Susan Marie Olsen, born on the 14th of August, 1961, is an American actress, pop artist and animal care advocate, popularly known for her role as Cindy in the classic television show “The Brady Bunch”.
So how much is Olsen’s net worth? As of early 2016 it is reported to be $1 million, gained mostly from her years in television, her works as an artist and talk show host.
Susan Olsen Net Worth $1 Million Dollars
Born in Santa Monica, California, Olsen came from a family of actors, and three of her other siblings work in front the camera. At the early age of 14 months old, Olsen was already appearing in various commercials, and at the age of 5 she has already a couple of cameo roles under her belt. Some of the projects she did include “Gunsmoke”, “Julia”, “Ironside” and even worked with Elvis Presley in his movie “The Trouble with Girls”. Although these bit roles already helped get her young career going, and her wealth as well, her real break came when she turned 8 years old.
While attending Wilbur Avenue Elementary School, Olsen auditioned for an upcoming comedy television show “The Brady Bunch”. Olsen got the part of the youngest daughter of what would become one of the most well-known families in American television. The show ran for just five seasons, but its theme of family values became a hit among audiences and went into syndication in 1975. The success of “The Brady Bunch” also placed Olsen in the spotlight, now known to be one of the best child actresses of her time. The show also helped her net worth tremendously.
After “The Brady Bunch”, Olsen attended William Howard Taft Charter High School and also honed her acting skills in the Hollywood Professional School. Even though she was studying, because of the popularity of “The Brady Bunch”, Olsen along with the other members of the show went on to create several reunion specials including a spin-off series “The Brady Bunch Hour”, which only lasted for a season, and a number of made-for-television movies like “The Brady Girls Get Married” (1981) and “The Brady Brides” (1981). Her inclusion in these reunion projects also increased her wealth.
After her era of being a Brady, Olsen pursued her passion for the arts. She became a graphic artist working for various designers, until she created her own company, Man In Space, in which she developed a sneaker that glows in the dark for the shoe company Converse. Her works as an artist like “Fluffart” and “The Art of Rescue” have also been featured in various galleries and fund raisers.
In 1995, Olsen became part of a morning radio show with Ken Ober entitled “Ober and Olsen” at the radio station KLSX. She also returned in television and appeared in various shows like “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”, “Larry King Live” and “Gimme My Reality Show” to name a few. In 2009 she also released a coffee table book “Love to Love You Bradys: the Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour”, a satirical look back on the show that made her a star. All of her other endeavours also helped in maintaining her net worth and visibility.
In terms of her personal life, Olsen has been married to comedian Chris Fonseca since 2009. Olsen has one son, a product of her previous marriage to Mitch Markwel(1995-2004). She was also married to Steve Ventimiglia(1988-90). Susan is a known advocate for people who deal with migraine, Asperger syndrome, and also works with Precious Paws, a rescue group for animals.
TV Land Most Memorable Mane Award, TV Land Favorite Singing Siblings Award
Movies
"The Brady Bunch" (1969-1974), “Julia”, “Ironside”, “The Trouble with Girls”, Gunsmoke (1968-69), "The Boy Who Stole the Elephant" (1970), "Pacific Blue" (1999), "Holiday Road Trip" (2013)
TV Shows
"The Brady Girls Get Married" (1981), "The Brady Bunch Hour" (1976-1977), "The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie" (1972), “Ober and Olsen”, “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”, “Larry King Live”, “Gimme My Reality Show”
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Quote
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[Of Robert Reed]: I don't know what one thing Robert Reed had to do to keep calm, but I do know that he was very, very calm, nice and good to us kids, and we were never aware of the problems that he was creating with the producers, he never let that show. Oh, and he did very much, and I got to say that he was really good about that and it's only been [as an adult] that I've learned 'Did you saw all guys?' When I grow up and I did the last carnation of The Brady Bunch (1969), with the original cast, which was called The Bradys (1990), I got to watch Bob have a hissy fit, and I admired the guy so much. He was such a wonderful actor. There are so many reasons to go, 'Well, of course, this wonderful Shakespearean actor is stuck on this wretched sitcom, and it's so silly and stupid', I got to witness some of the dumb stuff he was having a fit about. He had an absolute tirade over Ann B. Davis [who played "Alice"], she had to walk in the door with a lit birthday cake, singing 'Happy Birthday'. OK, well there's a Brady moment for you, 'Well, Bob's going, there's no way he's could light those candles and not have the door blow them out and come in here all by herself, who cares, who cares? And he walked off the set, after that. It was just anything he could find, yeah, but it was the first time I saw him witnessed getting mad.
2
[on her on- and off-screen chemistry with Robert Reed, who played Mike Brady]: Robert Reed, for all the complaining he did about The Brady Bunch (1969), this is the man that walked unto the set, refused to do lines about "Strawberry's Smelling Good when they're Cooked", because strawberries don't have an odor, when they're cooked, and this is the guy that's willing to do anything for Sid & Marty Krofft, wearing a bunny suit, wear dresses, sing and dance. Well, if you watch, there's one segment where he gets to play a retarded Christopher Columbus, and he's in his element, he loved broad comedy, loved it, and nobody knew that he did that. That was the reason why he wanted to do the show, I think it was for the comedy sketches.
3
[When asked if Robert Reed was very uncomfortable with his own personality]: No. He was uncomfortable, probably in the same way that I was uncomfortable, this annoying that I wasn't good at it, and he knew, he kind of had 2 left feet, and he couldn't sing, but he wanted to do it. So, he was finding it very interesting. He took it on like another performance adventure. He was a real actor, so he thought it'd be fun, and certainly, when it come to doing the comedy and particularly, the broad sketch comedy, he was having a ball!! He was having more fun than anybody on the set, etc. for when he was dancing --- it looked like he was enjoying it, but was in pain.
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I think in order to have eternal life, you have to have a soul, and the soul of the show is that we all really did love each other. I think that really came across.
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[Of her autistic child]: We went swimming last night and my son did so well, socially, we're making a habit of this.
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[on working on various The Brady Bunch (1969) reunion specials]: We missed each other. I think the idea of working together again was appealing.
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I would rather be at Reggae Sunsplash, which happens once a year, than doing some horrible Brady Bunch reunion.
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Fact
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An L.A. radio show called "Ober and Olsen" with Ken Ober.
Once worked as an illustrator for children's books.
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She is still best known for her role as Cindy Brady, the youngest of three sisters, on The Brady Bunch (1969).
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Olsen launched a coffee table book in 2009 entitled, "Love to Love You Bradys: the bizarre story of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour." The publication is a satirical and benevolent look back the Bradys' 1976-1977 variety show that was named to TV Guide's top five 'Worst Shows of All-Time' in 2002.