan said the cast has reunited many times over the years – and that won’t change anytime soon.

“Imagine getting along with your entire highschool pals,” she said. ” . . . You’ve had so many shared experiences that no one else can perceive, however that core group of you. It’s just about like that with us. We have our inside jokes, we now have our personal jokes, we all know one another’s likes, what every of us doesn’t like, what we’re snug with and what we’re not snug with. . . . There’s . . . a closeness that you simply share that no one else can perceive – simply that core group of you.”

Princess Cruises has launched the Sun Princess, which has been described as “probably the most fashionable and opulent ship in the fleet.”  (Princess Cruises)

Whelan also revealed that “The Love Boat” gave her a deep appreciation for cruising. Today, Princess Cruises is making waves with the debut of the Sun Princess, which has been described as “probably the most fashionable and opulent ship in the fleet.” 

WATCH: ‘THE LOVE BOAT’ STAR CREDITS MOM FOR NEVER BEING ARRESTED IN HOLLYWOOD

According to reports, there was an increase in cruise popularity following the show’s premiere in 1977. Between 1978 and 1979, there were a reported 1.2 million international cruise ship passengers. By 1986, there were 4.5 million passengers.

Before his passing, MacLeod was a TV pitchman for Princess Cruises. In 2022, the reality series “The Real Love Boat” premiered where singles attempted to look for love aboard a Princess Cruises liner.

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Between 1978 and 1979, there were a reported 1.2 million international cruise ship passengers. By 1986, there were 4.5 million passengers. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

“Even earlier than ‘The Love Boat,’ I grew up on a sailboat,” Whelan explained. “So, for me, the ocean has all the time been an enormous a part of my life. It simply feels natural to be . . . celebrating the ocean and all of the issues it has to supply.”

From left: Fred Grandy (Gopher Smith), Ted Lange (Isaac Washington), Gavin MacLeod (Captain Merrill Stubing), Bernie Kopell (Dr. Adam Bricker) and Lauren Tewes (Julie McCoy). (Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

“I feel initially all people noticed cruising as untouchable and solely for the uber-rich,” she shared. “So, when it did turn out to be extra out there to all people, and as soon as individuals started cruising extra, the trade went again to the artwork kind and what individuals have been fantasizing about. And then they began creating extra of these experiences.”

Jill Whelan and Gavin MacLeod attend Clayton Kershaw’s 7th Annual Ping-Pong 4 Purpose at Dodger Stadium on August 8, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. MacLeod died in 2021. He was 90. (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for Kershaws Challenge)

As an adult, Whelan has led a successful acting career. And today, she has plenty of advice that she would give to her younger self.

“I’d inform her to belief her instincts and shut the noise out,” said Whelan. “No matter what anyone says, it doesn’t matter what you hear, none of that’s actuality. You know who you might be, and you might be sufficient as you might be proper now.”