Melissa Sue Anderson - wikipedia Melissa Sue Anderson This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. ( December 2016 ) Melissa Sue Anderson Anderson as Mary Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, 1974 ( 1962 - 09 - 26 ) September 26, 1962 ( age 55 ) Berkeley, California, U.S. Residence Montreal, Quebec, Canada Citizenship Canadian ( 2007 ) Occupation Actress Years active 1972 -- present Spouse ( s ) Michael Sloan ( m. 1990 ) Children Melissa Sue Anderson ( born September 26, 1962 ) is an American - Canadian actress. She began her career as a child actress. Anderson is known for her role as Mary Ingalls on the NBC drama series Little House on the Prairie. She is also known for her film roles ; Vivian in Midnight Offerings, Ginny in the slasher Happy Birthday to Me, and Alex in the ABC Afterschool Special, Which Mother Is Mine ?. Contents 1 Career 1.1 Acting 1.2 Author 2 Personal life 3 Filmography 3.1 Television 3.2 Film 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links Career Acting Her show business career began when a dance teacher urged her parents to find an agent for her. She began doing television commercials, and soon she was in demand for television roles. Her first came in a 1972 episode of Bewitched entitled `` Tabitha 's First Day Of School. '' A memorable early role of hers was of Millicent, a girl who kissed Bobby, which caused Bobby to fear contracting mumps, and induced him to see fireworks on The Brady Bunch. At the age of eleven, Anderson landed the role of Mary Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie. She would go on to star on the show for eight seasons ; beginning in 1974 and leaving after season seven, later appearing in two episodes of season eight in late 1981. Anderson with Lance Kerwin in the television film, James at 15 ( 1977 ) 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 Lance 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, California in CBS 's TV movie 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 RTVE '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 shows like The Equalizer, Alfred Hitchcock Presents ( 1980s ), CHiPs and Murder, She Wrote, and was the associate producer for the next to last TV 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. Author In 2010, Anderson released her autobiography entitled 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 on 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 ( The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries, B.J. and the Bear, The Equalizer and others ) in 1990. The couple have two children, daughter Piper ( 1991 ) and son Griffin ( 1996 ). The family moved to Montreal in 2002 and became naturalized Canadians on Canada Day in 2007. Filmography Television Year Title Role Notes 1972 Bewitched Girl Episode : `` Tabitha 's First Day of School '' 1973 Brady Bunch, The The Brady Bunch Millicent Episode : `` Never Too Young '' 1973 Shaft Cathy Muder ( uncredited ) Episode : `` The Enforcers '' 1974 -- 81 Little House on the Prairie Mary Ingalls 163 episodes 1976 Loneliest Runner, The The Loneliest Runner Nancy Rizzi 1977 James at 15 Lacey Stevens Episode : `` Pilot '' 1977 ABC Afterschool Special Kate Episode : `` Very Good Friends '' 1978 The Hanna - Barbera Happy Hour Director of the musical 1 episode 1978 -- 80, 1986 Love Boat, The The Love Boat Jennifer ' Chubs ' Smith / Cindy Jerome / Cathy Cummings / Dana Colton 4 episodes 1979 Survival of Dana Dana Lee Gilbert 1979 ABC Afterschool Special Alexandria ' Alex ' Benton Episode : `` Which Mother Is Mine ? '' 1979 New Kind of Family, AA New Kind of Family Lisa Episode : `` The Overcharge '' 1979 Little House Years Mary Ingalls 1979 CHiPs Herself Episode : `` Roller Disco '' ( Part 2 ) 1980 Fantasy Island Amy Marson Episode : `` Rogues to Riches / Stark Terror '' 1980 Insight Mary Beth Episode : `` Princess '' 1981 Midnight Offerings Vivian Sotherland 1981 Advice to the Lovelorn Maureen Tyler 1982 Innocent Love, An An Innocent Love Molly Rush 1982 / 83 Spider - Man and His Amazing Friends Katherine ' Kitty ' Pryde / Sprite ( voice ) Episodes : `` The Origin of Iceman '', `` The X-Men Adventure '' First Affair Toby King 1984 Finder of Lost Loves Nikki Gatos Episode : `` Pilot '' 1984 Murder, She Wrote Eve Crystal Episode : `` Hooray for Homicide '' & `` Trevor Hudson 's Legacy '' 1984 Glitter Elizabeth Episode : `` A Minor Miracle '' 1984 / 85 Hotel Cassie Ray / Anne Goldman Episodes : `` Lifelines '', `` Imperfect Union '' 1986 Dark Mansions Noelle Drake 1987 -- 88 Equalizer, The The Equalizer Yvette Marcel 4 episodes 1988 / 89 New Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents Laura Donovan / Julie Fenton Episodes : `` VCR - Very Careful Rape '', `` Murder in Mind '' 1989 Memories of Manon Yvette Marcel 1989 Return of Sam McCloud, The The Return of Sam McCloud Colleen McCloud 1993 / 94 X-Men Snowbird ( voice ) Episodes : `` Repo Man '', `` Phoenix Saga, Part 5 : Child of Light '' 1994 Burke 's Law Michelle Ryder Episode : `` Who Killed Alexander the Great ? '' 1998 Earthquake in New York Dr. Marilyn Blake 1999 Partners Cheryl Darrin 3 episodes 2000 Thin Ice Tanya Ferguson 2006 10.5 : Apocalypse First Lady Megan Hollister 2007 Marco Polo Mother ( voice, uncredited ) Film Year Title Role Notes 1981 Happy Birthday to Me Virginia Wainwright 1984 Goma - 2 Kukki ( uncredited ) 1984 Chattanooga Choo Choo Jennie 1988 Suicide Club, The The Suicide Club Laura Donovan on TV 1988 Far North Young Nurse 1989 Looking Your Best Dead Men Do n't Die Dulcie Niles 1991 Manuel 1994 Animated Stories from the Bible : Music Video -- Volume 1 Snake ( voice ) Video 1995 Killer Lady American Lady 2006 Crazy Eights Hospital Patient ( uncredited ) Marker 187 Short film 2018 The Brits Are Coming Post-production References Jump up ^ `` 3rd Youth In Film Awards ''. YoungArtistAwards.org. Retrieved 2011 - 03 - 31. Jump up ^ Ho, Rodney ( 2016 - 11 - 01 ). `` Interview with Melissa Sue Anderson, Mary on ' Little House on the Prairie ' ''. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 24. ^ Jump up to : Biography.com Editors ( 2016 - 07 - 15 ). `` Melissa Sue Anderson ''. Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 24. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Magder, Jason ; Hashmi, Sikander ( 2007 - 07 - 02 ). `` Big day for newest Canadians : Citizenship Ceremonies ' Multicultural village ' shows off diversity ''. Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 24. Further reading Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors : Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914 - 1985. Jefferson, NC : McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 5 - 6. External links Melissa Sue Anderson on IMDb Melissa Sue Anderson interview on YouTube VIAF : 86970273 LCCN : no98088028 ISNI : 0000 0000 8398 7314 GND : 137299729 BNF : cb14149805t ( data ) IATH : w6nq6pcf Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Melissa_Sue_Anderson&oldid=811971007 '' Categories : 1962 births 20th - century American actresses 21st - century American actresses Actresses from Montreal American child actresses American emigrants to Canada American television actresses American television producers American voice actresses Living people Naturalized citizens of Canada Western ( genre ) film actresses Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list BLP articles lacking sources from December 2016 All BLP articles lacking sources Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Place of birth missing ( living people ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский Simple English Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 25 November 2017, at 03 : 42. 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Question: who played mary on the little house on the prairie
Answer: Melissa Sue Anderson