- - “Little House on the Prairie” star Karen Grassle reveals Ma storyline she feared would 'ruin' her career

Ryan ColemanDecember 21, 2025 at 8:53 PM

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NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Arnold Jerocki/WireImage

Karen Grassle as Caroline 'Ma' Ingalls on 'Little House on the Prairie'; Grassle in 2024

Karen Grassle is beloved by generations of fans for her portrayal of Caroline "Ma" Ingalls, the wise and patient family matriarch on Little House on the Prairie. But she didn't always love the storylines the series' writers handed her.

The actress named one season 7 plot point centered around Ma that she took particular issue with at a recent 50th-anniversary reunion event for the show in Simi Valley, Calif.

"They wrote that Ma stopped having her period and she thought she was pregnant, and then they wrote that, no, no, she's going through menopause," Grassle said, per PEOPLE. "I was like, 'Give me a break.'"

Bud Gray/NBCU Photo Bank

Karen Grassle and Melissa Gilbert on 'Little House on the Prairie'

Grassle was recalling "I Do, Again," the 20th episode of season 7, which originally aired in 1981. In the episode, Caroline and her daughter Laura, played by series star Melissa Gilbert, both suspect that they are pregnant after certain telltale signs.

Ma is crushed when she ultimately discovers that she is experiencing the onset of menopause, not an early pregnancy. The Ingalls family then rally around her to prove that she's more than her nickname implies.

"They wrote that my purpose in life was going away, and I was like, 'No! No!'" Grassle recalled. "It's a wonderful thing to give birth, but give me a break."

Only 39 years old when the episode aired, Grassle said she feared that the storyline was "going to ruin my career."

Grassle remembered reasoning with herself at the time. "We're not supposed to judge our character," she said. "[We're] supposed to live within the character... Even if the person was a murderer, you would try to bring yourself into who they are."

But Ma's menopause proved difficult to play convincingly. "It was very hard for me to bring myself, my whole self, to the scene," she said. "I never did feel I did a good job... I had so much judgment. I had a hard time. It's interesting that they chose that."

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Karen Grassle as Caroline 'Ma' Ingalls on 'Little House on the Prairie'

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Little House on the Prairie ran for nine seasons on NBC, amassing a catalog of more than 200 episodes. Gilbert was the only core cast member to stay on the series as it transitioned from season 8 to season 9 with the new title Little House: A New Beginning.

Grassle has been open about her occasional frustrations with Little House decisions, recalling in September how she once proposed a major storyline for her character, imagining that if "tremendous amounts of pressure came to bear on Caroline" that she might have "had a nervous breakdown," which Grassle said "was not uncommon."

"The pressures on the pioneer women were so intense that sometimes they did have nervous breakdowns," she explained. "But, of course, the producers didn't want Caroline to have a nervous breakdown."

on Entertainment Weekly

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