Seeing Red A True Crime Podcast
Sep 1, 2026 · 1 hr 5 min · 33 segments
In July 1989, 21-year-old actress Rebecca Schaeffer was on the brink of a major Hollywood career. Best known for the hit sitcom *My Sister Sam*, she was preparing to audition for a role in *The…
She was the only child of Benson and Dana Schaefer and by every account she grew up in a close, intelligent and loving home.
Her father was a child psychologist while her mother was a writer and teacher.
She was confident, curious, sociable, funny and comfortable performing in front of other people.
She enjoyed drama, adored making people laugh and had the kind of presence that drew attention without appearing to demand it.
She was popular but those who knew her did not describe her as arrogant or self-important.
She was ambitious and she wanted a larger life than the one immediately available to her.
but she was also grounded by parents who took her dream seriously without treating her as a child prodigy.
That balance was crucial.
Benson and Dana did not force Rebecca into entertainment, and they did not attempt to live through her.
Whenever new opportunities appeared, they supported her, but the desire to perform came from Rebecca herself.
At around the age of 14, someone suggested that she should try modelling.
Rebecca was tall, striking and naturally photogenic, and local work quickly followed.
She appeared in department store catalogues, advertisements and commercials, and she began to learn how the entertainment business worked.
There were auditions, long waits, rejections and jobs that looked glamorous in the finished photograph but involved hours of standing around under hot lights.
Whatever the case, Rebecca embraced it.
Modelling offered her a route out into the wider world and she was determined to see how far it would take her.
In 1984, when she was only 16, Rebecca spent the summer in New York City working with elite model management.
New York was fast, expensive, competitive, and full of young women chasing the same limited number of jobs.
Rebecca shared cramped accommodation with other aspiring models and learnt to manage auditions, travel and money in a city where nobody was going to slow down or go easy on her simply because she was young.
Her parents had initially expected the arrangement to last only for the summer, but Rebecca loved New York.
She asked to stay and continued pursuing the career, and after careful consideration, Benson and Dana agreed.
She was the only child of Benson and Dana Schaefer and by every account she grew up in a close, intelligent and loving home.
Her father was a child psychologist while her mother was a writer and teacher.
She was confident, curious, sociable, funny and comfortable performing in front of other people.
She enjoyed drama, adored making people laugh and had the kind of presence that drew attention without appearing to demand it.
She was popular but those who knew her did not describe her as arrogant or self-important.
She was ambitious and she wanted a larger life than the one immediately available to her.
but she was also grounded by parents who took her dream seriously without treating her as a child prodigy.
That balance was crucial.
Benson and Dana did not force Rebecca into entertainment, and they did not attempt to live through her.
Whenever new opportunities appeared, they supported her, but the desire to perform came from Rebecca herself.
At around the age of 14, someone suggested that she should try modelling.
Rebecca was tall, striking and naturally photogenic, and local work quickly followed.
She appeared in department store catalogues, advertisements and commercials, and she began to learn how the entertainment business worked.
There were auditions, long waits, rejections and jobs that looked glamorous in the finished photograph but involved hours of standing around under hot lights.
Whatever the case, Rebecca embraced it.
Modelling offered her a route out into the wider world and she was determined to see how far it would take her.
In 1984, when she was only 16, Rebecca spent the summer in New York City working with elite model management.
New York was fast, expensive, competitive, and full of young women chasing the same limited number of jobs.
Rebecca shared cramped accommodation with other aspiring models and learnt to manage auditions, travel and money in a city where nobody was going to slow down or go easy on her simply because she was young.
Her parents had initially expected the arrangement to last only for the summer, but Rebecca loved New York.
She asked to stay and continued pursuing the career, and after careful consideration, Benson and Dana agreed.
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