Little House on the Prairie remains one of America’s most loved television shows. NBC’s popular adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s novels aired between 1974 and 1983.
The series followed the lives of the Ingalls family, their daughters, and many adopted children living on a small farm near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1800s.
The show starred Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert but launched the acting careers of many more. So, join us as we discover what the cast is up to now.
Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls) – Then
Actress Melissa Gilbert knows a thing or two about growing up in large families full of adopted kids. She was adopted by actor and comedian Paul Gilbert and his actress wife, Barbara Crane, when she was just a day old.
Young Melissa acted in adverts and beat over 500 child actresses to the part of spunky, adventurous Laura Ingalls, the protagonist of the real Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 1935 book. When her on-screen father, Micheal Landon, passed away in 1991, she and her then-husband, actor Bruce Boxleitner, named their son after her beloved colleague.
Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls) – Now
Now approaching her 60s, Melissa has come a long way since playing a young farm girl. She was the president of the Screen Actors Guild, wrote an autobiography called Praire Tale, and even released a prairie-based cookbook! She also appeared on season 14 of Dancing With the Stars in 2012.
In 2018, she and her third husband, actor Timothy Busfield, bought a cottage in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York. The homely couple have slowly been renovating the cottage into a little house of their own.
Michael Landon (Charles Ingalls) – Then
Michael Landon was born in 1936 and found fame playing Little Joe Cartwright in another Wild West period TV show, Bonanza, between 1958 and 1973. He also appeared in many other cowboy shows like Tales of Wells Fargo, The Texan, Cheyenne, Wanted Dead or Alive, and The Rifleman.
Between 1974 and 1983, on Little House on the Prairie, he played the Ingalls family patriarch, Charles Ingalls, but fans know him best as “Pa.” Landon was just as hardworking as Pa and wrote, produced, and directed many episodes.
Michael Landon (Charles Ingalls) – Now
Just like his LHOTP character, Landon was a proud father. He had nine children, three of whom were adopted. After the series ended, Landon created, wrote, produced, directed, and played the part of Jonathan Smith — an angel sent to Earth to help people in need — in Highway to Heaven.
Sadly, Michael Landon passed away in 1991, aged just 54. Melissa Gilbert was very close with Landon, saying, “He was very much like a second father to me. My own father passed away when I was 11.”
Karen Grassle (Caroline Ingalls) – Then
Little House on the Prairie would be nothing without its matriarch, Caroline Ingalls. In real life, Caroline was a schoolteacher and devoted mother to the 19th-century American Midwest Ingalls family. On-screen, her role fell to actress Karen Grassle.
Born in 1942 in Berkeley, California, Karen Grassle began her acting career on stage before transitioning to television and eventually winning her role in Little House after auditioning. Karen went on to appear in shows like The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote, and alongside Kevin Coster in 1994’s Wyatt Earp.
Karen Grassle (Caroline Ingalls) – Now
The Ingall family was known for being squeaky clean, but many of the show’s stars, including Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, and Karen Grassle, struggled with dependencies… with what cowboys probably would have called moonshine.
Now in her 80s, Karen recently came clean in her 2021 memoir — Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love by House’s Ma. Grassle lives with her son, Zach Radford, in the San Francisco Bay Area. She last graced our screens in the 2021 film Not to Forget.
Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls) – Then
Melissa Sue Anderson played Little House’s eldest daughter, Mary Ingalls. Winning the part at age 11, she played the character as a gentle, clever, and good-looking girl and soon became a fan favorite with the many young boys who tuned in to watch her every week.
In the series, Mary contracted scarlet fever and went blind. Melissa won an Emmy for her role. Years later, Anderson wrote a book, The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House.
Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls) – Now
After LHOTP, Melissa continued to act in various TV shows and movies — such as The Equalizer, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, CHiPs, Murder, She Wrote, and she voiced superhero Snowbird in the animated X-Men show. More recently, she appeared in the Veronica Mars film.
On The Equalizer, she met writer and producer Michael Sloan, and the two married in 1990. They have two children together, daughter Piper and son Griffin, and became Canadian citizens in 2007. They now live in Canada, presumably on the prairies!
Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (Carrie Ingalls) – Then
Did you know that the role of Carrie Ingalls, the youngest of the Ingalls children, was actually played by two people? Although the role was always credited to one actress, “Lindsay Sidney Greenbush,” they were, in fact, twin acting sisters Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush.
As the third Ingalls child, Carrie was the baby of the family. She often got into scrapes and needed to be protected by her elder sisters, Laura and Mary, and adopted brother, Albert. More on him in a moment.
Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (Carrie Ingalls) – Now
After the show, the sisters Lindsay guest starred in a Matt Houston episode while Sidney starred in the film Hambone and Hillie in 1983. Lindsay and Sidney starred in commercials for Doublemint Gum, Mattel Toys, and KFC.
