Which Brady Kid Got the Most Fan Mail on ‘The Brady Bunch’? The Answer is Surprising

Dave Sundstrom September 5, 12:00 pm

Still image of the Brady Bunch Kids Mike Lookinland, Christopher Knight, Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb, Susan Olsen on-set, on Season 1, ep. 115, which aired January 9, 1970, Where are they now? — Everett Collection

What To Know

A surprising Brady kid received more fan mail than all their on-screen siblings combined.
The show’s enduring appeal is attributed to its warmth, innocence, and portrayal of family dynamics, continuing to attract audiences decades after its original run.

Which Brady kid was the favorite and got the most fan mail during that show’s run? It is a question that has, without a doubt, been debated among hardcore fans of The Brady Bunch TV series repeatedly over the decades. Could it be Greg (Barry Williams), the charming and very self-confident oldest son? Or perhaps it was Marcia (Maureen McCormick), the popular and beautiful older sister?

According to a 1979 article that appeared in the Palm Beach Post-Times, while all six of the Brady kids are great, it’s that middle Brady girl, Jan, played by Eve Plumb, who seems to hold a special place in everyone’s heart.

In that article, syndicated television columnist Charles Witbeck shared something fascinating. He reported that Plumb had a very high TV-Q score, which is a Hollywood measuring stick of a performer’s appeal. He went on to reveal, and this is a direct quote, that when Plumb was on The Brady Bunch, she “pulled as much fan mail as the combined total of her peers.”

THE BRADY BUNCH, Mike Lookinland, Barry Williams, Eve Plumb, 'Will The Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?', (Season 2, January 15, 1971), 1969-74

Everett Collection

It really does make a lot of sense. Jan’s storylines on the show were often about being in someone else’s shadow. She was the one who worried, who felt awkward, and who just wanted to find her own thing. It’s a feeling that so many can relate to.

Think about that for a second. The person playing the anxious middle child was getting a mountain of letters, more than all of her TV siblings combined. And the reason for this huge response from fans was a direct result of Marcia being the popular cheerleader and Greg being the cool jock. Kids just felt like Jan was the most real. She was the one who had glasses, who just wanted to be seen for herself. And in many of those letters, kids from all over the U.S. were likely telling her that they felt that way also.

BRADY BUNCH, Eve Plumb, (Season 2), 1969-74

Everett Collection

Speaking to Reader’s Digest this year, Plumb said that part of Jan’s appeal was also her resilience: “She just keeps going. She falls down, and she gets up, and she keeps going. You know, she’s not good at much, but she keeps trying.”

Plumb’s portrayal of Jan was, simply put, great acting. In so many scenes in that silly but endearing sitcom, Plumb found a way to really connect with viewers. She made Jan’s small moments of triumph, and her even bigger moments of doubt, feel so true that they resonated with an entire generation.

Beyond Plumb’s own popularity, The Brady Bunch, to this day, continues to be popular with TV viewers who watch the show as a means of escaping from the modern-day chaos that surrounds us all. Speaking to USA Today when the show celebrated its 50th anniversary, Plumb’s costar, Christopher Knight, said this about the show: “There’s an innocence and a family structure that works. And it’s warm and kind.”