Take a trip down memory lane and revisit the original Ingalls family ahead of Netflix’s reboot.

What happened to the cast of Little House on the Prairie: See the stars after they left Walnut Grove

Take a trip down memory lane and revisit the original Ingalls family ahead of Netflix's reboot.

By Kelly Martinez

June 12, 2026 9:00 a.m. ET

The Ingalls family, one of television's most beloved broods, in season 7. Credit:

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

*Little House on the Prairie** *has been off the air for decades now,* *but home is still the nicest word there is.

Loosely based on the semi-autobiographical children’s book series of the same name, the beloved show centered on the Ingalls family navigating life on their farm in Walnut Grove, Minn., in the late 1800s.

Viewers quickly fell in love with Pa (Michael Landon), Ma (Karen Grassle), and their four daughters. At the heart of the series was the Ingalls’ second-oldest daughter, Laura (Melissa Gilbert), modeled after the novels’ real-life author, Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Over the course of a decade, *Little House* became a generational touchstone and garnered 17 Emmy nominations, winning four. The show’s rich legacy carries on today, perhaps best exemplified through the upcoming Netflix reboot. The series will premiere on July 9 and introduce a brand-new cast, led by Alice Halsey as Laura, to retell its story. It promises to offer "a kaleidoscopic view of the struggles and triumphs of those who shaped the frontier."

But before we hop in a wagon and head back to Walnut Grove, let’s take a trip down memory lane and see what the OG cast has been up to over the years.

Michael Landon (Charles Ingalls)

Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls; Landon at a gala in Los Angeles in 1991.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder may have been the official brains of *Little House*, but Michael Landon became the mastermind of the show itself. Unofficially the showrunner before that term became common parlance, he was producer, director, writer, and lead actor all rolled into one.

Audiences, of course, primarily knew him as the latter, as he played Pa Ingalls, a hardworking farmer and dedicated husband and father. While Landon worked behind the scenes for the entirety of the show’s run, he shook things up in a big way when he departed as a main cast member ahead of the final season.

Landon launched his acting career with *I Was a Teenage Werewolf* (1957) and a string of guest stints on various TV shows, but it wasn’t long before his big break in 1959. At age 22, he landed the main role of Little Joe Cartwright on *Bonanza*.

The actor moved right from that career-defining role to *another* career-defining role on *Little House*. When the latter ended, he found another permanent home on *Highway to Heaven*. He was also set to write, direct, and star in a new CBS series, *Us*, but in 1991 he died of pancreatic cancer at age 57 before the two-hour pilot could even air.

In the years since the TV icon’s death, several *Little House *costars have spoken warmly of him, remembering him as a real-life father figure to the young cast.

“He had this unbelievable glow that was captivating,” Melissa Gilbert told EW in 2014. “He made me laugh and feel instantly comfortable and there was something between us that I had never experienced in an audition room. It was special and it was instant.”

Landon was married three times. His third wife was *Little House *makeup artist Cindy Clerico, whom he met on set. He had nine children in total, including director Christopher Landon and *Yellowstone* actress Jennifer Landon.

Karen Grassle (Caroline Ingalls)

Karen Grassle as Ma Ingalls; Grassle at a 'Little House' photocall in Monaco in 2024.

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Karen Grassle starred as Ma Ingalls, the family matriarch and a former schoolteacher.

When asked about the *Little House* finale movie’s controversial ending — the series *literally* went out with a bang when Landon decided to blow up Walnut Grove — Grassle didn’t hesitate to share her thoughts about the bold storytelling choice.

“I thought it was a shame,” she told EW in 2014. “We could have done annual specials about the characters. But once you blow up the town, you can’t do that.”

This wasn’t just Grassle's defining role, but remains the bulk of her onscreen resume. The theater veteran spent much of her time on stage both before and after *Prairie*. In the years after the show ended, she largely retired from mainstream showbiz, moving out of Los Angeles to refocus on theater in various parts of the country.

She’s still kept an occasional footprint in Hollywood, including a bit part in Kevin Costner’s Western epic *Wyatt Earp *(1994). More recently, she appeared in smaller films like *Lasso *(2017) and *Not to Forget *(2021).

Speaking with PEOPLE at the show’s 50th anniversary cast reunion in 2024, Grassle expressed doubts that a reboot could be done today without Landon.

“There have been lots of attempts to do a *Little House on the Prairie* again,” she said. “I think we had a unique experience and it can't be repeated. Michael was a genius at casting and writing… The fact that we were all so perfectly cast was a kind of genius. I don’t think you get to repeat this.”

