Nellie Oleson from ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Is Still Happy with Her Husband of 30 Years Raised His Child

Congratulations to Alison Arngrim, star of the hit show “Little House on the Prairie,” who is celebrating her 61st birthday. The actress portrayed the character of Nelli Oleson, a generally hostile character widely loathed by audiences. Besides the popular TV show, Arngrim has numerous projects to her name, including stage work.

Arngrim was born on January 18, 1962, in New York. Her parents were also in the film industry, with her mom voicing Casper in the film “Casper the Friendly Ghost.” Her father, on the other hand, was a Hollywood manager. Arngrim was immersed in the Hollywood culture and lifestyle since childhood, and she became famous at a young age.

Alison Arngrim as Nellie Oleson, circa 1980 | Source: Getty Images

Although “Little House on the Prairie” gave her career a running start, she often looks back at her childhood stardom with slight disdain and has taken to using her fame to do good. Recently, the actress has traded her bustling life of fame for a calmer life with her husband, Robert Paul Schoonover.

As with many excellent antagonists, viewers of “Little House on the Prairie” often struggled to separate Arngrim from her on-screen persona.

Arngrim and Schoonover met each other at the AIDS Project Los Angeles, where she volunteered. At the time, Schoonover was working as the director of the Southern California AIDS Hotline. After they met, Arngrim and Schoonover dated for a while and eventually married in 1993.

Alison Arngrim at Sierra Madre Playhouse on December 16, 2016 in Sierra Madre, California | Source: Getty Images

Schoonover and Arngrim’s marriage was slightly unconventional, with Arngrim choosing to wed in a tuxedo. Schoonover also wore a tuxedo, and the two were photographed smiling broadly in their matching attire. Arngrim is the stepmother to Schoonover’s daughter, while her husband works as a musician.

Schoonover is Arngrim’s second husband. She was married to Donald Mark Spencer from 1989 to 1993, but the marriage sadly ended in divorce. Recently, Arngrim has taken to speaking out against injustice and spreading awareness about pervasive social issues.

Alison Arngrim Became an Activist after Little House on the Prairie

As with many excellent antagonists, viewers of “Little House on the Prairie” often struggled to separate Arngrim from her on-screen persona. The disdain fans felt for her character often translated into real life, and Arngrim shared that she even had things thrown at her during a Christmas parade.

Meanwhile, her managers suggested a radical solution to her problem.

Arngrim has been working in showbusiness since she was six years old, so the distinction between her real life and her TV character was easy to maintain, even though fans couldn’t quite see the difference. While growing up, she tried to preserve her regular life by staying enrolled in public school and keeping her regular friends.

Alison Arngrim and Robert Paul Schoonover on their wedding day, November 6 1993 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images

As she grew older, though, Arngrim increasingly grew out of the role of Nellie Oleson. Despite the tremendous fame and recognizability the hit TV show offered her, she wanted to set her sights on other projects but was haunted by her TV alter-ego. When “Little House” inevitably ended, she struggled to find new roles.

She tried to change her image with “Fantasy Island” but could never shake her reputation. Over the years, work dwindled, and her hopes of maintaining a stellar acting career seemed threatened. She had to think of something to ensure she wouldn’t end up completely jobless, so she decided to embrace her role. She reminisced:

“I remember thinking, ‘Hmm, I’m not working much.’ Instead of fighting it, I decided to grab Nellie and run with her and never look back.”

Meanwhile, her managers suggested a radical solution to her problem. Much to Arngrim’s chagrin, they wanted her to get plastic surgery so she wouldn’t be as strongly associated with her previous character. She outright refused and decided to innovate by using her reputation to her benefit instead.

She found a hugely supportive audience among male members of the gay community, and she welcomed their support with open arms. She started doing shows with gay and drag icons and advocated for gay rights. It helped that she understood the struggles gay men faced, seeing as her best friend, Steve Tracy, was part of the community.

In fact, her friendship with Tracy is largely what drove her to use her celebrity to raise awareness about sexual health. After Tracy was diagnosed with AIDS and opened up to her about it, he educated her on the disease. She became increasingly involved with support programs and research initiatives.

Steve Tracy as Percival Isaac Cohen Dalton, Alison Arngrim as Nellie Oleson Dalton, 1980 | Source: Getty Images

These days, Arngrim is still involved with many different AIDS organizations, and her involvement led to her meeting the love of her life and her current husband, Schoonover. She has opened up about her life as a child actor and her work as social rights advocate through her writing, and she spends her life happily with her family.

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