Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush, former child stars, started their acting careers at the young age of three when they co-starred as Jill Hayden in the film “Sunshine.” However, although they were still young, their fame gradually diminished.
Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush initially gained notoriety as child actors in the 1973 movie “Sunshine,” in which they played three-year-old Jill Hayden.
Later, the pair met actor and producer Michael Landon, who chose them to play Carrie Ingalls together in “Little House on the Prairie.”
The twins were suggested by a producer to play Carrie, the youngest daughter. Finally, Landon (who played Charles Ingalls) signed the girls right away after meeting them.
The siblings were adored by viewers of the venerable program, but their success declined over the course of their lives. In recent years, Sidney and Lindsay slowly faded from view and maintained a low profile. They chose different routes.
Sidney revealed to The Malibu Times in January 2015 that her family first moved by Point Dume in 1977 before moving up Deer Creek in the early 1970s.
The 52-year-old explained that mansions were less expensive back then since Malibu wasn’t a city but rather a part of Los Angeles that had been incorporated.
Billy Greenbush, an actor best known for his roles in “Five Easy Pieces,” “Jason Goes to Hell,” and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” is their father. Sidney revealed that neither their mother nor father wanted her or her sister to pursue a career in acting:
“My parents had no plan to get any of their kids into performing,” says the author.
However, when a director called in looking for twins, Billy’s pal suggested his daughters. The children were accompanied to the interview by their mother, Carole Bush, and were offered the part of Jill in Joseph Sargent’s film “Sunshine.”
“Michael brought us to his office without my mother when we went for the interview to see what we would do. My sister and I were unfazed by it.”
Sidney stated that she and her sister would not have had the opportunity to appear on the enduring “Little House” had their mother not driven them to the interview and to work on a daily.
According to their grade level, Sidney explained, they had a particular amount of work to complete. The two had to stay behind until their school hours were finished, even if they had finished filming for the day. The sisters requested chores in advance since they were aware of their film schedule:
“On the days we were filming, we would ask our teachers for the assignments, finish them on the set, and submit them when we got home. We had to maintain good marks since we had to renew our work licenses each year.”
There was little time for Lindsay and Sidney to appear on screen together because they alternated in the role. However, they finally appeared side-by-side in an episode titled “Godsister” in that series.
Carrie was shown in the episode, first aired on December 18, 1978, to be heartbroken and to be lonely after her Pa left for a month of work.
To ease her pain, she made up the character of Alyssa. For those characters as well, the twins switched roles. The sitcom hung around the top 20 for seasons 4 through 7.
Landon ran a tight ship, and things were hard for Sidney and Lindsay. Lindsay explained to People magazine how he made the encounter challenging for them in 2001:
“For us, Michael never made it enjoyable. I was constantly terrified of making a mistake.”
The fact that Carrie didn’t grow up on the program was one of the most difficult aspects of the role. Producers provided lines for the character that would have been appropriate for a much younger child because they wanted the character to remain a young girl, according to Sidney.
Sidney and Lindsay departed “Little House” after eight seasons because they grew weary of taking on the same character time and time again. The TV program’s ratings have likewise dropped.
After that season was over, the twins decided to part ways. The program was relaunched as “Little House: A New Beginning” for its ninth season. The spinoff, which was canceled a few months later, didn’t receive much attention from the twins’ and their co-stars’ fans, though.
Lindsay and Sidney had trouble securing acceptable parts after their time on “Little House” in 1982. In 1983, Lindsay played a victim of abuse in “Matt Houston” as a guest role.
She made an attempt to get the Dorothy Gale role in “Return to Oz” through an audition. Sadly, the producers decided against using her because they thought she was too elderly.
On the other side, in 1984’s “Hillie and Hambone,” her sister Sidney played Amy McVickers opposite the late Alan Hale. With the exception of sporadic little roles, the twins eventually faded from view.
Sidney was married to William “Rocky” Foster for nine years until he committed suicide. Sidney was three minutes older than her sibling. At her ranch in Little Rock, California, she currently competes in women’s professional rodeo and trains and sells horses. According to her sibling, she is not active on social media.
After her spouse passed away, Sidney didn’t remarry and never had children. She also works as a sales system administrator for a home builder in the IT sector:
“I never imagined having a job in IT, but that’s what I do,”
In addition, Lindsay is employed by the Kid Gloves Boxing Foundation. In 2014, she got divorced from her husband and wed Daniel Sanchez a second time.
Because of “Little House,” the couple got together in 1977 while the episode “The Wolves” was being filmed. Lindsay noticed Sanchez, a young boy who lived nearby, visiting the set as she was taking a nap in the shade of an oak tree.
Lindsay reflected on the time in March 2019 and posted a picture of the venue with attendees on the event day on Twitter. She admitted that when they first met, she was seven years old.
On Twitter, Lindsay and Sanchez shared old pictures from their big day to mark their wedding anniversary in July 2018.
“Since you entered my life, living has been such a magnificent journey. You make my soul richer.”
The couple’s son had been sent to Malibu with his crew to restore electricity, and Lindsay shared a snapshot of him at work to show how pleased she was of him.
“To us kids, dad was Superman, so it’s still difficult to imagine him not being here. Nothing could ever happen to him; he was the exception.”
Actress Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls, said the conclusion of inhabitants burning up Walnut Grove’s land offered them closure when the show finished with a two-hour finale in February 1984.
Actress Karen Grassle, who played Caroline Ingalls, concurred and called it unfortunate. “The characters may have been the subject of yearly specials. But you can’t do that after you blow up the town “She remarked. Lindsay revealed that she had been unable to see the program up to that point.