- - “Little House” Star Rachel Greenbush Reflects on ‘Tragic Loss’ of Leaving the Series at Age 12

Victoria Edel, Yamillah HurtadoDecember 29, 2025 at 12:28 PM

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Rachel or Sidney Greenbush with Michael Landon (left); Rachel Greenbush in 2016 (right) -

Rachel Greenbush opened up about the 'tragic loss' of leaving Little House on the Prairie at age 12 after spending her childhood on the show

The actress shared the role of Carrie Ingalls with her twin sister Sidney until the character left the series in season eight

Rachel said she didn't let herself unpack the loss she felt until she was an adult

Rachel Greenbush joined the Little House on the Prairie family at the age of 3 — which made it particularly devastating when she left the series at age 12.

Rachel and her twin sister Sidney, now 55, starred together on Little House, sharing the role of Carrie Ingalls, the younger sister of Melissa Gilbert’s Laura Ingalls Wilder. They were credited under one name, Lindsay Sidney Greenbush, implying that one actor played the role.

Rachel opened up about her time on the series during a conversation at the Little House on the Prairie Final 50th Anniversary Reunion at the Strathearn Historical Park in Simi Valley, Calif., on Dec. 12. Rachel and her sister joined the show during the pilot — a TV movie that aired in 1974. When season one went into production, they had turned 4. Most of the Ingalls family, including Carrie, Michael Landon’s Charles “Pa” Ingalls and Karen Grassle’s Caroline “Ma” Ingalls, left the series after season eight, which wrapped in 1982.

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Karen Grassle (top) and Rachel or Sidney Greenbush on 'Little House on the Prairie'

During the conversation, moderator Pamela Bob, cohost of the Little House 50 podcast, asked Rachel about adjusting to the show’s ending after spending her “entire childhood” on the show.

“It's a really strange thing about acting and all actors know it, that it's not forever, that you don't know if it's going to get renewed for another season,” she said. “You're always on pins and needles, ‘Are we coming back? Are we not coming back?’ ”

She said that even though “logically” you know that fact, “Your heart feels like it's never going to end. This is never going to end.”

So when her time on the series did end, she said, “I don't think I really realized how much it affected me until I was much older and went on the journey of reconciliation and self-discovery.” When she left the show after season eight, “Everybody separated and I didn't see anybody. And that was really hard for me personally because I didn't realize how connected I had been to everybody until years later.” She compared it to parents getting a divorce and not seeing your family anymore.

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From left: Rachel Greenbush as Carrie, Wendi Turnaugh, Missy Francis and Jason Bateman in 'Little House on the Prairie'

“It's almost a tragic loss, but I wouldn't let myself acknowledge it because I was like, ‘But this is the profession. This is what we do,’ ” she said. “You make these really deep intense bonds working with each other every single day and then when it's over you're just supposed to be like, ‘Okay, that was nice. Bye.’ And it's really hard that way.”

Bob pointed out that working on the show was the “only” thing Rachel knew. She said it was also difficult because, while making the show, she would attend school on set with children of the crew. Once she left the show, “All of a sudden, I'm not going to see them in school anymore. . . . In fact, I probably got along better with them in school than in my regular school because they understood the industry.”

Bob also asked how her time on the show influenced her life after, Rachel said working on the series shaped her values and dependability. “If I tell you I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it,” she said. “And you can count on me to do that because I gave my word that I'm going to do it. If I can't do it, I will call you and say, ‘Hey, by the way, something's come up,’ but I will never leave you hanging and just not show up. That's something that I learned in my childhood because Michael he wanted us to be prepared and he was depending on us to be little working actors.”

She also said the “morals” of the Little House story “can't help but rub off on you” while making the show as a child.

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”