The actress has been married three times and has two children: a daughter and a son. In 2021, she self-published a memoir, *Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love from Little House's Ma*. Grassle’s book describes a rocky professional relationship with Landon throughout filming. She does, however, maintain that the two eventually mended fences before his death.

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Melissa Gilbert (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls; Gilbert at the Monte Carlo TV Festival in 2023.

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Melissa Gilbert is perhaps the most well-known cast member today. Her performance as Laura will be a tough act for the new generation to follow. Based on the real-life author, the second-oldest Ingalls daughter is portrayed as a tomboy and animal lover with a big heart.

Gilbert, who was 10 years old when the pilot aired and 19 when the series wrapped, was often considered a standout of the cast. She received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in 1981.

During that time, the young actress garnered recognition for her roles in high-profile TV movies, including new adaptations of *The Diary of Anne Frank *(1980) and *Splendor in the Grass *(1981). She landed an Emmy nomination for her performance as Helen Keller in *The Miracle Worker *(1979), playing opposite Patty Duke, who won the Oscar for the same role in 1962.

The L.A. native apparently found her niche, as she remained in-demand on television, particularly in TV movies, for three decades. Beyond her screen work, she served as Screen Actors Guild president from 2001 to 2005, and even briefly ran for Congress in 2016.

Her other notable ventures include taking on the role of Ma in a touring production of *Little House on the Prairie, The Musical* and competing on *Dancing With the Stars*.

The actress made headlines in 2025 when she publicly responded to Megyn Kelly’s comment that Netflix better not “wokeify” the *Little House *reboot.

“Ummm… watch the original again,” she wrote in an Instagram post directed at the former Fox News host. “TV doesn't get too much more 'woke' than we did. We tackled: racism, addiction, nativism, antisemitism, misogyny, rape, spousal abuse and every other ‘woke’ topic you can think of.”

“There’s room in the *Little House* universe for all different kinds of stories to be told — just like there was always room in the *Little Women* universe to keep retelling that story,” she told EW in 2025. “People rediscovered that we were talking about such important issues and issues that are still unresolved today. I think *Little House on the Prairie* is a really nice antidote for what our country is currently experiencing, this vitriol and bitterness.”

Gilbert shares one son with her first husband, Bo Brinkman, and another with her second, Bruce Boxleitner. She has been married to Timothy Busfield since 2013 and is stepmother to his five children.

Rachel Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (Carrie Ingalls)

Sidney and Lindsay Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls; the Greenbush twins in Santa Monica in 2024.

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Identical twins Rachel Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (credited as Lindsay Sidney Greenbush) were just 3 years old when they took on the role of Carrie, the third Ingalls child who was considered the “baby” of the family up until Grace’s birth in season 4. The twins quite literally grew up on set, wrapping up their time on the iconic series when they were 11.

Prior to *Little House*, the Greenbush twins starred in the TV movie *Sunshine *(1973). Sidney also appeared in *Hambone and Hillie *(1984) alongside big names like Lillian Gish and O.J. Simpson. (Remember, this was 1984!)

After wrapping up their joint role as Carrie, the sisters decided to retire from acting to focus on finishing school. They’ve largely remained out of the public eye since.

“As far as I remember, I always knew it was work, and you had to act like a little adult and be very respectful,” Sidney said in a rare interview in 2009. “When you grow up doing something like this you never really know any different, so I don’t think I questioned things.”

Sidney married veterinarian/horse breeder William "Rocky" Foster in 2000; he died in 2009. Bringing things full circle, Rachel Lindsay actually met her future husband, an older neighborhood boy named Danny Sanchez, on the *Little House *set. The pair reconnected 30 years later and married in 2014.

Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary Ingalls Kendall)

Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary; Anderson at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in 2024.

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Melissa Sue Anderson played eldest daughter Mary, who cares deeply about school and studying hard. The character faced a life-changing event in season 4’s “I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away” when a bout of scarlet fever caused her to become fully blind. The pivotal episode helped earn Anderson an Emmy nomination.

The *Little House *writers put Mary’s character through the wringer, to say the least. In addition to losing her vision, she was held hostage, suffered a miscarriage, and even tragically lost her infant in a fire. The girl couldn’t catch a break!

Anderson didn’t always welcome having so many dark, heavy storylines thrust upon her, candidly telling PEOPLE in 1981, “It’s no fun. When they run low on story ideas, someone says, ‘What can we do to Melissa Sue that’s really awful?”

Beyond her *Little House *run, Anderson is known for lead roles in the TV movie *Midnight Offerings* (1981) and the slasher *Happy Birthday to Me *(1981). She’s also booked guest stints on a number of TV shows, including *Murder, She Wrote*, *The Equalizer* and *X-Men: The Animated Series*. Fun fact: She made an uncredited appearance in the *Veronica Mars** *movie as Stosh’s mother!

