How many times has it happened that you think of an old show you used to love watching and wonder what the actors are doing after so many years? I guess many of you that have seen “Little House on the Prairie” and were eager to see each new adventure of the family living on the farm in Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, would love to know what the actors are up to these days.
Those fans who were fond of the actress playing Mary Ingalls, beautiful Melissa Sue Anderson, were convinced she would continue being part of their life through the small screens, but she had other plans.
Today, she speaks of her decision to leave Hollywood behind and move to Canada.
This actress started her acting career playing guest roles, and had her way into the showbiz when she became one of the central figures of “Little House on the Prairie.” Her acting brought her several nominations for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and her fans knew she deserved it.
Speaking of her experience filming this drama that made her famous, back in 2010, Anderson told Pop Entertainment, “I’m lucky that there even was a character to play, because in the book, there isn’t much of one. Laura [Ingalls, author of the Little House novels upon which the series was based and the story was centered] was a quite older woman when she wrote the books. She was remembering the best of her life. The characters of Ma and Mary didn’t factor in a lot. There was a lot of Laura and Pa and Laura and Jack the dog and Laura and Mr. Edwards, but there wasn’t a lot of Mary. I’m fortunate that they discovered that I could act.”
She tried herself in other minor roles after Mary Ingalls, but then in 1990 she got married to television producer Michael Sloan and moved to Montreal in 2002 with her husband and their two children, daughter Piper and son Griffin.
In 2007, the family became Canadian citizens and with the new life came new commitments, so Anderson decided to let go of the showbiz because she wanted to spend more time with her kids and didn’t want them to feel pressured to pursue acting careers themselves.
In an interview with E-Talk, Anderson said, “I really stepped away for a long time. That was really for the kids so they would have their own sense of who they were as opposed to being with me.”
However, Anderson didn’t step back from acting completely, but took small roles over the recent years. Her life-changing experience of being part in a series like “Little House on the Prairie” encouraged her to write a memoir titled The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House.
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Many of us have those nostalgic moments where we think back on old TV shows we once loved and wonder what became of the actors who made those shows so special. If you’re one of the fans of Little House on the Prairie, which followed the life of a family living on a farm in Plum Creek near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, you might be curious about what the actors are up to these days.
For fans of Melissa Sue Anderson, who portrayed Mary Ingalls, there was always hope she would continue gracing our TV screens. But much to everyone’s surprise, Anderson had different plans.
After becoming a household name through Little House on the Prairie, Anderson had a solid place in Hollywood, even earning several nominations for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series. But her love for acting eventually gave way to new priorities in her life.
In a 2010 interview with Pop Entertainment, Anderson reflected on her Little House on the Prairie experience. She said, “I’m lucky that there even was a character to play, because in the book, there isn’t much of one. Laura Ingalls [the author of the Little House novels] was quite older when she wrote the books, and she was remembering the best of her life. The characters of Ma and Mary didn’t factor in a lot… I’m fortunate that they discovered that I could act.”
After Little House on the Prairie, Anderson took on various minor roles, but her focus soon shifted when she married television producer Michael Sloan in 1990. In 2002, the couple and their two children, Piper and Griffin, relocated to Montreal, Canada. By 2007, they officially became Canadian citizens, and with that new chapter, Anderson decided to step away from the limelight.
Anderson explained in an interview with E-Talk, “I really stepped away for a long time. That was really for the kids so they would have their own sense of who they were, as opposed to being with me.” She was determined to raise her children away from the pressures of the entertainment industry, allowing them to carve out their own paths without being tied to her acting career.
Though she stepped back significantly, Anderson hasn’t entirely left the world of acting behind. She has taken on smaller roles in recent years, though her focus remains on her family. Her love for the series that catapulted her to fame inspired her to pen a memoir, The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House, where she reflects on her journey in Hollywood and her life beyond it.
Melissa Sue Anderson continues to occasionally attend public events, such as the 61st Monte Carlo TV Festival in 2022, where she appeared radiant as ever, reminding fans of the charm and talent that made her a beloved figure in television history.
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