Alison Arngrim, USA
Alison Arngrim is an American actress, author, philanthropist, and advocate for the protection of children from abuse, exploitation, and neglect.
At five years old, Alison began her television career and is best known for her portrayal of Nellie Olsen on the NBC television series, “Little House on the Prairie.”
In this episode, Alison discusses
– her experiences of being a child actor and growing up in a family where working in show business was the norm,
– having a slow-down in bookings at eleven years old, prompting her father to tell her that her acting career might be over,
– at twelve years old, being cast as Nellie Olsen in “Little House on the Prairie”,
– after years of being famous, doing shows and personal appearances, finding ways to schedule downtime and relax,
– how stardom affects people’s expectations of her in social gatherings,
– beginning her comedy career at fifteen years old, at the height of her popularity on Little House on the Prairie, by writing a comedy act with a group called The Village Idiots and performing in Los Angeles clubs and coffee houses four nights a week,
– beginning to her philanthropic work at twelve years old then, in the 1980s, when the actor Steve Trace went public with his AIDS diagnosis, volunteering to support the AIDS Project Los Angeles,
– in the early 2000s, becoming involved with a newly formed The National Association to Protect Children (protect.org), working with Congress and many States to enact legislation to rescue children, combat child exploitation and human trafficking, support cutting-edge technology, and increase government accountability and transparency,
– going public with her own abuse as a child,
– now serving as President of The Board of Directors of The National Association to Protect Children,
– and encouraging us all to use our strengths and our weaknesses.
