Eve Plumb

She was cast as Jan Brady on The Brady Bunch in 1969, and portrayed the role until the series' end in 1974. After, Plumb continued to work in television, portraying a teenage prostitute in the NBC television film Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (1976), and as Elizabeth March in the 1978 miniseries Little Women. Plumb continued to reprise her role as Jan Brady in numerous reunion series and films, including The Brady Brides (1981) and A Very Brady Christmas (1988). She made her feature film debut with a minor role in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), and later appeared in Gregg Araki's black comedy Nowhere (1997). In 2010, Plumb made her New York stage debut in Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage, followed by stage productions of Nora Ephron's Love, Loss, and What I Wore, and Same Time, Next Year. She subsequently had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed thriller Blue Ruin (2013).

Plumb was born in Burbank, California, to Flora June (née Dobry) and record producer Neely Plumb. She has two siblings: a sister named Flora and a brother named Ben.

Plumb began her acting career in TV commercials in 1966. The following year, she appeared on The Virginian, The Big Valley and Lassie. (She was also cast as "Bonnie Braids" in a TV pilot version of the comic strip Dick Tracy, but does not actually appear in the program itself, only in the opening credits.) In 1968, she appeared on It Takes a Thief and Family Affair; in the latter, she played a terminally ill girl on the episode "Christmas Came A Little Early". In 1969, she appeared on an episode of Gunsmoke. From 1969 to 1974, Plumb appeared as middle sister Jan Brady in the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch. She was cast partly because she bore a resemblance to Joyce Bulifant, who was originally considered to play the Brady mother before the role eventually went to Florence Henderson. Her featured storylines included Jan's embarrassment over not having a boyfriend, concerns about her future appearance, being a middle child, and her insecurity over wearing glasses. Several episodes centered on Jan's jealousy of older sister Marcia, resulting in the famous whiny-complaint catchphrase "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!", that has arguably become the quintessential quote of the series. (However, Plumb actually said the phrase in only one episode: "Her Sister's Shadow".) Plumb also supplied the voice of Jan in the ABC Saturday morning cartoon The Brady Kids from 1972 to 1974. After The Brady Bunch was canceled in 1974, it went on to even greater success in syndicated reruns. The sitcom has never left the television airwaves and eventually spawned numerous spin-offs, reunion specials, feature films, and parodies. Several episodes of the sitcom featured the Brady kids singing and as a result, Plumb and the rest of the younger cast recorded several albums. Plumb would also provide a monologue for the Pat Williams Orchestra's 1974 recording of "California Love Story". The single was co-produced by Plumb's recording executive father, Neely Plumb.

After The Brady Bunch ended, Plumb's first notable role was that of a teenage prostitute in the NBC television movie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (1976). She also appeared in the sequel Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn (1977). Plumb starred as "Beth" in NBC productions of Little Women, a 1978 miniseries and a 1979 short-lived television series. Plumb also made numerous guest-starring appearances in such series as Here's Lucy; The Love Boat; Fantasy Island; Wonder Woman; One Day at a Time; The Facts of Life; Murder, She Wrote; The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!; Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; and All My Children. She appeared in the episode "The Force of Evil" from the 1977 series Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected (known in the United Kingdom as Twist in the Tale). Plumb was the only original cast member who declined to reunite for the 1976–77 variety show The Brady Bunch Hour on ABC. Much was made of her absence, including accusations that she no longer wanted to be associated with the Bradys. Plumb has stated in interviews that she was willing to do the variety show's original special episode, but could not commit to a five-year option for additional shows. Her role would be filled by Geri Reischl, who went on to be known among Brady Bunch fans as "fake Jan". Plumb returned to the "Jan" role for the NBC TV movie The Brady Girls Get Married (1981), which led to The Brady Brides, a short-lived sitcom in which she co-starred with Maureen McCormick, who played Marcia Brady. She also appeared in the CBS television movie A Very Brady Christmas (1988) and its 1990 spin-off dramedy series, The Bradys. To promote their latest incarnation, the cast appeared on an episode of Sally Jessy Raphael, which is remembered for having been shot outdoors in Florida during a rainstorm. In 1993, Plumb had a brief role as Mrs. Noah in the B-Movie mockumentary...And God Spoke. Two years later she was interviewed as part of a 1995 retrospective special titled Brady Bunch Home Movies, produced by Susan Olsen, who played Cindy Brady. That same year, Plumb appeared on a special "child stars" installment of The Jenny Jones Show. In 1995, Plumb was a member of the cast of the Saturday morning sitcom Fudge, playing the title character's mother, Mrs. Anne Hatcher. The show aired on ABC. To promote the series, Plumb appeared on The Jon Stewart Show. Plumb also appeared in the movie Fudge-a-Mania (1995), the TV pilot movie for the Fudge series the week before the series premiered. In 1996, she reminisced about her Brady years on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and on the E True Hollywood Story: The Brady Bunch. In 1998, Plumb was the original Pam Burkhart on That '70s Show (only seen in episode 6, "The Keg").

Plumb has been painting for more than two decades and has enjoyed success at select galleries across the United States. Plumb was the first of the Brady siblings to marry, and the first divorced. She first tied the knot with Rick Mansfield in 1979. The marriage ended in divorce less than two years later. Plumb has been married to Ken Pace, a business and technology consultant, since 1995. As of 2010, she resided in Laguna Beach, California, and served on the city's Design Review Board. Around 2010, Plumb purchased a residence in Manhattan, and had made New York City her primary residence as of 2019, though she divides her time between there and Los Angeles. In 2016, she sold the Malibu home that she had purchased at the age of 11 in 1969. She bought the 1950s beach bungalow for $55,000 and sold it for $3.9 million.

Plumb, Eve (with Marcia Wilke) (2026). Happiness Included: Jan Brady and Beyond. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-806-54503-8.