Melissa Sue Anderson (born September 26, 1962) is an American-Canadian actress. She began her career as a child actress after appearing in several commercials in Los Angeles. Anderson is known for her role as Mary Ingalls in the NBC drama series Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
She is also known for film roles that include Vivian in Midnight Offerings (1981), Ginny in the slasher film Happy Birthday to Me (1981), and Alex in the ABC Afterschool Special, Which Mother Is Mine? (1979).
Anderson became a naturalized citizen of Canada in 2007. In 2010, she published The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House, an autobiographical account of her years acting in Little House on the Prairie.
Early life
Anderson was born on September 26, 1962, in Berkeley, California, the second of two daughters, to James and Marion Anderson. When she was seven years old, Anderson's family relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles. After appearing in commercials, she was soon in demand for television roles. Another memorable early role was as Millicent, a girl who kissed Bobby in The Brady Bunch. She also appeared in an episode of Shaft the same year. In 1977, she once again co-starred as the love interest opposite Kerwin in the television film James at 15.
She was nominated for a 1978 Primetime Emmy Award for Best Leading Actress in a Drama Series for her work on Little House on the Prairie and won the Emmy Award for her performance in Which Mother Is Mine?, which aired as an ABC Afterschool Special in 1979. Also in 1979, she played the title role of Dana Lee Gilbert, a North Dakota transfer student to Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, in CBS's television film Survival of Dana.
In 1980, Anderson earned a 'TP de Oro' Award (considered to be Spain's most prestigious award for television) for 'Best Foreign Actress' for her role in Little House on the Prairie. This followed a successful visit to Spain in 1979 to appear as a guest on 's program, 625 Lineas. In 1981, she earned a Young Artist Award nomination for her performance in the Canadian slasher film Happy Birthday to Me. After leaving Little House, she continued acting in television series like The Equalizer, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, CHiPs, and Murder, She Wrote, and was the associate producer for the penultimate television project Michael Landon made before dying: Where Pigeons Go to Die (1990).
In 1998, she was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1999, she starred alongside Heather Langenkamp in the short-lived television series Partners. In 2014, Anderson had an uncredited appearance as Stosh's mother in the neo-noir mystery comedy drama film Veronica Mars (2014).
Book
In 2010, Anderson released an autobiography titled The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House. They have two children, daughter Piper and son Griffin. The family moved to Montreal in 2002 and became naturalized Canadians on Canada Day in 2007. Sloan, who by now was living in New York City, died on August 13, 2025.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Melissa Sue Anderson film credits<!-- Per WP:ACCESSIBILITY & MOS:TABLECAPTION, data tables should always include a descriptive caption. -->
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1981
|Happy Birthday to Me
|Virginia Wainwright
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1984
|Goma-2
|Kukki
|Uncredited
|-
|Chattanooga Choo Choo
|Jennie
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1988
|data-sort-value="Suicide Club, The" | The Suicide Club
|Laura Donovan on TV
|
|-
|Far North
|Young Nurse
|
|-
|1989
|Looking Your Best
|
|
|-
|1990
|Dead Men Don't Die
|Dulcie Niles
|
|-
|1991
|Manuel
|
|
|-
|1994
|Animated Stories from the Bible: Music Video – Volume 1
|Snake
|Video; voice role
|-
|1995
|Killer Lady
|American Lady
|
|-
|2006
|Crazy Eights
|Hospital Patient
|Uncredited
|-
|2010
|Marker 187
|
|Short film
|-
|2014
|Veronica Mars
|Stosh's Mother
|Uncredited
|-
|1988–1989
|Alfred Hitchcock Presents
|Laura Donovan / Julie Fenton
|2 episodes
|-
|1988
|data-sort-value="Equalizer, The" | The Equalizer
|Yvette Marcel
|2 Episodes: "The Mystery of Manon: Parts 1 & 2"
|-
|1989
|data-sort-value="Return of Sam McCloud, The" | The Return of Sam McCloud
|Colleen McCloud
|
|-
|1993–1994
|X-Men: The Animated Series
|Snowbird
|Voice, 2 episodes
|-
|1994
|Burke's Law
|Michelle Ryder
|Episode: "Who Killed Alexander the Great?"
|-
|1998
|Earthquake in New York
|Dr. Marilyn Blake
|TV movie
|-
|1999
|Partners
|Cheryl Darrin
|3 episodes
|-
|2000
|Thin Ice
|Tanya Ferguson
|TV movie
|-
|2006
|10.5: Apocalypse
|First Lady Megan Hollister
|Miniseries
|-
|2007
|Marco Polo
|Mother
|Voice, uncredited
|}
References
Further reading
External links
- Melissa Sue Anderson interview on YouTube
- About Melissa Sue Anderson