Susan Olsen | |
|---|---|
 Olsen in 2009 | |
| Born | Susan Marie Olsen (1961-08-14)August 14, 1961 (age 64) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Education | William Howard Taft High School |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1968–present |
| Known for | The Brady Bunch The Brady Kids The Bradys |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 1 |
Susan Marie Olsen (born August 14, 1961) is an American actress and former radio personality. Olsen is known for her role asCindy Brady, the youngest Brady child in the sitcomThe Brady Bunch for the full run of the show, from 1969 to 1974.
Olsen was born inSanta Monica, California, to Lawrence and DeLoice Olsen, the youngest of four children.[1]
Olsen graduated from William H. Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California in 1979.[2]
Olsen landed a number of supporting roles in television, most notably inIronside,Gunsmoke, andJulia, and appeared in theElvis Presley movieThe Trouble With Girls (1968) as a squeaky-clean singer in a singing contest.
At just under age eight, Olsen was cast asCindy Brady onThe Brady Bunch (1969–1974). As an adult, Olsen has said that portraying Cindy made friendships difficult for her as a child. She most disliked the season two "tattletale" episode, in which Cindy incessantlytattles on her siblings. Because of the episode, she was shunned by real-life peers, who did not understand the difference between actors and their characters.[citation needed] She was also the voice of Cindy in the ABC Saturday morning cartoonThe Brady Kids (1972–1974). Olsen has appeared in allBrady Bunch reunion movies and specials with the exception ofA Very Brady Christmas (1988), which was filmed when she and her first husband Steve Ventimiglia were on theirhoneymoon. In that movie, Cindy Brady was played by actressJennifer Runyon. Olsen has openly acknowledged that she felt Cindy Brady was presented as too stupid throughout the time she played her, though she could adapt to it, with her mother encouraging her that the role was also cute.[3]
In 2005,VH1 ranked her No. 34 inThe 100 Greatest Kid Stars of television and film.[4] In 2007, Olsen and her fellow cast members were honored with the TV Pop Culture Award on theTV Land Awards, one of the few awardsThe Brady Bunch has ever won.
As a teen, Olsen was the spokesgirl forSindy doll, made byMarx Toys from the mid-1970s. As an adult, Olsen moved into thegraphic design business and in 1998 briefly marketed a brand of glow-in-the-dark shoes forConverse. She also worked as atalk show host at the Los Angeles radio stationKLSX from 1995 to 1996 withKen Ober, and co-hosted and co-wrote another radio show with comedianAllan Havey at Comedy World in 2000.[citation needed]
Along withBrady Bunch costarMike Lookinland, she auditioned forThe Swiss Family Robinson television series in 1975. Her role was eventually played byHelen Hunt. In 1976, she signed on for the variety show,The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, which lasted nine episodes.
After graduating from high school in 1979, her acting roles were few, save for severalBrady Bunch reunion specials. She reprised her role as Cindy Brady inThe Brady Brides in 1981, and the short-lived CBS drama seriesThe Bradys in 1990. Anurban legend claimed that Olsen had become anadult film star. In a late 1990s television interview, Olsen stated that her "porn" connection was that she created space ship sound effects for a porn film calledLove Probe from a Warm Planet.[5]
She appeared in episode 26 ofCartoon Network's talk showSpace Ghost Coast to Coast, "Switcheroo", withCassandra Peterson as "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark". Olsen has also been an advocate formigraine sufferers since 1998. She described her headaches onLarry King Live.[6]
In the fourth quarter of 2008, Olsen appeared onFox Reality'sGimme My Reality Show, in which celebrities compete to win their own reality show. She used this vehicle to make a statement about animal rescue, a cause with which she is deeply involved. On June 6, 2009, Olsen thanked retired game show host and animal rights activistBob Barker when the Brady actors accepted an honor at the GSN Awards. An animal welfare advocate, she has served on the board of directors of the non-profit organization Precious Paws, a rescue group.[7]
On September 1, 2009, Olsen released thecoffee table bookLove to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour that celebrates the 1976–1977 television variety showThe Brady Bunch Hour.[8]
In September 2010, Olsen made a guest appearance onThe Young and the Restless playing Mrs. Liza Morton, the owner of a preschool.[9]
In 2011, she appeared in season 3, episode 43 ofThe Biography Channel's reality showCelebrity Ghost Stories.[10]
In July 2012, Olsen was one of a limited number of artists and celebrities invited to show their work inArt with an Agenda: An Exhibit Inspired by Kelly Thomas at the PAS Gallery inFullerton, California,[11] inspired by the life and circumstances surrounding thekilling of Kelly Thomas, a homeless,schizophrenic, 37-year-old man who was beaten by members of theFullerton Police Department on July 5, 2011.[12] Olsen's piece, "Still Life", showed a half-eaten donut in a puddle of blood beside a lit flashlight.[13]
In December 2016, Olsen was reportedly let go from her radio show, "Two Chicks Talkin' Politics" on LA Talk Radio, after engaging in aFacebook feud with openly gay actor Leon Acord-Whiting. Responding to comments Acord-Whiting had made about her on another station, Olsen unleashed a profane rant against him, accusing him of cowardice. Acord-Whiting accused Olsen ofhomophobia for the remarks (which included repeated use of the word "faggot") and successfully lobbied to have Olsen fired.[14][15] Despite this, Olsen told Fox News in 2019 that she has "been the subject of fake news" and "never got fired".[16]
Olsen joined with the other surviving main cast members ofThe Brady Bunch in the 2019 television seriesA Very Brady Renovation onHGTV.[17] In 2021, she starred in theLifetime Christmas movieBlending Christmas alongside herBrady Bunch co-starsChristopher Knight,Mike Lookinland,Barry Williams, andRobbie Rist.[18]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Trouble with Girls | Auditioning Singer | |
| 1995 | The Brady Bunch Movie | Mailwoman | Scenes deleted |
| 2009 | Zombo | Frumpy Woman | Short |
| 2015 | Mama Claus, Deck the Halls with Guts | Mama Claus |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Ironside | Tracy Richards | "Barbara Who" |
| 1968 | Julia | Pamela | "Paint Your Waggedorn" |
| 1968–69 | Gunsmoke | Marianne Johnson | "Abelia", "A Man Called 'Smith'" |
| 1969–1974 | The Brady Bunch | Cindy Brady | Main role |
| 1970 | The Boy Who Stole the Elephant | Lucy Owens | Disney TV film |
| 1972 | The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie | Cindy Brady (voice) | "The Brady Kids on Mysterious Island" |
| 1972–74 | The Brady Kids | Cindy Brady (voice) | Main role |
| 1976–77 | The Brady Bunch Hour | Cindy Brady | Main role |
| 1981 | The Brady Girls Get Married | Cindy Brady | TV film |
| 1990 | The Bradys | Cindy Brady | Main role |
| 1999 | Pacific Blue | Cindy Russell | "Stargazer" |
| 2010 | The Young and the Restless | Liza Morton | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | The Great Halloween Puppy Adventure | Rachel | TV film |
| 2013 | Holiday Road Trip | Edna | TV film |
| 2013–2016 | Child of the '70s | Nickel Laundry | TV series |
| 2019 | A Very Brady Renovation | Susan Olsen | TV series |
| 2021 | Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch | Margie | Paramount Plus TV special |
| 2021 | Blending Christmas | Valerie | TV film |
Susan Marie Olsen, the youngest of the Brady clan, is also the youngest of the Olsen clan. Born in Santa Monica, California, on August 14, 1961, to Lawrence and DeLoice ("Dee") Olsen…
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