Karen Grassle

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Karen Grassle, known around the world for her iconic role as “Ma” on Little House on the Prairie, grew up in Ventura, California. Raised by hardworking people undercut by the alcoholism of her father, Karen graduated from UC Berkeley and attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on a Fulbright Grant. She went on to a theatre career in New York and in cities across the US.

She co-wrote and starred in the TV film, Battered, and is known for her advocacy on behalf of equality for women. In the last 15 years, Karen Grassle has appeared in plays locally and out of state, as well as in three indie films.

She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and takes pleasure in her relationship with her son, Zach Radford, and in gardening. BRIGHT LIGHTS, PRAIRIE DUST is her first book.