‘Little House on the Prairie’ Star Had 1 Big Issue With Her Character
- Lucy Lee Flippin, known for her role as Eliza Jane Wilder on Little House on the Prairie, revealed in a recent interview that she found her character's costume uncomfortable to wear.
Lucy Lee Flippinis best known for her TV role as Eliza Jane Wilder on Little House on the Prairie . The actress, now 82, played the mousey schoolteacher for 18 episodes on the NBC drama series from 1979 to 1982.
In a recent interview with Buzzfeed , Flippin revealed how she nailed her audition for the part by showing up "plain as can be" with no makeup and a severely pulled-back hairstyle. But once she landed the role, she took issue with the uncomfortable costume she was required to wear.
"I wish playing Eliza Jane was more comfortable!" Flippin admitted in the interview. "The glasses were really tough. They were very thick, and they were somebody's actual prescription glasses. They kind of made me a little dizzy!"
"Then, with my hair, they used an iron, and sometimes they would burn my hair to get the little curls," she added. "In the summertime, it was just so overwhelmingly hot. The clothing was hot, and I didn't like that plaid dress she wore with a white collar."
Flippin admitted that while Eliza Jane's costume was "tough" to wear, it forced her to "walk and behave" like a woman from the late 19th century.
Lucy Lee Flippin Didn't Know Much About Her Character When She Landed the 'Little House' Role
Dean Butler as Almanzo James Wilder, Lucy Lee Flippin as Eliza Jane Wilder (Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
The Little House on the Prairie TV series was based on the real-life stories penned by Laura Ingalls Wilder. But Flippin didn't know much about the real Eliza Jane before she started playing her.
While she told Buzzfeed she has since learned a lot about the homesteader and feminist, Flippin previously admitted to the Lament of Hope podcast that she would have played the character differently had she known more about her.
"I got on the show, it was before you know, the Internet, so I couldn't Google Eliza Jane," she said. "I mean, you can do it now, and I found out some kind of negative qualities she had that I wasn't aware of. So she would have been rather different, I think, if I'd known more about her. She was apparently very bossy and opinionated."
Lucy Lee Flippin Still Refuses to Watch 1 'Little House' Episode
Flippin also revealed that she did not like an unexpected side of Eliza Jane that was featured on the two-parter, "Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow."
In the 1982 episode, the once selfless Eliza Jane returns to Walnut Grove to care for her newlywed brother Almanzo ( Dean Butler) after he suffers a stroke. But her desperation to keep her brother dependent on her brings out an ugly side of her personality that was never seen before.
"I felt like my character had been totally revamped, and Eliza Jane was nasty and petty and awful," she told BuzzFeed . "I had trouble with that episode; I never watch that one. I watched it once, and that was back in 1982! I'll have to watch it again and forgive myself."
Speaking on the Little House at 50 podcast , Flippin said "Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow" was her least favorite episode to film—by far.
"They totally changed my character," she recalled. "I thought, what happened to Eliza Jane? Is she bipolar? Is she schizophrenic? What happened to her? I've only watched it once. I've wiped it out."
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 14, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