Aside from a cameo here and there, the actress has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years. Anderson married TV writer/producer Michael Sloan in 1990. They had two children together and became naturalized Canadian citizens. Sloan died in 2025.

Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder)

Dean Butler as Almanzo Wilder; Butler at the Festival of Arts Celebrity Benefit Event in 2021.

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Dean Butler played Almanzo Wilder, a handsome farmer/carpenter who comes to town with his sister in season 6 and goes on to become Laura’s love interest.

“It’s an iconic program,” he told PEOPLE in 2024. “*Little House* is a part of people's lives, and it has been for a long time.”

Butler got his first big break when he landed the lead role of Michael in the 1978 adaptation of Judy Blume’s YA novel *Forever*. After *Little House*, he starred as Jeff "Moondoggie" Griffin on *The New Gidget*.

The actor also dipped his toes in theater, most notably playing Rapunzel’s Prince in the Broadway production of *Into the Woods*. And of course, we’d be remiss not to mention his small, but mighty role on *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* as Buffy’s father, Hank.

The actor is also well-aware of Almanzo’s heartthrob status — hey, *someone* in Walnut Grove had to be the town hunk! — and he’s a good sport about it.

“There are so many women who approach me and say, ‘You were my first crush. You were the first guy I fell in love with,’” he told PEOPLE in 2024. “We all have those people, and to be one of those people for so many young women is really incredibly touching to me.”

Butler has been married to actress Katherine Cannon since 2001. The couple met at an audition for Landon’s Western series *Father Murphy*.

Katherine MacGregor (Harriet Oleson)

Katherine MacGregor as Harriet Oleson on 'Little House on the Prairie'.

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There are characters we love, and there are characters we love to hate. The late Katherine MacGregor nailed this delicate balance with her performance as iconic villain Harriet Oleson, the town gossip and snarky co-owner of Oleson’s Mercantile.

Harriet was initially supposed to be a guest star, but the character became so popular, producers made her a regular.

“I look for the humor of Mrs. Oleson,” the actress reflected in 1981. “She was originally painted as just black-and-white mean. Anyone that mean has to be a fool. So I began mixing farce into it. I think the audience counts on seeing Mrs. Oleson fall on her fanny and get her comeuppance.”

MacGregor’s acting roots can be traced back to her theater days in New York City, where she performed on and off Broadway for many years. Prior to *Little House*, she appeared in a handful of TV movies and guest starred on *All in the Family *and the original *Ironside*. *Prairie* was her final credited screen appearance.

MacGregor was a convert to Hinduism and very devoted to her faith. In fact, she was unable to appear in the *Little House *finale because she was on a pilgrimage to India at the time.

She died in 2018 at the age of 93.

Richard Bull (Nels Oleson)

Richard Bull as Nels Oleson on 'Little House on the Prairie'.

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Every good villain needs a sidekick; for Harriet, that was her husband Nels, played by Richard Bull. While the couple had a tumultuous onscreen relationship, Bull and MacGregor reportedly shared a very close friendship in real life.

Nels was one of the actor’s only long-term gigs — the other was Doc on *Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea *— but he was a constantly working supporting actor and bit player for four decades. His small-screen output includes everything from *The Fugitive *and *The Andy Griffith Show *to *Bewitched, Mission: Impossible*, and *Hill Street Blues*.

Meanwhile, he scored small film parts in *The Thomas Crown Affair *(1968), *The Andromeda Strain *(1971), *High Plains Drifter *(1973), and *The Parallax View *(1974).

Bull was married to actress Barbara Collentine from 1948 until his death from pneumonia in 2014. He was 89.

Victor French (Isaiah Edwards)

Victor French as Isaiah Edwards; French in 'Highway to Heaven' season 3.

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Last, but certainly not least: Victor French played Isaiah, a gruff “mountain man” and close friend of the Ingalls family. Edwards is a good, kind, and loyal friend, but also struggles with depression and alcoholism. For a sweet family show, *Little House* sure got heavy sometimes. (Just ask Mary!)

French followed *Little House* with a co-leading role on *Highway to Heaven* alongside Landon. Like Bull, he was a longtime regular on TV, with credits that include *Gunsmoke*, *Carter Country*, and *Get Smart*.

On the big screen, French* *starred opposite Elvis Presley in *Charro! *(1969) and with John Wayne in *Rio Lobo *(1970).

French was married twice and had three children. The veteran actor died of lung cancer in 1989 at 54 years old.

- Period Dramas

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Period”