Alison Arngrim
Arngrim in 2017
Born	Alison Margaret Arngrim (1962-01-18)January 18, 1962 (age 64) New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actress, author
Years active	1974–present
Spouses	Donald Spencer Robert Paul Schoonover
Mother	Norma MacMillan
Relatives	Stefan Arngrim (brother)
Website	www.alison-arngrim.com

Alison Margaret Arngrim (born January 18, 1962)^[1] is an American actress and author. Beginning her television career at the age of twelve, Arngrim is aYoung Artist Award–Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award honoree, best known for her portrayal ofNellie Oleson on theNBC television seriesLittle House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1982.

Arngrim's father, Thor Arngrim, was a Canadian-born Hollywood manager.^[2] Her mother,Norma MacMillan ofVancouver,British Columbia, was an actress who provided the voices for characters for: Casper onCasper the Friendly Ghost, Gumby onGumby, Davey onDavey and Goliath, Sweet Polly Purebred onUnderdog, and other animated children's programs.^[3]

Her brotherStefan (b. 1955) was also a child actor, perhaps best known for his role as Barry Lockridge on theIrwin Allen science fiction television series,Land of the Giants.^[4]

Arngrim claimed that her brother sexually molested her from age six until nine, when he was aged from 13 to 16 years old.^[5] She also claimed that her brother admitted to the abuse but isn't particularly apologetic for his behavior. Arngrim stated that she no longer has any kind of relationship with her brother, a decision she reports has bettered her life.^[6]

After beginning a career as achild model andactress in television commercials, Arngrim rose to fame as a child star in 1974, portraying the role ofNellie Oleson on theNBC television seriesLittle House on the Prairie. She originally auditioned for the role ofLaura Ingalls and, later,Mary Ingalls, but was instead cast in the role of antagonist Nellie Oleson. Arngrim would play the role of Nellie for seven seasons and her portrayal became a cultural reference andcamparchetype for the spoiled "bad girl" throughout the 1970s.^{[citation needed][7]}

Years later, in one of her stand-up routines, Arngrim described playing Nellie onLittle House on The Prairie as "like havingPMS for seven years."^[8] In 2002, she was honored by theYoung Artist Foundation with itsFormer Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for her work as a child actress onLittle House.^[9] At the 2006 TV Land Awards, Arngrim tied withDanielle Spencer ('Dee' onWhat's Happening!!) as the "Character Most in Need of a Time-out" for her role as Nellie.

In addition to her role onLittle House, Arngrim also recorded the 1977 comedy record album,Heeere's Amy onLaff Records, where she impersonatesPresident Jimmy Carter's daughterAmy .^[10] Her mother, who voiced the Kennedy children on the comedy albums ofVaughn Meader, also guest starred on the album. After leavingLittle House, Arngrim appeared in guest-starring roles on such television series asThe Love Boat andFantasy Island. She was also a frequent panelist on the short-livedNBC game showMatch Game-Hollywood Squares Hour.

Starting in 2006, she developed a successful career on stage in France, with her friend, author/director/comedianPatrick Loubatière. In 2017 in Pinehurst, North Carolina she appeared as Emily Brent in Judson Theatre Company's production of Agatha Christie'sAnd Then There Were None.^[11]

In addition to performing, Arngrim also devotes her time to charitable organizations.

One of her inspirations for her charity work is the memory of friend and fellow actorSteve Tracy, who played the role of Nellie Oleson's husband, Percival Dalton, onLittle House on the Prairie. Tracy died in 1986 from complications ofAIDS. Tracy's death inspired Arngrim to become an activist for AIDS awareness. She worked at an AIDS hotline and with the advocacy groupACT UP.

Arngrim is also an advocate on several other issues. She's been a frequent speaker forPROTECT, a group that works to fightchild abuse .^[12] In 2004, Arngrim revealed onLarry King Live that she herself was anincest survivor.^[13]

In 2010, Arngrim authored an autobiography titledConfessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated.^[14] In the book she, for the first time, publicly identified her then-teenaged brother as her childhood abuser, though the book is mostly light-hearted and received critical praise for her ability to mix humor and personal tragedy.^[15] She wrote and performed a stage version, which premiered atClub Fez in New York.^[16] She later performed thisone-person show atParliament House, a gay resort inOrlando, Florida.^[17]

• 2002 –Young Artist Award:Former Child Star Lifetime Achievement Award for (Little House on the Prairie)
• 2006 –TV Land Award: for "Character Most Desperately in Need of a Timeout" (Little House on the Prairie)

• 1981 –Young Artist Award: for Best Young Comedienne (Little House on the Prairie)
• 2008 –TV Land Award: for "Siblings That Make You Grateful for Your Own Crazy Family" (Little House on the Prairie)

Other sources

• Arngrim, Alison (2010).Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated. New York City:It Books.ISBN 978-0-06-196214-1.

• Dye, David.Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 7.

• Official website
• Alison Arngrim atIMDb 
• Alison Arngrim at theTCM Movie Database
• Facebook site (official)

• 1962 births
• Living people
• American autobiographers
• American television actresses
• American child actresses
• American HIV/AIDS activists
• Actresses from New York (state)
• American people of Canadian descent
• American women autobiographers
• 21st-century American women writers
• 20th-century American actresses
• Hollywood High School alumni

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from June 2021
• Articles with hCards
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from November 2012
• TCMDb name template using non-numeric ID from Wikidata