What Happened to Susan Olsen? Inside the Life and Career of the Actress Who Played Cindy Brady

Susan Olsen became famous at age 8 when she portrayed Cindy Brady on The Brady Bunch. But what happened to her after the show came to an end in 1974?

Susan Olsen Found Childhood Stardom on ‘The Brady Bunch’

Susan catapulted to fame as a member of the Brady Bunch, but she admitted it was difficult to deal with bullying at school after kids made fun of her lisp.

“That episode got me more teased at my real school because the lisp was real. I had extensive oral surgery as a child. My tongue is too big for my mouth,” she once told The Age.

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Over the years, Susan also revealed juicy secrets from the set of The Brady Bunch including the chemistry off screen between all of the costars.

“I think all of us [hooked up] … We led a sheltered life for part of the year so if there was anybody to get a crush on or try to date, it would be our counterparts,” she said.

The California native also opened up about the feud between Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady, and Eve Plumb, who portrayed Jan Brady.

“I think it’s kind of petty. From day one with these two I have always been in the middle and now it’s at the point where there isn’t even a desire to communicate through me,” Susan said.

Susan Olsen Reflected on Managing Fame at a Young Age

Susan admitted that being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age was never easy to get used to.

“Fame was the one part I didn’t like,” she said in an interview with Fox News in May 2023. “I loved the work. I loved my castmates. I really loved the industry. I really liked what I did. I was a kid who wanted a job. [But] fame to me was silly. Just really, really ridiculous. It was like fool’s gold.”

“Shortly after the show premiered, I went to my uncle, a drama teacher in Palo Alto. He taught high school, and he would have these really extravagant productions. And we went up north to one of his productions,” she explained. “I got recognized in the audience and I got mobbed. They had to call the police to get me out. It was this huge crowd of people. I’d seen a grownup who [said], ‘Oh look, her little face is red. She can’t breathe – here, sign one more [autograph].’ It was very, very frightening. I didn’t like it. I was ready to quit the show.”

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Where Is Susan Olsen Now?

After the show’s run from 1969 to 1974, she appeared in the subsequent Brady sequels. But ultimately, she decided to hone in on some of her passions outside of acting.

“In my early 20s, I became a graphic artist,” she said. “I got talked into teaching acting for children at Vibe Performing Arts [in Santa Clarita, California]. I’ve been doing that for a couple of years.”

She reflected on teaching the younger generation of budding actors after experiencing childhood fame herself.

“I teach acting for children,” Susan said. “I say, ‘What do you want?’ And they go, ‘I wanna be famous!’ and I’m like ‘No, no, no that’s not what you want. You want to do good work. And fame is the byproduct of good work.’”

Susan made a few acting appearances in the ‘90s in The Bradys, Pacific Blue and The Young and the Restless. From 2013 to 2016, she appeared in Child of the ‘70s. Most recently, she acted in Blending Christmas in 2021.