Melissa Francis - wikipedia Melissa Francis Melissa Francis Melissa Francis at the Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps premiere in 2010 Melissa Ann Francis ( 1972 - 12 - 12 ) December 12, 1972 ( age 45 ) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Other names Missy Francis Education Harvard University ( B.A. ) Occupation Television journalist News anchor Actress Years active 1973 -- present Spouse ( s ) Wray Thorn ( 1997 -- present ) Children Melissa Ann Francis ( born December 12, 1972 ) is an American actress and current television journalist for the Fox Business Network ( FBN ) and Fox News ( FNC ). After beginning her national journalism career at CNBC, she moved to FBN in 2012 and is currently the co-host of After The Bell weekday afternoons with David Asman. She is also an anchor of FNC 's Happening Now newscast, has appeared as a periodic panelist on FNC 's afternoon talk show Outnumbered. Contents 1 Education 2 Career 2.1 Acting 2.2 Television journalist 2.3 Writer 3 Filmography 3.1 Film 3.2 Television 4 References 5 External links Education Born and raised in Los Angeles, Francis graduated from Harvard University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and served as executive editor of The Harvard College Economist magazine. She was also the captain of the Harvard Polo Team. Career Acting Francis started her acting career on television before her first birthday, first appearing in a Johnson & Johnson shampoo commercial at 6 months of age. She was known for her role as Cassandra Cooper Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, for two seasons. Other television appearances include two series regular roles : Morningstar / Eveningstar and Joe 's World, and three films including Man, Woman and Child, where she played Paula Beckwith. She has also had appearances in the television series St. Elsewhere in 1986 and the 1988 film Bad Dreams, where she played young Cynthia. Melissa appeared in nearly 100 commercials during her acting career. She is reportedly the inspiration for the fictional character Avery Jessup ( conceived of and played by Elizabeth Banks ) in the show 30 Rock, although Banks herself has denied this. Television journalist In January 2012, Francis became a financial news reporter and anchor for Fox Business Network. Previously, she was a financial news reporter and anchor for CNBC. She originally provided live hourly reports from the New York Mercantile Exchange on trading in crude oil futures contracts. Prior to CNBC, Francis was a correspondent for CNET 's broadcast unit, where she covered finance, technology and consumer products. In 2014, Francis became a recurring co-host of Fox News Channel 's talk and news commentary program, Outnumbered. In addition, she also anchors FNC 's Happening Now newscast. Writer Francis authored a book in November 2012, Diary of a Stage Mother 's Daughter : A Memoir, concerning the trials, tribulations and joys of having an overbearing mother ; and in April 2017, published Lessons from the Prairie, relating childhood experiences from the show as applied to her adult life. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1979 Scavenger Hunt Jennifer Motley Man, Woman and Child Paula Beckwith 1988 Bad Dreams Young Cynthia 2009 Race to Witch Mountain TV reporter Uncredited 2012 Dictator, The The Dictator Local News Reporter Television Year Title Role Notes Ghost of Flight 401, The The Ghost of Flight 401 Kid TV film 1979 Champions : A Love Story Sally TV film 1979 Son - Rise : A Miracle of Love Thea TV film 1979 -- 80 Joe 's World Linda Wabash Main role ( 11 episodes ) 1980 Mork & Mindy Little Mindy Episode : `` A Mommy for Mindy '' 1980 Galactica 1980 Little Girl Episode : `` Galactica Discovers Earth Part II And III '' 1980 When the Whistle Blows Deenie Episode : `` Love Is a Four - Letter Word '' 1981 Midnight Lace Cathy, age 11 TV film 1981 Gun in the House, AA Gun in the House Diana Cates TV film 1981 -- 82 Little House on the Prairie Cassandra Cooper Ingalls Main role ( 21 episodes ) 1984 Something About Amelia Beth Bennett TV film 1985 Hotel Jodi Abbott Episode : `` Rallying Cry '' 1985 CBS Schoolbreak Special Tina Episode : `` The War Between the Classes '' 1986 St. Elsewhere Cynthia Episode : `` Family Affair '' 1986 Morningstar / Eveningstar Sarah Bishop Main role ( 7 episodes ) 1988 Year in the Life, AA Year in the Life Eunice Episode : `` Common Ground '' ALF Miss Williams Episode : `` Baby, Come Back '' Hardball Episode : `` A Death in the Family '' References Jump up ^ `` Vini M Francis, Born 12 / 12 / 1972 in California - CaliforniaBirthIndex.org ''. californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved June 30, 2015. Jump up ^ Jon Friedman ( September 19, 2007 ). `` CNBC 's Melissa Francis is n't over the hill ''. MarketWatch. Retrieved September 19, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Missy Francis Biography ''. TV.com. 2009. Jump up ^ `` Which CNBC Anchor Was The Basis For 30 Rock 's Avery Jessup ? ''. February 16, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Elizabeth Banks Slams Page Six For `` 30 Rock '' Story ``. The Huffington Post. April 21, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Sightings, TVNewswer ''. Mediabistro. 2011 - 12 - 02. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 02. Jump up ^ Francis, Melissa ( April 12, 2002 ). `` Perspective : Where 's my all - in - one device ? ''. CNET. Retrieved April 12, 2002. Jump up ^ `` Outnumbered ''. Fox News. Retrieved March 6, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Amazon.com : stagemother 's daughter ''. amazon.com. Retrieved June 30, 2015. Jump up ^ Francis, Melissa ( April 25, 2017 ). Lessons from the Prairie. Weinstein Publishing. ISBN 9781602863064. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melissa Francis. Fox Business bio Melissa Francis on IMDb VIAF : 276644037 LCCN : no2012131637 GND : 1046014676 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Melissa_Francis&oldid=827965397 '' Categories : 1972 births Living people American child actresses American television actresses Actresses from Los Angeles Harvard University alumni American women journalists CNBC people 20th - century American actresses Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from April 2016 Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Nederlands Polski Edit links This page was last edited on 27 February 2018, at 19 : 57. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: little house on the prairie melissa francis character
Answer: Cassandra Cooper Ingalls