Melissa Sue Anderson Biography

Fast Facts

• Was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her portrayal of Virginia Wainwright in the Canadian slasher film "Happy Birthday to Me․"
• Won Spain's TP de Oro Award for Best Foreign Actress for her portrayal of Mary Ingalls in "Little House on the Prairie․"
• Began her acting career doing TV commercials after a dance instructor convinced her parents to find an agent
• Quote: "(On working with "Little House on the Prairie" co-star Michael Landon) "Staying detached is the only way I can work with people that close and that long and not have arguments․ I'm not angry-I just take my career very seriously․""
• Quote: "(On portraying the blind Mary Ingalls in "Little House on the Prairie") "When they run low on story ideas, someone says, 'What can we do to Melissa Sue that's really awful?'""
• To better portray Mary Ingalls in "Little House on the Prairie," she visited the Foundation for the Junior Blind to learn how young people adjust to blindness
• Her first public romance was with actor Lorenzo Lamas, with whom she guest starred on "The Love Boat" in an episode where she resisted her parent's efforts to match her up with Lamas' character