Melissa Sue Anderson
Melissa Sue Anderson played Laura Ingalls' older sister, Mary Ingalls, on Little House on the Prairie.
The 63-year-old was the only cast member to receive an Emmy nomination, earning recognition for her performance in the episode depicting Mary's loss of sight.
Two years older than Melissa Gilbert when the series began, Anderson had only a handful of television credits before joining Little House, including playing Bobby Brady's first kiss on The Brady Bunch.
She made her feature film debut in the 1981 horror movie Happy Birthday to Me and, after Little House, appeared on television series including Hotel, Murder, She Wrote, The Equalizer, and The Love Boat.
Anderson met her husband, television producer Michael Sloan, while working on the 1980s revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The couple had two daughters before Sloan's death in 2025.
Anderson and Gilbert have both acknowledged that they didn't get along during their years on Little House.
"We were very, very different," Anderson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Anderson later reflected on her years with the series in her memoir, The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House.
Gilbert has said she felt Anderson took on a big-sister role from the start.
"From the moment we walked onto that set, Melissa Sue Anderson was the boss of me," Gilbert recalled in an interview, according to Parade. "She took that absolutely seriously. She was two years older than me, which, you know, when you're 9 and 11 is a big deal."
Gilbert added, "She was tough on me both off and on camera, but on camera especially."
For her part, Anderson has said her reserved personality was often misunderstood. Speaking with Harry Brownstone on his podcast, she said, "I wish I had been more outgoing so I could have enjoyed it more and been more easygoing about everything."
The former co-stars reunited in 2025 during Gilbert's off-Broadway play Pen Pals, putting decades of distance behind them.
"Reconnection with a sister," Gilbert wrote. "Long, healing talks. Lots of reminiscing. Lots of catching up. Lots of laughter and a few tears."
"Just us Ingalls girls. The best part is, the past is now just that and we can move forward as the sisters/friends we always wanted to be," she added.
