Before she became America’s favorite pigtailed youngest sibling on The Brady Bunch, Susan Olsen nearly suffered a life-threatening injury on set—and no one talked about it until now.
At just seven years old, Olsen was moments away from filming the pilot of what would become one of TV’s most iconic family sitcoms when disaster struck.
In a recent episode of The Real Brady Bros podcast, the former child star opened up to co-stars Barry Williams and Christopher Knight about a terrifying accident that could’ve changed everything.
A Sudden Blow Right Before the Big Break
Susan was getting her makeup done for the pilot episode in 1969 when a piece of lighting equipment unexpectedly fell and hit her directly in the face.
“My eyes were black. I mean, I had two black eyes. My nose was swollen.
My face was swollen,” the now 63-year-old actress recalled. And yet, despite her injuries, Susan showed up to work the very next day.
She described how Florence Henderson, who played mom Carol Brady, was the first to see her bruised and swollen face. “She’s like, ‘You make sure everybody sees her.’
And my mom was like, ‘Oh, yes, I will.’” The point? To make sure no one swept the incident under the rug.
“I Looked Like I Was in a Horror Movie”
As the young actress remembered, everyone on set finally realized just how serious her injuries were once they saw her. “I looked like I was in a horror film.
And then everybody knew, yes, I had gotten hurt, and I had gotten hurt very badly.”
Despite the severity of the accident, Olsen admitted there was no lawsuit filed against the studio.
“The saddest news is that we didn’t sue Paramount, because I would have made more off of that than the show,” she said with a mix of humor and frustration.
Makeup Magic and a Touch of Lucille Ball
To hide the bruises for the pilot, Brady Bunch creator Sherwood Schwartz called in a makeup pro—none other than Hal King, the man who once worked with comedy legend Lucille Ball.
Susan lit up when recalling the moment. “He was the specialist to cover up my black eyes.
I loved Lucy. She was my idol. I was so thrilled to have him,” she said.
Every day, her bruises would change color. “I’d say, ‘My bruises are purple today, Hal.’”
Somehow, even through the pain, young Susan found moments of joy.
A Childhood in the Spotlight
Susan Olsen played Cindy Brady, the youngest of the six Brady kids, throughout the show’s five-year run from 1969 to 1974.
Cast at age eight, she quickly became a familiar face in households across America.
But behind the scenes, it wasn’t always sunshine and giggles.
As her recent revelations show, the glamorous world of TV came with very real risks—even for a second-grader.
The Controversial Reboot That Never Happened
In more recent years, Susan made headlines again—but this time it wasn’t for a childhood accident.
Back in 2024, Olsen revealed that a planned reboot of The Brady Bunch was scrapped, and she believes her conservative political views had something to do with it.
The updated version would have included Black and transgender characters, and her character, Cindy, was supposed to be reimagined as a Libertarian podcaster.
Meanwhile, Eve Plumb’s character Jan would have a transgender child.
But CBS reportedly pulled the plug after reviewing Olsen’s social media and finding posts against COVID-19 vaccines, mask mandates, and other pandemic-era policies.
Personal Life and Parenthood
Outside of the limelight, Susan Olsen has been married twice.
Her first marriage to Steve Ventimiglia lasted from 1988 to 1990.
She later tied the knot with Mitch Markwell in 1995, and they stayed together until 2004.
The two share a son, Michael.
Now retired from acting, Olsen continues to share stories from her time as Cindy Brady—some heartwarming, some painful—but all a reminder of how much more there was behind those iconic blonde curls and dimples.