Baby Grace from ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Overcame Brain Tumor: The Mom of 2 Tried to Live a ‘Normal’ Life

• Wendi Lou Lee and her twin sister Brenda became famous in Hollywood even before they started kindergarten.
• In 2015, Lee started experiencing excruciating headaches and confusion and later got a medical diagnosis.
• Lee said that as much as she enjoyed acting as a kid, she is grateful that her mom got her out of the show business scene.

Wendi Lou Lee and her twin sister Brenda starred in the hit series “Little House on the Prairie” from 1978 to 1982. The twins got their big break from Hollywood by playing Baby Grace even before they started kindergarten.

Lee said she landed the role of Baby Grace by chance. Her grandmother was having lunch with a casting director on the series when it came up in their conversation that they were searching for blonde-haired, blue-eyed twin girls.

The casting director wanted the twin girls to be six months old, and luckily Lee and her sister were that exact age. Her grandmother proposed the twins, and the executive producer thought they’d be great after seeing their pictures.

Lee’s mom accompanied them to the studio, and Michael Landon took one look at them and hired the twins. After “Little House on the Prairie” ended, Lee and her twin sister did a few gigs, but after seeing its toxic work culture, they left the show business, started kindergarten, and lived a normal life.

Today, Lee is a mother to two kids, whom she had with her husband, Josh Lee. In 2015, Lee went through a difficult health issue that began when she started experiencing terrible headaches, dizziness, and forgetfulness. Six weeks after these symptoms showed up, she received a diagnosis.

Doctors ordered a brain scan when Lee visited the hospital after suffering crazy headaches. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Lee was relieved when she was told that the brain tumor was operable. “I just felt like there was some kind of hope for me to finally get better,” she recalled.

The production team didn’t care if the twin girls were fed or well rested, as they only wanted them to work. Lee later said she was grateful her mom took them out of the acting scene.

Lee was operated on, and the surgery went well. However, recovery was difficult because she had to take care of her two children. She noted that the recovery road was hard as she couldn’t even go to the toilet alone.

She let other people take care of her kids, take them to school, and cook for her. “Recovery is being humble enough to let other people help you,” she noted. The former actress, who is a strong believer in God, said faith played a huge role in her recovery.

Lee trusted that God knew what He was doing in her life. In 2019, Lee said she was doing great but still struggled with some headaches. She added that she visited the hospital every August for doctors to check the surgery site and make sure all was well with her.

After “Little House on the Prairie” ended, Lee and her sister did an audition for McDonald’s commercial. The audition didn’t go well because the twins had never eaten a McDonald’s, and they didn’t even know who Ronald McDonald was.

Lee and her sister landed a role in their next audition. They acted with twin boys in one day of shooting. Their mom pulled them out after she realized no place in Hollywood would be like “Little House on the Prairie.”

The production team didn’t care if the twin girls were fed or well rested, as they only wanted them to work. Lee later said she was grateful her mom took them out of the acting scene. “I think we just wanted to be normal people,” she pointed out.

Lee doesn’t see herself getting back into acting. However, she and the cast of “Little House on the Prairie” reconnected in 2004. They then started doing events where they traveled to different places and did events for fans. These events help the cast keep the show’s legacy alive.

As much as Lee won’t go back to acting, she is still a public figure and has been busy writing. Her upcoming memoir, “Red Tail Feathers: Dare to Discover the Beauty of Grace,” will be released on August 13, 2023, and describes her health battle and unshakeable faith in God during her recovery.