Melissa Sue Anderson was very much like her most famous character, Mary Ingalls -- a quiet, slightly shy girl who would rather read a book than climb a tree. Her show business career got underway when a dance teacher urged her parents to find an agent for her. She began doing TV commercials, and the blond, blue-eyed beauty was in great demand for roles; she appeared in episodes of "The Brady Bunch" (1969)_ and Shaft (1973). During the production of "Little House on the Prairie," and after leaving the show, she starred in several films and made-for-TV movies. She continues to pursue an active acting career and published her autobiography, "The Way I See It," in 2009.
