Karen Grassle - wikipedia Karen Grassle 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. ( May 2015 ) Karen Grassle Gil Gerard and Karen Grassle in Little House on the Prairie ( 1977 ) Karen Trust Grassle ( 1942 - 02 - 25 ) February 25, 1942 ( age 75 ) Berkeley, California, U.S. Occupation Actress Years active 1968 -- present Karen Trust Grassle ( born February 25, 1942 ) is an American actress, known for her role as Caroline Ingalls, the wife of Michael Landon 's character and the mother of Melissa Gilbert 's character, in the NBC television drama series Little House on the Prairie. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Filmography 4 References 5 External links Early Life Grassle graduated from Ventura High School in 1959, and afterward enrolled in Sophie Newcomb College ( Tulane University, 1959 -- 60 ) and then the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated with two BA degrees in 1965, one in English, the other in Dramatic Art. She received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Career Grassle 's first acting job in New York City was in the short - lived 1968 play The Gingham Dog. Grassle played in Butterflies are Free at the Elitch Theatre in Denver, Colorado, in June 1972, along with Maureen O'Sullivan and Brandon deWilde, who was killed before leaving town after the performances ended. Prior to portraying Caroline Ingalls, Grassle appeared in two TV series : one episode of the soap opera Love of Life as Bonnie Draper, and one episode of Gunsmoke entitled `` The Wiving '' as Fran, one of several saloon girls kidnapped à la Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Grassle auditioned for the role of the mother, Caroline Ingalls, in the Little House on the Prairie TV series and won the part. The series ran for nine seasons, from 1974 to 1983. During this time she played Kathy, the wife of Edward Herrmann 's title character in Harry 's War, a 1981 American film. After the series ended, she moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico and became co-founder of Santa Fe 's Resource Theater Company. Later she moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where she performed with the company of actors at Actors Theatre. Eventually, she moved back to California, where she still currently lives. In 1994, she also appeared in the movie Wyatt Earp, starring Kevin Costner. In 2006, she performed in Driving Miss Daisy in the starring role of Miss Daisy at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In August 2008, Grassle agreed to sign up as the promotional face for Premier Bathrooms, a supplier of bathing products for the elderly and infirm. Filmography Film and Television roles Year Title Role Notes 1974 -- 82 Little House on the Prairie Caroline Ingalls 182 episodes Gunsmoke Fran Episode : `` The Wiving '' 1977 Emily, Emily Terry TV film 1978 The President 's Mistress Donna Morton TV film 1978 Battered Susannah Hawks Also writer 1979 Crisis in Mid-air Betsy Culver TV film 1979 Little House Years Caroline Ingalls TV special of Little House on the Prairie 1981 Harry 's War Kathy Feature film 1981 The Love Boat Paula Episode : `` Maid for Each Other / Lost and Found / Then There Were Two '' Cocaine : One Man 's Seduction Barbara Gant TV film Hotel Susan Walker Episode : `` Christmas '' 1984 Little House : The Last Farewell Caroline Ingalls TV film 1985 Between the Darkness and the Dawn Ellen Foster Holland TV film Murder, She Wrote Christine Stoneham Episode : `` Murder in a Minor Key '' Murder, She Wrote Fay Hewitt Episode : `` Harbinger of Death '' Wyatt Earp Mrs. Sutherland Feature film 2012 Tales of Everyday Magic Aunt Dorothy Feature film 2012 My Greatest Teacher Aunt Dorothy Feature film References ^ Jump up to : Karen Grassle Biography, Biography Channel Jump up ^ Remembering Brandon.net/A Word on the Elitch Theatre Archived January 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karen Grassle. Official website Karen Grassle on IMDb Karen Grassle at the Internet Broadway Database Karen Grassle at the Internet Off - Broadway Database The Carolyn Jackson Collection, No. 52 - Interview with Karen Grassle from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image VIAF : 61747656 LCCN : n87860187 ISNI : 0000 0001 1556 9601 GND : 137298579 BNF : cb14041003t ( data ) BIBSYS : 8004916 BNE : XX4843813 IATH : w6zb347w Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karen_Grassle&oldid=813988122 '' Categories : 20th - century American actresses 1942 births Actresses from Berkeley, California Actresses from California American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Living people People from Ventura, California Tulane University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links BLP articles lacking sources from May 2015 All BLP articles lacking sources Use mdy dates from May 2015 Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links 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 BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français Italiano Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский Suomi Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 6 December 2017, at 08 : 29. 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Question: who played the mother in little house on the prairie
Answer: Karen Trust Grassle