Florence Henderson Wore a Wig in the Early Episodes of “The Brady Bunch ”57 Years Ago — Here’s Why

Michelle LeeMon, September 28, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Florence Henderson in ‘The Brady Bunch’; Florence Henderson in ‘South Pacific’Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Courtesy Everett Collection -

The Brady Bunch premiered on ABC on Sept. 26, 1969, and is celebrating its 57th anniversary this month

Florence Henderson played Carol Brady, who was mother to three daughters and three step-sons, and was most known for her “bubble” hairstyle

Sherwood Schwartz previously revealed that Henderson had to wear a wig in the show’s early episodes

Here’s a story about a lovely lady.

Florence Henderson began playing one of the most iconic sitcom characters to date when she stepped into the shoes of Carol Brady in Sherwood Schwartz’s The Brady Bunch in 1969.

The series’ five-season run and its spin-offs focused on the playful dynamic between Carol, her second husband Mike (Robert Reed) and their blended family of eight — well, nine if you count their live-in housekeeper Alice Nelson (who was played by Ann B. Davis). But, throughout the years, Henderson’s role became recognizable by one asset in particular: her hair.

Carol’s fashionable ‘70s costumes were always accompanied by a bubble-shaped haircut, which varied in length throughout the years and always maintained its poufy volume. But while Henderson — who died when she was 82 on Nov. 24, 2016, after being hospitalized for heart failure — maintained a similar style in her personal life, it’s true that she actually wore a wig while filming the early episodes of the show.

Robert Reed, Susan Olsen, and Florence Henderson in ‘The Brady Bunch’Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Schwartz, who produced and created The Brady Bunch in addition to Gilligan’s Island, reportedly revealed in his and his son’s book Brady, Brady, Brady, thatHenderson wore a hairpiece in the first season to make up for a shorter haircut she had while participating in the 1967 production of South Pacific and then 1970’s TheSong of Norway, which actually delayed Henderson from filming The Brady Bunch.

“Not only did we film the first six episodes without her, she had to wear a wig until her hair was right for the show,” Schwartz revealed in a snippet shared by television network MeTV.

Henderson spoke about the costume in a 2004 interview conducted for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Legacy Collection, saying she had this “real short bleached blonde hair.”

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“So I had to wear a wig for several months, and I call that my bubble ‘do. My hairdos on that show were something, and the clothes, we don’t even go there. What were we thinking? Plaids and stripes...”

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Accommodations and adjustments weren’t just made to Henderson’s wardrobe.

In 2010, the actress told the Archive of American Television that the show was picked up as she was filming overseas, so instead of delaying production altogether, Schwartz, production and the cast filmed the first six episodes around its main matriarch.

“I had to catch up,” Henderson said. “I was meeting myself coming and going for days until I caught up with them. The rest is TV history. I don’t quite understand it, but there you have it!”

‘The Brady Bunch’Credit: Silver Screen Collection/Getty

And Schwartz had faith in her for a reason. “In a way, I became sort of the stability of the show,” Henderson recalled. “And I think Sherwood saw that — that I could be very funny but also bring the empathy or what is necessary for a show like that to make it. That the audience really cares about these people. I think that’s what I was able to bring and still stay within the framework of what he envisioned for the show.”

She insisted Carol was painted as a relatable character for young mothers out there and pushed for progressive scenes not often seen on television. “For instance, I would never wear an apron,” she said. “They tried to make me wear an apron. I wanted to wear sexy nightgowns because we were the first couple to sleep in the same bed on television, so I wanted to make her as human as possible.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”