The twins retired from acting to continue their studies. They graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1988. Sidney was married to horse breeder William “Rocky” Foster until he passed away in 2009. Lindsay married Daniel Sanchez in 2014. They first met on the Little House set in Simi Valley. Awww, bless.
Matthew Labyorteaux (Albert Quinn Ingalls) – Then
Born in 1966, Matthew Labyorteaux portrayed Albert on LHOTP. He was an orphan whom the Ingalls family adopted in the show’s fifth season. Albert became a significant character until the Ingall family finally closed the Little House’s doors in 1984.
After Little House, Matthew took to solving crime. He starred in the Saturday morning television series The Red Hand Gang, in which he and the rest of the gang solved inner-city crimes. He also solved computer crimes in the early hacking TV show Whiz Kids.
Matthew Labyorteaux (Albert Quinn Ingalls) – Now
Did you know Matthew’s brother, Patrick Labyorteaux, also appeared in LHOTP? Patrick played Andrew “Andy” Garvey between 1977 and 1981 and went on to play Bud Roberts on the CBS series JAG and NCIS.
Meanwhile, Matthew appeared in The Love Boat, Night Court, and an episode of Michael Landon’s Highway to Heaven. In recent years, Matthew successfully transitioned into voice acting, even voicing a part in Disney’s Mulan. In July 2020, he married his wife Leslie and became stepfather to her two children.
Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh (Grace Ingalls) – Then
Like Lindsey and Sidney Greenbush, Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh alternated their roles as Grace Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. Twins playing babies on TV shows is quite the norm, as it means they can shoot with one twin while the other twin is resting and learning their lines!
Born in 1977, the twins played Grace Ingalls, who was the fifth of the Ingalls children. Charles and Caroline adopted Grace, and the baby girl became a character in her own right in the series’ later seasons.
Wendi and Brenda Turnbaugh (Grace Ingalls) – Now
After Little House, Wendi and Brenda appeared in one TV commercial before both returning from acting. Brenda went on to continue the show’s religious themes, marrying a youth pastor and becoming a mother to two children.
Wendi, who now goes by the very 19th-century cowgirl name Wendi Lou Lee, went on to become an author, writing a book called A Prairie Devotional. In 2015, she had a brain tumor and recently wrote a memoir about her experiences called Red Tail Feathers.
Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) – Then
Alison Arngrim originally auditioned for the role of Laura Ingalls and, later, Mary Ingalls but was instead cast as spoiled and antagonistic Nellie Oleson. She was so great in the role that Nellie embodied the role of spoiled brat throughout the 1970s.
While the Ingalls Family was real, Nellie Oleson was a fictional character. Laura Ingalls Wilder based the character on three different girls from her childhood — Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters, and Stella Gilbert. Nellie Oleson was Laura’s enemy, although nowadays, they might have been called frenemies.
Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson) – Now
In 2010, Arngrim wrote an autobiography called Confessions of a Prairie B*tch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated. However, off-screen, the story is very different. Alison Arngrim is a successful stand-up comedian and philanthropist who has been heavily involved in helping people with life-threatening viruses.
Alison Arngrim and Melissa Gilbert became best friends and are still best friends to this day. Alison last graced our screens in the 2021 film Even in Dreams.
Richard Bull (Nels Oleson) – Then
Richard Bull was another actor who was already famous before he appeared in Little House on the Prairie. He played The Doctor in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, one of Irwin Allen’s sci-fi series, along with Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel.
Nels Oleson owned Oleson’s Mercantile, the general store in the town of Walnut Grove. Nels was a mild-mannered and patient man, in stark contrast to his wife Harriet and daughter Nellie.
Richard Bull (Nels Oleson) – Now
Richard Bull fell into acting by accident and crossed paths with Michael Landon when he played a rancher in Bonanza. So, it may have been that meeting that landed him the role of beloved mercantile proprietor Nels Oleson.
After LHOTP, Richard Bull appeared in many popular shows — from Hill Street Blues and It’s Garry Shandling’s Show to Highway to Heaven, which seems to be an old-folks home for LHOTP stars. Richard Bull passed away in 2014 from pneumonia, aged 89.
Katherine MacGregor (Harriet Oleson) – Then
While Nels Oleson was loved for being kind and patient, his more assertive wife, Katherine, was known for her greedy, arrogant, and snobbish behavior. In fact, Harriet Oleson was often the source of the show’s conflict and provided some much-needed humor in the series.
The actress’s favorite description of her Little House character came from a fan letter. In the fan mail, the admirer from modern-day (1970s) Minnesota described Harriet Oleson as “the touch of pepper in the sweetness of the show.”
