‘Little House on the Prairie’ is one show that always manages to take you back to the good old days. The show’s star, Karen Grassle, turned 82 years old in 2024. Even at her current age, Karen is still as gorgeous and active as ever.
Karen Grassle played the family matriarch in the show, Caroline Ingalls, also commonly referred to as “Ma.” The show featured the everyday challenges of raising a lovely family in a stressful environment. Caroline and her husband Charles, played by Michael Landon, entertained viewers with their parenting skills, and most actors in the cast became household names due to the popularity of the series.
‘Little House on the Prairie’ ran on NBC from September 11th, 1974 until May 10th, 1982. On the show, Grassle played the matriarch of the family, known as the character ‘Ma’ whose name was Caroline Ingalls. Once Grassle left the series in 1982, it ran with a new title: ‘Little House: A New Beginning.’ Many of Grassle’s fans wonder what happened to her after her the show ended. Luckily, she never slowed down and continues to be a successful actress in Hollywood.
She was born on February 25, 1942, in Berkeley, California. It’s no surprise that acting took a prominent place in Grassle’s life even at an early age, and through to adulthood. Grassle loved performing in school plays, according to Biography.com. She was also an active member of her local Baptist choir. In 1965, she graduated from college with a degree in Dramatic Art and English.
Grassle spent two summers perfecting her stage performance in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and also appeared in one show under PBS productions. She also managed to make her debut on Broadway around that time.
Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video 
Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Sue Anderson, Melissa Gilbert, Lindsay Greenbush (1974), (FilmPublicityArchive / United Archives/Getty Images)
Grassle stumbled upon the role of her lifetime in 1974. Her casting as ‘Ma’ is most certainly what made her a nationwide household name. ‘Little House on the Prairie’ aired for nine consecutive seasons, coming to a conclusion in 1983. However, despite the fact that the show that made her famous was no longer airing, Grassle was determined to sustain her acting career and returned to Broadway and stage performances.
Her Broadway career included appearances in shows such as ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ and ‘Cabaret’ among others. Grassle even launched her own production company to explore more of her theatrical passion.
Over her career time, she took tours to places like New York, Kentucky, and Boston. She would soon land more roles in films such as ‘Wyatt Earp‘ and TV shows such as ‘Murder, She Wrote.’
According to Newsbreak, Grassle’s son eventually convinced her to go back to the big screen for another role at the age of 75. Grassle decided to go with it and consequently appeared in the 2017 horror film ‘Lasso.’ The presence of cowboys in the film must have reminded Grassle of her time on ‘Gunsmoke,’ but there were other new concerns she had about taking on the horror flick.
In an interview with Entertainment Focus, Grassle spoke about her role in the horror film:
“I liked Lillian’s ego. And I saw how I could embellish her with the help of the costumer who went with my ideas for her. A privileged lady who takes good care of herself. It was fun to plot her orange fingernails, her special Western look, and imagine the youth she spent with horses with her father.”
Karen Grassle (2014), (Michael Bezjian/WireImage/Getty Images)
Grassle did an exclusive interview with ‘Dread Central,’ in which she explained what attracted her to the 2017 thriller:
“So, the first thing that attracted me to [Lasso] was that it was a part. We like to work and work gets work, so it’s hard to turn things down…I hadn’t been to a horror movie in a very long time. She said, “I’m not sure, let me ask my husband. He loves them.” So, she asked her husband and he said, ‘Yeah, that’s not unusually extreme.’So, I was like, ‘I don’t… If I can barely read the script how can I do the movie?’ I thought it over and fretted about it; I worried about the exploitation of violence.”
Grassle went on to explain her son’s role in the decision:
“Finally, my son tells me, ‘Oh just do it, Mom. You’ll have fun! You’ll run screaming in the night!’ So, I said, ‘Okay, I’ll do it.’ It’s a total change for me.”
It’s no surprise that Grassle is talented enough to do a wide range of different roles, but she will probably most always be loved for her role as ‘Ma.’ The video below is an interview with Grassle on her time on ‘Little House on the Prarie.’ Needless to say, Grassle has come a long way since those days, but we’re happy to see her still rocking it at 82!
