.jpg)
Melissa Sue Anderson (born September 26, 1962) is an American-Canadian actress. She began her career as a child actress after appearing in several commercials in Los Angeles. Anderson is known for her role as Mary Ingalls in the NBC drama series Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
She is also known for film roles that include Vivian in
Midnight Offerings (1981), Ginny in the slasher film Happy Birthday to Me
(1981), and Alex in the ABC Afterschool Special, Which Mother Is Mine? (1979).
Anderson became a naturalized citizen of Canada in 2007. In
2010, she published The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House,
an autobiographical account of her years acting in Little House on the Prairie.
Early life
Anderson was born on September 26, 1962, in Berkeley,
California, the second of two daughters, to James and Marion Anderson. Her
sister Maureen is 12 years her senior. When she was seven years old, Anderson's
family relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles. Her parents
divorced when she was 13 years old, and she was raised Roman Catholic by her
mother. As a young child, Anderson appeared in commercials for Mattel and
Sears.
Career
Anderson's show-business career began when a dance teacher urged her parents to find an agent for her. After appearing in commercials, she was soon in demand for television roles. Another memorable early role was as Millicent, a girl who kissed Bobby in The Brady Bunch. She also appeared in an episode of Shaft the same year.
At the age of 11, Anderson landed the role of Mary Ingalls
in Little House on the Prairie. She would go on to star in the series for eight
seasons, beginning in 1974, and leaving after season seven; she later appeared
in three episodes of season eight in late 1981.
In 1976, Michael Landon asked Anderson if she would appear
in his autobiographical film The Loneliest Runner. Anderson agreed to play
Nancy Rizzi, the first girlfriend of John Curtis (based on Landon and played by
Lance Kerwin), saying she was very thrilled to have been asked. In 1977, she
once again co-starred as the love interest opposite Kerwin in the television
film James at 15.
She was nominated for a 1978 Primetime Emmy Award for Best
Leading Actress in a Drama Series for her work on Little House on the Prairie
and won the Emmy Award for her performance in Which Mother Is Mine?, which
aired as an ABC Afterschool Special in 1979. Also in 1979, she played the title
role of Dana Lee Gilbert, a North Dakota transfer student to Los Angeles' San
Fernando Valley, in CBS's television film Survival of Dana.
In 1980, Anderson earned a 'TP de Oro' Award (considered to
be Spain's most prestigious award for television) for 'Best Foreign Actress'
for her role in Little House on the Prairie. This followed a successful visit
to Spain in 1979 to appear as a guest on Televisión Española's program, 625
Lineas. In 1981, she earned a Young Artist Award nomination for her performance
in the Canadian slasher film Happy Birthday to Me. After leaving Little House,
she continued acting in television series like The Equalizer, Alfred Hitchcock
Presents, CHiPs, and Murder, She Wrote, and was the associate producer for the
penultimate television project Michael Landon made before dying: Where Pigeons
Go to Die (1990).
In 1998, she was inducted into the Western Performers Hall
of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. In 1999, she starred alongside Heather Langenkamp in the short-lived
television series Partners. In 2014, Anderson had an uncredited appearance as
Stosh's mother in the neo-noir mystery comedy drama film Veronica Mars (2014).
Book
In 2010, Anderson released an autobiography titled The Way I
See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House. The book, which is primarily
based on her life during her years as a child star in Little House on the
Prairie, contains behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes about the show
itself, its stars, guest stars, and crew members. The autobiography also covers
her pre- and post–Little House career, her side-projects during the Little House
years, and how her personal life was affected by her career.
Personal life
Anderson married television writer and producer Michael
Sloan in 1990. They have two children, daughter Piper and son Griffin. The
family moved to Montreal in 2002 and became naturalized Canadians on Canada Day
in 2007.
Filmography
Film
Melissa Sue Anderson film credits
1981 Happy
Birthday to Me Virginia Wainwright
1984 Goma-2 Kukki Uncredited
Chattanooga Choo Choo Jennie
1988 The Suicide
Club Laura Donovan on TV
Far North Young
Nurse
1989 Looking Your
Best
1990 Dead Men
Don't Die Dulcie Niles
1991 Manuel
1994 Animated
Stories from the Bible: Music Video – Volume 1 Snake Video; voice role
1995 Killer Lady American Lady
2006 Crazy Eights Hospital Patient Uncredited
2010 Marker 187 Short film
2014 Veronica Mars Stosh's Mother Uncredited
2018 The Con Is
On Guest Two
Television
Melissa Sue Anderson
television credits
1973 The Brady
Bunch Millicent Episode: "Never Too Young"
Shaft Cathy Muder
(uncredited) Episode: "The Enforcers"
1974–1981 Little
House on the Prairie Mary
Ingalls Main role
1976 The
Loneliest Runner Nancy Rizzi TV movie
1977 James at 15 Lacey Stevens Episode: "Pilot"
ABC Afterschool
Special Kate Episode: "Very Good Friends"
1978 The
Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour Director
of the musical Episode No. 2
1978–1980 & 1986 The
Love Boat Jennifer 'Chubs' Smith / Cindy
Jerome / Cathy Cummings / Dana Colton 4
episodes
1979 Survival of
Dana Dana Lee Gilbert TV movie
ABC Afterschool Special Alexandria
'Alex' Benton Episode: "Which Mother Is Mine?"
A New Kind of Family Lisa Episode: "The Overcharge"
CHiPs Herself Episode: "Roller
Disco" (Part 2)
1980 Fantasy
Island Amy Marson Episode: "Rogues to
Riches/Stark Terror"
Insight Mary Beth Episode: "Princess"
1981 Midnight
Offerings Vivian Sotherland TV movie
Advice to the Lovelorn Maureen
Tyler
1982 An Innocent
Love Molly Rush
1982–1983 Spider-Man
and His Amazing Friends Kitty Pryde /
Sprite Voice, 2 episodes
1983 First Affair Toby King TV movie
1984 Finder of
Lost Loves Nikki Gatos Episode: "Pilot"
Murder, She Wrote Eve
Crystal Episode: "Hooray for Homicide"
Glitter Elizabeth Episode: "A Minor Miracle"
1984–1985 Hotel Cassie Ray / Anne Goldman 2 episodes
1986 Dark
Mansions Noelle Drake TV movie
1987 The
Equalizer Yvette Marcel 2 Episodes: "Memories of Manon: Parts 1 & 2"
1988–1989 Alfred
Hitchcock Presents Laura
Donovan / Julie Fenton 2 episodes
1988 The
Equalizer Yvette Marcel 2 Episodes: "The Mystery of Manon: Parts 1 & 2"
1989 The Return
of Sam McCloud Colleen McCloud
1993–1994 X-Men:
The Animated Series Snowbird Voice, 2 episodes
1994 Burke's Law Michelle Ryder Episode: "Who Killed
Alexander the Great?"
1998 Earthquake
in New York Dr. Marilyn
Blake TV movie
1999 Partners Cheryl Darrin 3 episodes
2000 Thin Ice Tanya Ferguson TV movie
2006 10.5:
Apocalypse First Lady Megan
Hollister Miniseries
2007 Marco Polo Mother Voice,
uncredited
No comments:
Post a Comment