Jennifer Runyon was best known for her role in the TV series Charles in Charge and the big screen blockbuster Ghostbusters, but the beloved actress was also once a Brady. In 1988, she played Cindy Brady in the highly rated A Very Brady Christmas TV movie.
Runyon died on March 6 at age 65, surrounded by her loved ones, according to TMZ. No cause of death was confirmed, but Runyon’s longtime friend, Bewitched star Erin Murphy, wrote that the actress had battled cancer.
In 1988, fans were surprised to see Runyon in A Very Brady Christmas in the role originated by Susan Olsen in the original Brady Bunchsitcom. Olsen played youngest child, Cindy, from 1969 to 1974 on the ABC sitcom and in a short-lived variety show and Brady Brides spinoff.
All of the other original cast members reunited to reprise their roles in the holiday movie, which aired Dec. 18, 1988, on CBS, including Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, and Mike Lookinland.
In a video interview on Nosti’s Nook, Runyon explained that Olsen was unavailable to film the Brady Christmas movie because she was on her honeymoon. “I met with the producers and the director and they hired me,” Runyon explained. “And I don’t know anybody who would not want to be a Brady once in their life. So, it was fun.“
She added that there were no hard feelings from Olsen, who jokingly called her “Christmas Cindy.”
In the book Brady, Brady, Brady: The Complete Story of The Brady Bunch, producers Sherwood and Lloyd Schwartz explained, “[We had to recast] Cindy for this movie. Susan Olsen, in real life, was getting married at the time of the filming, so she was replaced as Cindy by Jennifer Runyon. Susan also wanted the same amount of money as Maureen and Eve, who now got more money than the other kids since they had starred in the previous The Brady Girls Get Married and The Brady Brides. I couldn’t blame Susan, but if she got equal money, so would Barry, Chris, and Mike, and the budget couldn’t sustain that. Susan chose to have her honeymoon.”
Jennifer Runyon fit right in with the ‘80s Bradys
In an interview with cultfilmfreak.com (per MeTV), Olsen praised Runyon for taking on the role of the youngest Brady child, who was in college in the Christmas movie script.
“When I saw ‘Cindy’ seated at the children’s table, I thought ‘Better her than me!’“The Brady Bunch alum said of Runyon’s appearance in a family dinner scene in the movie. “I think Jennifer is much prettier than I am, so I was OK with her as a replacement,” Olsen added. “She’s totally nice and got out of the business to be a mom. I think she’s great.”
Henderson, who played matriarch Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch, told Arizona Daily Sun that it “felt strange” to reunite with the cast more than a decade after the original series ended.
“The kids are all grown,” she said, per MeTV. “The house has been redecorated. I’m into real estate now. Mike’s still an architect. One son‘s a doctor, one’s a race car driver, and one works in an office. Plus, there are three grandchildren. Can you believe that?”
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.