By Rachel Stockton

During the 1980s, Elyse Keaton the Family Ties matriarch played by Meredith Baxter, was the Carol Brady of the 1980s.  While Carol was the quintessential suburban Mom of the 1960s and 70s, Elyse was an ultra-liberal former hippie with a husband, five children, and a career. 

After her run as the “Mom” to Michael J. Fox and Justine Bateman, Baxter went on to establish herself as a leading television movie actress.

This morning on the Today Show, Meredith Baxter made the announcement that she has been gay for the last 7 years; Baxter has five children and has been married and divorced three times.  Actor David Birney is the father of all five of her children.

Baxter was very candid in her interview, describing how she met her partner, Nancy Locke, an open gay contractor from Los Angeles.  After being spotted on a cruise with Locke, Baxter decided to come out in an effort to circumvent unkind tabloid exposes.

This is not the first time Baxter has been refreshingly candid with her fans.  While filming Family Ties, she came to a point where she realized that her drinking had gotten out of control.  Once she came to grips with the fact that she had a problem, she acknowledged it to other cast members and her fans.  The producers of the show even dealt with the subject of alcoholism; Tom Hanks guest starred Elyse’s alcoholic brother. 

In addition to starring in a variety of movie roles, the 62-year-old actress also manages her own skincare company.