It's Good TO BE BAD

The Little House on the Prairie alum shares memories of the show and reveals her hopes for the upcoming Netflix remake

- Lindsay Hoffman

Alison Arngrim likes to tell the story about how she was signing autographs at the Hollywood Parade when a Little House on the Prairie fan came up and threw a soda in her face. “I kind of took it as a weird compliment,” Alison, who played Little House’s mean girl Nellie Oleson during the beloved series’ 1974 to 1982 run, tells Closer. “I’ve had people just go off about how much they hated me and how they wanted to punch me in the face.”

Alison, 63, has long embraced her Little House infamy by creating a one-woman stand-up comedy act about playing Nellie and writing a New York Times best-selling memoir Confessions of a Prairie Bitch. The actress will also be among the original cast members who will be meeting fans and sharing memories this June at a LHOTP reunion in California. “We're going back to a location where we shot exteriors,” she explains, noting that the episode “where Laura Ingalls runs away and climbs a mountain” was filmed there.

What has it been like reuniting with other LHOTP alum? Are you closer now?

Much closer, because now we're all grown up. We were all so young and worried about teenage nonsense back then. Now, nobody feels threatened or insecure because there’s no competition. It’s all about us and the fans. We’re much closer now because there’s nothing to fight about.

Was it hard to adjust to the fame that Little House brought you?

It was weird. I had a girl yell at me literally after the very first episode aired. Nobody thought Little House was going to be a hit. And of course, it ran for years, and it’s still in reruns. But I feel so lucky that it was a good show. When I look back at it, I don’t have to be embarrassed. It was well-written, well-directed and I had an awesome character. I got to be the villain.