Was Susan Olsen Paid Her Worth On The Brady Bunch? Here's The Truth About Her Relatively Small Estat
You already know the plot: a beautiful couple, three beautiful girls, and three handsome boys, all of them with golden hair. The Brady Bunch theme song gave us all the information we needed to know, and it was there that we were first introduced to Cindy, the youngest daughter, with her signature "curls."
Over the years, we saw Susan Olsen, who played Cindy Brady, mature into a beautiful young woman. She was almost eight years old when the series began, twelve when it concluded, and well into her twenties when she played the role in many sequel series.
Even though it ended in 1974, The Brady Bunch is still widely regarded as one of the best American family comedies of all time. This makes it even more puzzling as to how Susan Olsen manages to keep such a modest estate.
How Much Was Susan Olsen Paid On The Brady Bunch?
Olsen's breakthrough role as Cindy Brady, the youngest Brady child, on The Brady Bunch came just before her eighth birthday.
At the height of the show's popularity, the young actors were paid $1,100 per week. In terms of purchasing power, $1,100 per week in 1974 is equivalent to nearly $6,700 per week in 2023. The cast does not gain much from the show's continued success in syndication.
A rough estimate puts Olsen's annual salary at $321,600 for her work on what is widely considered to be one of the best sitcoms in American history. Seeing as how the actors were obviously underpaid, it's hard to believe.
After The Brady Bunch ended, Susan Olsen continued her acting career. She made the choice to broaden her horizons and pursue opportunities in related industries like graphic design and journalism.
Celebrity Net Worth puts Olsen's wealth at $2 million, although it's not clear how much of it comes from The Brady Bunch and how much comes from her other endeavors.
Christopher Knight, who played Peter Brady, is rumored to be worth $10 million by the same source (Celebrity Net Worth). He now has more money than any of his Brady siblings combined.
After the show ended, Knight went on to star in a spinoff called "My Fair Brady." He also worked in the computer business and founded a company that manufactured TV tuners.
Although he capitalized on his notoriety, other cast members did not fare as well.
Susan Olsen Felt Trapped By The Brady Bunch And Relieved That The Show Ended
As part of her "Where Are They Now?" series on OWN, Oprah Winfrey interviewed Olsen in 2013, and the actress discussed her time on the show. At this point in time, many of the Brady kids started speaking out about their career trajectories and the effects of the show.
Susan first admitted that she was the first person to be cast for the entire project. She also had the chance to be in two other shows, but she ultimately chose the Brady Bunch since she could play with the other kids there.
She didn't want to go through puberty on national television, so the actress was pleased when the show ended. Susan also explained why she had been absent from the acting world for so long.
She explained to Oprah, “I really didn’t want to work again until I was 18 because I really had hoped that, if I went away, I could come back and be a different person and not be stuck playing Cindy Brady all my life.”
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when she tried to get work again, she was constantly reminded of Cindy, making it difficult to land auditions.
When Olsen’s career hit a few bumps, she realized she didn't like acting "well enough to put up with this," so her acting credits after the 1990s are scarce. The actress also brought up money as a topic of discussion during her chat with Oprah. Specifically, its absence.
Olsen stated that people often wrongly assume she and the other cast members of the program are wealthy "because it's on all the time," but that this is not the case.
She explained, “It wasn’t like we signed some bad deal. This is the way things were before 1973: people only got paid for reruns for the first 10 runs, and the first 10 runs were over with probably by 1979. So, we made no money since then.”
Olsen has recently started making an effort to reenter the entertainment business. The most recent project she worked on was A Very Brady Renovation, an HGTV show starring "Property Brothers" Jonathan and Drew Scott.
It was revealed that former NSYNC member Lance Bass was once interested in acquiring the Brady house but lost out to HGTV in order to return it to its former glory. Given that the 2,500-square-foot house was worth a relatively humble $1.89 million, Bass was clearly upset about the loss.
What Happened To Susan Olsen?
Since her days as a child star, Olsen has taken on a small number of other acting roles in addition to her recurring portrayal of Cindy in sequels and revivals. She has been in several TV shows, including Pacific Blue and The Young and the Restless, and a movie, Blending Christmas (2021).
But Olsen has spent the vast majority of her working life in the radio industry. "I started doing radio in 1995," she said in an interview with Fox News. "In terms of entertainment, it was always my favorite medium because I could just be myself."
In addition to her role as host of Two Chicks Talkin' Politics on LA Talk Radio, Olsen was also the host of Sunday Night Live on KABC Radio at the time of the interview. In 2016, the Washington Post reported that she was dismissed for making insulting remarks; however, Olsen denied the report on Fox News.
LA Talk Radio, on the other hand, disputes this, claiming in a Facebook post, "We will not tolerate hateful speech by anyone associated with our radio station and have severed our ties with a host that veered off the direction in which we are going."
The actress has a shaky relationship with her bank account, but the bond with her Brady Bunch co-stars is only strengthening, as seen by their 2022 Emmys reunion.
Barry Williams, Mike Lookinland, Susan Olsen, Christopher Knight, and Eve Plumb—who played Greg, Bobby, Cindy, Peter, and Jan, respectively—were seen posing with one another for the photographers documenting the celeb arrivals.
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