Katherine MacGregor (Harriet Oleson) – Now
After LHOTP, Katherine MacGregor retired from television acting in favor of local theater. To recover from her own battle with drinking, she became a Hindu and taught acting to children at the Wee Hollywood Vedanta Players.
She was invited back to star in the series finale of Little House on the Prairie but couldn’t attend as she was on a pilgrimage to India during filming. Katherine MacGregor passed away in 2018 at the grand old age of 93.
Jonathan Gilbert (Willie Oleson) – Then
Jonathan Gilbert was born in 1967 and is the adopted son of actors Barbara Cowen and Paul Gilbert. He’s also the adopted brother of LHOTP’s Melissa Gilbert and Sara Gilbert, who played Darlene in ABC’s Roseanne.
Jonathan played Nels and Harriet Oleson’s son and Nellie’s brother, Willie Oleson. He was just as mischievous and troublesome as his sister and often got himself and others into scrapes. He’s also one of only six actors to appear in the entire series — along with Melissa Gilbert, Katherine MacGregor, Richard Bull, Kevin Hagen, and Dabbs Greer.
Jonathan Gilbert (Willie Oleson) – Now
In 1979, Jonathan appeared in the TV movie The Miracle Worker, which remains his only acting work outside of Little House. He gave up acting, and not much is known about him. You could say he’s the most enigmatic former LHOTP star…
In Melissa Gilbert’s autobiography, Praire Tale, she wrote that Jonathan moved away from California in his early 20s. He did the modern-day equivalent of searching for gold and is now apparently a stockbroker living in New York City.
Shannen Doherty (Jenny Wilder) – Then
After her father, Royal Wilder, passed away, young Jenny Wilder attempted to drown herself so she could be with her Pops in heaven. Luckily, she was found just in time and adopted by Laura Ingalls and Almanzo James Wilder.
As you can probably tell by her tragic backstory, Jenny didn’t feature in the original books and was invented for television. Jenny was played by a young actress you may have heard of. Her name is Shannen Doherty, and she went on to bigger and better things.
Shannen Doherty (Jenny Wilder) – Now
After Little House, Shannen Doherty skyrocketed to fame as Brenda Walsh in the hugely successful 1990s teen soap opera Beverly Hills, 90210. Next, the 1990s Bad Girl starred as witch Prue Halliwell in Charmed.
She was last seen on our screens in spin-off BH90210, alongside Bruce Willis in 2021’s Fortress and Hot Seat in 2022. Tragically, Shannen Doherty battled cancer for several years. In an interview in June 2023, she announced that the tumor had spread to her brain and was terminal. She passed away on July 13th, 2024.
Jason Bateman (James Cooper Ingalls) – Then
Can you believe Jason Bateman got his start on Little House? Yup! He played James Cooper Ingalls, an orphaned boy who’s adopted by the Ingalls family along with his sister, Cassandra. How many children did the Ingalls adopt because we’ve lost count!
Jason appeared in the show between 1981 and 1982. He appeared in over 20 episodes, which saw him getting caught in a beartrap and getting shot during a bank robbery! It seems the Midwest was just as dangerous as the Wild West!
Jason Bateman (James Cooper Ingalls) – Now
After leaving the Midwest prairies, Jason Bateman became a werewolf, opened a banana stand, and laundered a shed-load of money in the Ozarks. Not in real life, of course. First, he took over Michael J. Fox’s role in Teen Wolf Too and appeared in The Hogan Family.
Years later, his character, Michael Bluhm, opened the banana stand in Fox TV’s amazingly funny sitcom Arrested Development. Now, he writes, produces, directs, and stars in the Netflix thriller Ozark. He also has a podcast with Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, called Smartless.
Melissa Francis (Cassandra Cooper Ingalls) – Then
Melissa Francis began her acting career appearing in a Johnson & Johnson shampoo commercial when she was just six months old. By the age of nine, she played James’ sister, Cassandra Cooper. Their parents, Alvin and Sarah Cooper, both passed away in a fatal wagon accident.
But luckily, the Ingalls family was on hand to adopt them both, taking their tally of adopted children up to 395. It’s surprising they had enough food to feed themselves, let alone all those adopted kids!
Melissa Francis (Cassandra Cooper Ingalls) – Now
In addition to her time on the prairie, Melissa Francis has played Little Mindy on Mork & Mindy, appeared in the hospital drama St. Elsewhere, and on the beloved alien sitcom ALF. But then, she gave up acting to become a news anchor and commentator.
In recent years, Melissa has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, and CNBC. She also wrote a book, (deep breath) Lessons from the Prairie: The Surprising Secrets to Happiness, Success, and (Sometimes Just) Survival I Learned on America’s Favorite Show.
