Susan Olsen, best known for playing Cindy Brady on The Brady Bunch, revealed the surprising effort it took to transform into the youngest member of the beloved TV family.
Speaking during a panel at The Chocolate Expo at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, Olsen, now 63, joined fellow Brady Bunch stars Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, and Barry Williams to reflect on their time on the show. When asked if she had to dye her hair for the role, Olsen confirmed, “You bet.”
She explained that her naturally darker hair was dyed blonde every three weeks throughout the show’s run from 1969 to 1974. “If you look at the third season, my hair is kind of a different shade of blonde every episode,” she said. “They were trying out different things, but then my hair had started to fall out. With that, I went back to letting my mom do my hair every Friday night.”
Olsen also revealed that her iconic ringlets didn’t come naturally. Her straight hair required nightly rollers to hold the curl. “I had to keep it in rollers because my hair was straight. It couldn’t hold a curl unless I slept in them,” she said. “But my mother was responsible for those ringlets.”
Her co-star Mike Lookinland, who played Bobby Brady, recalled similar treatments. “In 1970, trying different things meant a whole cocktail of weird chemicals, right?” he said, to which Olsen agreed. Lookinland added, “All I had was Miss Clairol, Jet Black number 23. I remember the little bottle.”
Olsen replied, “I was ‘classic blonde.’”
Beyond the hair routines and beauty treatments, the actors reflected on the strong bond they formed on set. Olsen said part of the show’s enduring success came from the real affection the cast shared. “I believe people could sense the love was genuine between us,” she said.
Knight echoed that sentiment, saying their onscreen parents, Robert Reed and Florence Henderson, had a big impact. “We didn’t want to disappoint them,” he said. “And that’s at the center of a good parent relationship — a child that doesn’t want to disappoint because of respect. And it was reciprocated.”
The Brady cast has reunited for several public appearances in recent months. In November, Knight and Williams appeared with Eve Plumb, who played Jan Brady, on NBC’s Today show to promote a Brady Bunch-themed sweepstakes supporting the No Kid Hungry charity.
