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Susan Olsen is an American actress born August 14, 1961, best known for playing Cindy Brady on The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974. After acting, she worked in graphic design, radio hosting, and animal advocacy. Her net worth is estimated at $2 million in 2024.
Susan Marie Olsen was born in Santa Monica, California, on August 14, 1961. She grew up as the youngest of four children in the Olsen family, with parents Lawrence and DeLoice. Before landing her career-defining role, Susan appeared in several television shows, including Ironside, Gunsmoke, and Julia. She also had a small part in Elvis Presley’s 1968 film The Trouble With Girls, playing a young singer in a contest.
At just under eight years old, Susan auditioned for and won the role that would define her career. She beat out other young actresses to become Cindy Brady, the youngest child in television’s most famous blended family.
Susan played Cindy Brady for all five seasons of The Brady Bunch, which aired from 1969 to 1974 on ABC. The show followed a blended family with six children and became a cultural phenomenon that still resonates today.
Playing Cindy wasn’t always easy for young Susan. The character’s signature trait was her lisp, which the show’s creators emphasized. Years later, Susan had surgery to correct the speech impediment that had become so famous. She’s been open about feeling that Cindy was written as too naive and simple, though she adapted to the role with her mother’s encouragement.
One particular episode caused real problems in Susan’s personal life. In a second-season episode, Cindy constantly tattles on her siblings. After it aired, Susan’s real-life peers shunned her at school. They couldn’t separate the actress from her character, making friendships difficult during her childhood years.
Susan also voiced Cindy in The Brady Kids, an animated Saturday morning cartoon that ran from 1972 to 1974. This gave her early experience in voice acting, a skill she’d use later in her career.
Susan appeared in most Brady Bunch reunion projects over the decades. She signed on for The Brady Bunch Variety Hour in 1976, a variety show that lasted nine episodes. In 1981, she reprised her role in The Brady Brides television movie.
The 1990 CBS series The Bradys featured Susan as an adult Cindy, now working in radio. The show lasted just six episodes. She was notably absent from the 1988 TV movie A Very Brady Christmas because she was on her honeymoon with her first husband, Steve Ventimiglia. Actress Jennifer Runyon played Cindy in that production.
In 2019, Susan joined the surviving Brady Bunch cast for A Very Brady Renovation on HGTV. The show renovated the actual house used for exterior shots in the original series. Two years later, she appeared with several Brady co-stars in the 2021 Lifetime Christmas movie Blending Christmas.
After graduating from William H. Taft High School in 1979, Susan’s acting roles became scarce outside of Brady reunions. She made a major career shift into graphic design, working professionally throughout the 1990s. In 1998, she briefly marketed a line of glow-in-the-dark shoes for Converse.
Radio became another outlet for Susan. She co-hosted a show at the Los Angeles station KLSX from 1995 to 1996 with Ken Ober. In 2000, she worked with comedian Allan Havey on another radio project at Comedy World. Years later, she hosted “Two Chicks Talkin’ Politics” on LA Talk Radio until her departure in 2016.
Susan’s work extended to sound design as well. She created spaceship sound effects for the adult film Love Probe from a Warm Planet, which later fueled urban legends about her involvement in adult entertainment. She clarified the truth in interviews during the late 1990s.
Susan Olsen’s net worth is estimated at around $2 million in 2024. This wealth comes from multiple sources across her varied career.
Her Brady Bunch work continues generating income through residuals from the show’s endless syndication. The series has never stopped airing somewhere in the world since it ended in 1974. Reunion specials and movies added to her earnings over the years.
Her graphic design business provided steady income through the 1990s and 2000s. Radio work, though not as lucrative as television, contributed additional funds. Recent projects like A Very Brady Renovation and Blending Christmas brought new paychecks and introduced her to younger audiences.
While $2 million is modest compared to current television stars, it reflects a career built on one iconic role supplemented by smart career pivots and consistent work across five decades.
Susan married Steve Ventimiglia in 1988. The couple divorced in 1990 after two years of marriage. Her second marriage to Mitch Markwell began in 1995 and produced one child. This marriage ended in divorce in 2004.
She maintains relationships with most of her Brady Bunch co-stars. The cast has reunited numerous times over the years for various projects and appearances. These relationships have lasted more than 50 years, creating genuine bonds beyond their fictional family.
At 63 years old, Susan lives in California and stays connected with fans through social media. She maintains an active presence on Instagram, where she shares updates about her life and projects.
Animal rights became a central focus of Susan’s adult life. She serves on the board of directors for Precious Paws, a nonprofit rescue organization. In 2008, she competed on Fox Reality’s Gimme My Reality Show to raise awareness for animal rescue causes.
At the 2009 GSN Awards, Susan publicly thanked Bob Barker for his animal rights work when the Brady cast accepted their award. Her advocacy extends to speaking engagements and fundraising for various animal welfare groups.
Susan also advocates for migraine sufferers. She appeared on Larry King Live to discuss her own struggles with severe headaches and the need for better treatment options.
In 2012, she contributed artwork to an exhibit inspired by Kelly Thomas, a homeless man with schizophrenia who died after an encounter with police. Her piece, titled “Still Life,” showed a half-eaten donut in blood beside a flashlight, making a powerful statement about police violence.
In December 2016, Susan lost her radio show “Two Chicks Talkin’ Politics” after a Facebook dispute with openly gay actor Leon Acord-Whiting. He had criticized her on another station. Susan responded with profane messages that included slurs.
Acord-Whiting accused her of homophobia and lobbied LA Talk Radio to fire her. The station removed her from the show. Susan later told Fox News in 2019 that she’d “been the subject of fake news” and claimed she “never got fired,” contradicting reports from the time.
The incident damaged her public image and limited some professional opportunities. It remains the most discussed controversy of her career.
At 63, Susan continues working in entertainment while maintaining her advocacy efforts. She makes occasional appearances at pop culture conventions and Brady Bunch events where fans still line up to meet Cindy Brady.
Her social media accounts stay active with posts about her life, political views, and animal welfare causes. She shares throwback photos from The Brady Bunch along with current updates about her projects.
Recent years saw her participate in nostalgia-driven projects that celebrate 1970s television. The success of A Very Brady Renovation proved that public interest in The Brady Bunch remains strong five decades after the show ended.
Cindy Brady became more than just a television character. The youngest Brady child represented the idealized American family of the early 1970s. Her blonde curls, lisp, and innocent personality made her instantly recognizable.
In 2005, VH1 ranked Susan as the 34th greatest kid star in television and film history. This recognition came more than 30 years after The Brady Bunch ended, proving the character’s lasting impact.
The Brady Bunch won a TV Pop Culture Award at the 2007 TV Land Awards. This was one of the few formal awards the show ever received, coming decades after the cancellation showed how deeply the series influenced American pop culture.
Susan has mixed feelings about playing Cindy. She’s grateful for the opportunities it created but wishes the character had more depth. In interviews, she’s acknowledged that Cindy was written as overly simple and naive, though she made peace with those creative choices.
The role opened doors that might have otherwise stayed closed. It gave her financial security, lifelong friendships with her co-stars, and a permanent place in television history. Even her post-acting careers in graphic design and radio benefited from the name recognition that came with being Cindy Brady.
Today, The Brady Bunch continues finding new audiences through streaming services and cable reruns. Young viewers discover Cindy Brady for the first time while older fans revisit their childhood. Susan Olsen’s performance remains a touchstone of 1970s family television, ensuring her work will outlive her as new generations discover America’s most famous blended family.
