Eve Plumb will always be remembered for her role as Jan Brady on The Brady Bunch, the awkward middle kid
who was always living in the shadow of her elder, more popular sister Marcia (‘Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!’).
Despite numerous attempts over the course of her career to remove herself from the child role that first
made her famous, audiences will always remember and adore Plumb for her classic portrayal of Jan.
At 64 years old, the actress still looks stunning and just debuted a new style on the red carpet. See pictures of Eve Plumb now and read about her career.
Brady Bunch and early career
Plumb started her acting career as a child, making appearances in TV commercials and programs like Lassie.
She was born on April 29, 1958, in Burbank, California. Plumb claims that she had no intention of becoming a kid star.
She told Closer Weekly, ‘It simply occurred.’ When I was a child, a children’s agency moved in next door to me, and I immediately began receiving commercials.
She played Jan on The Brady Bunch, one of television’s most recognizable programs ever, from 1969 through 1974.
Storylines frequently focused on Jan’s feelings of exclusion or sibling resentment because she personified the awkwardness and uncertainties of adolescence.
In one notable, frequently ridiculed episode, she invents a fictitious boyfriend named ‘George Glass.’
The Brady Family was a hit during its initial run and even more so in syndication. Plumb made numerous cameo appearances in sitcoms after the show ended.
In the television movies Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway and its sequel, she also portrayed an adolescent prostitute.
Following Brady Bunch
Although Plumb outgrew her role as a child star, many
people continued to refer to her as Jan Brady, which made it difficult for her to find her position in show business.
I was so successful as a kid, she said to Closer. But what happens after you stop being the cute kid as you get older? That might be really challenging if you’re not ready for it.
She was the only Brady Bunch cast member to not appear in the infamous variety show The Brady Bunch Hour;
‘Fake Jan’ Geri Reischl took her place. However, she was also reluctant to continue playing Jan Brady.
I don’t want to come out as ungrateful. In 1977, she remarked, ‘I liked the Brady Family years. ‘I gained a lot of knowledge, and working with the people was great.
Yet, at this point, I want to move on to other things and distinguish myself from the Brady group as an independent.I didn’t want to remain recognized as Jan Brady at the age of 32.
She did come back, though, to reprise her role as Jan Brady in the 1981 television movie The Brady Girls Get Married, which inspired the sitcom The Brady Brides.
Clearly, I was taken aback when they asked me to reprise my role as Jan, Plumb said to The Hollywood Reporter in 1981.
’I argued with myself about whether or not I should. Yet because it was such a novel and modern concept, I took the plunge.’
Eve Plumb right now
Plumb has continued to perform in a variety of non-Brady projects, including plays, a guest starring role on Law & Order:
SVU, and the role of Mrs. Murdoch in Grease Live. She’s been successful as a painter as well.
She has, however, come to terms with the fact that Jan Brady will always be her most well-known name.
To a lot of people, I’ll always be known as Jan Brady. She told Closer, ‘oI can’t escape it, but there are other things I can do. Isn’t [Jan] dead yet?’
As of this month, Eve Plumb will turn 65 years old. She’s still going strong and appears to be in excellent condition.
Fans have praised her fantastic appearance on social media after she debuted a new style with short hair at the Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies premiere recently.