Susan Olsen Says These Rock Stars Made Her Realize ‘The Brady Bunch’ Was ‘Cool’ (Exclusive)

After The Brady Bunch aired its final episode in 1974, a sense of relief fell over Susan Olsen, who portrayed Cindy Brady. Not only did she think the sitcom “jumped the shark” in the final season, but she also felt it was “uncool” and she didn’t feel “cute.”

Years later, motherhood and a couple of rock stars changed her mind.

When Olsen welcomed her son, Michael Markwell, in 1997, she began thinking about her onscreen mother and father, Carol Brady and Mike Brady, and tried to parent as they would.  

“This show that had been very uncool when it first ended, and I was still trying to be an actress, and I had this show following me around,” she says to PEOPLE. “Now, to me, it’s almost like a gentle guidebook for how to have a happy family. It’s simple, but that’s why it’s been so successful. The simple messages ring true, because they are true.”

Whereas motherhood made her realize the value of the family-oriented show, the Black Crowes opened her eyes to the coolness of it, recalling meeting a few members of the band at an MTV event. 

“Chris Robinson comes to me and he is going, ‘Our drummer would be in tears if he were here to meet you,’ ” she recalls. “He said, ‘He went to see you guys in concert when he was a kid. He has one of those pictures that you guys sold at your concert that says I Saw The Brady Bunch Live In Concert. He’s got it on his wall.’ He then goes, ‘This is so cool to meet you.’ I’m going, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait, a rock star is telling me it’s cool to meet me?”

Olsen, 64, shares that the Black Crowes weren’t the only band to make her rethink how “cool” The Brady Bunch might have been. She also recalled the graciousness of the Stone Temple Pilots, particularly when the late Chester Bennington, who fronted the band from 2013 to 2015, spoke of his blended family of six children, similar to the Bradys. 

“Sebastian Bach set me straight,” she continues, referring to the Skid Row singer. “He said to me, ‘Dude, you’re a part of people’s childhood, and you’re a good part. How could that ever be bad?’ He’s right. What could ever be bad about that?”

Olsen was cast for the show just before her eighth birthday, and she kept the role through the final episode. But, in her opinion, The Brady Bunch got bad toward the end, citing the introduction of actor Robbie Rist, who portrayed Cousin Oliver.

“We had already jumped the shark. We got Robbie Rist. He’s our little shark jumper,” she said. “You know, that’s always the sign. The show’s already in the toilet when they get the new kid. He just flushes.”

At that point, Olsen started praying that the show would get canceled before the cast aged out. 

“We had all grown to the point where we weren’t cute anymore. They didn’t know what to do with me,” she says. “I was starting to pray for the show to be canceled, because I didn’t want a very special episode of Cindy getting her period, or her first bra, or God forbid, her first kiss. It’s like, no, no, let me go through my awkward years alone without being on national TV.”

She continues, “My nose was taking over my face by the time I was 12, and I had to wait until I was 16 to get a nose job. So I was extremely self-conscious about how ugly I was getting. And I had the braces, and, you know, just when you’re 12, you’re so awkward.”

Olsen admits that she felt “blasphemous” while praying for the show’s demise, but she knew it was what she needed. Recalling her prayer to a higher power, “I was like, ‘God, if this has run its course, that’s okay by me. You know, I think it’s time for me to be normal and wait to become 16 so I can get this nose hacked off.’ ”