If you grew up with Roseanne, you probably remember the moment it happened. Becky Conner came home, and she didn't look quite like Becky anymore. For a few seasons the oldest Conner kid was played by two different actresses, Lecy Goranson and Sarah Chalke, sometimes swapping back and forth within one season. It's one of the most famous recastings in sitcom history, and the show had a lot of fun with it. Here's how it happened, season by season.
Becky #1: Lecy Goranson (seasons 1 to 5)
Lecy Goranson, from Evanston, Illinois, studied acting in Chicago and landed the part of Becky when she had only auditioned once before. She played the smart, eye-rolling eldest daughter from the show's 1988 premiere through four full seasons.
In 1992, a few episodes into season 5, Goranson left to attend Vassar College. Her class schedule still let her appear part-time, so the writers used Becky sparingly and wrote her exit into the story: Becky eloped with her boyfriend Mark. Early in season 5, in Terms of Estrangement (Part 2), S05E02, Becky and Mark come home to say goodbye before moving away.
Becky #2: Sarah Chalke (seasons 6 and 7)
The next season, the producers wanted Becky back, but Goranson was still in school and couldn't do it. A young Canadian actress named Sarah Chalke auditioned and won the role. Chalke, who was raised in North Vancouver, had started acting at age eight in musical theatre and worked as a reporter on the Canadian kids' show KidZone at 12.
By Homecoming, S06E09, Becky and Mark are back in Lanford for Dan's high school football team's 20th anniversary party. Becky is now played by Chalke, and Roseanne is scheming to break the couple up. Chalke played Becky for the rest of season 6 and all of season 7, the stretch where Becky and Mark move into the Conner house and later into a trailer park.
Season 8: both Beckys
This is where it gets fun. For season 8, Goranson could play Becky again while still studying, so she took the role back. Chalke didn't disappear, though. She made a cameo as a different character in Halloween: The Final Chapter, S08E05, which aired October 31, 1995. (Halloween episodes were a Conner tradition, as we covered in our Halloween episodes roundup.)
By mid-season, Goranson's school schedule clashed with filming again. Chalke stepped back in as Becky for two big family events: the two-part trip to Walt Disney World (We're Going to Disney World, S08E17 and Disney World War II, S08E18) and Darlene's wedding in The Wedding, S08E23. Toward the end of the season, Goranson returned once more.
How Roseanne joked about its two Beckys
Instead of pretending nobody would notice, Roseanne turned the switch into a running gag. When Goranson came back, the Conners in character asked Becky where she'd been, and Chalke's on-and-off appearances in season 8 got their own wink about whether she'd be there that week. A glimpse into the future even had a grown-up D.J., played by John Goodman, complaining to a psychiatrist that "they say she's the same, but she isn't the same."
The best bit closed out one episode. Both Beckys performed a parody of the theme from The Patty Duke Show, the classic sitcom about identical cousins, with William Schallert, who played the dad on that show, making an appearance. If you're hunting for it on DVD, be warned: some scenes in the season 8 and 9 sets were altered over music rights, and some closing-credit scenes, including the Patty Duke parody, were swapped for a black screen.
Season 9 and the revival
When the show was renewed for season 9, Goranson was still in school and turned the role down to avoid more scheduling conflicts. Chalke came back for what was then the final season, her last run as Becky.
Two decades later, both actresses came home. The 2018 revival brought Goranson back as Becky and cast Chalke as a brand-new character, Andrea, a married woman who hires Becky to be her surrogate. In Twenty Years to Life, S10E01, Becky, struggling for money after Mark's death, decides to become a surrogate, and in Dress to Impress, S10E02 she brings Andrea over to meet the family. Seeing both Beckys in the same episode was a sweet payoff for longtime fans.
Where the two Beckys are now
Lecy Goranson kept playing Becky in the spin-off The Conners, which ran for seven seasons from 2018 until April 23, 2025. She also wrote one of its episodes, Triggered, S04E14, about gun violence in the United States. Away from Lanford she's had roles in How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Boys Don't Cry (1999) and The Extra Man (2010), and in her film work she's usually credited as Alicia Goranson.
Sarah Chalke went on to play Dr. Elliot Reid on Scrubs for all nine seasons, and she returned to the role in the 2026 Scrubs revival on ABC and Disney+. She also voices Beth Smith on Rick and Morty, played Kate Mularkey in Netflix's Firefly Lane, and made a guest appearance on The Conners.
So, which Becky is your Becky?
Fans have argued about it for decades, and there's no wrong answer. Goranson gave Becky her start and her ending, Chalke carried her through some of the show's biggest moments, and Roseanne was smart enough to laugh about it. Tell us which Becky you grew up with, and check out the full Roseanne cast and episode guide for more Conner family history.
Lecy Goranson
Sarah Chalke