Why ‘The Brady Bunch’ Star Eve Plumb Traded Her Wholesome Image for a Shocking Role in a TV Movie

In September 1976, television viewers who opened up their Sunday newspapers and TV Guide issues were shocked to discover a photo of Eve Plumb, the young actress best known for playing middle sister Jan on The Brady Bunch, standing on a rundown street corner wearing heavy makeup and an outfit that made it absolutely clear she was miles away from her wholesome TV home. Fortunately, this was not some sort of real-life scandal. Instead, it was a deliberate choice made for her career.

For those who grew up watching television in the early ’70s, Plumb was the very definition of a good, innocent kid. As Jan Brady, the middle daughter on The Brady Bunch, she experienced the exact kind of everyday struggles that many kids were facing at the time.