*All In The Family* was one of the greatest shows ever, and I believe its lessons are still relevant today. It made several actors famous – and Sally Struthers was one of them.
Today, the beautiful woman with her iconic blonde hair looks quite different – but she’s still working in the industry…
**A Precocious Talent**
For many of us, Sally Struthers will always be remembered for her role as Gloria Stivic in the ’70s sitcom *All In The Family*. The iconic show was about a working-class white family living in Queens, New York, and it received an incredible 73 award nominations and won 42 times during its run.
However, I wonder if people born after the show ended can really understand how groundbreaking it was. There had been funny sitcoms before, but they rarely addressed social issues and taboos. *All In The Family* took many of these topics and made them funny, heartbreaking, or sometimes both.
Watching old episodes of the show on YouTube really makes you feel young again. It makes you laugh and helps you forget about today’s problems. Many of the issues back then are still the same ones we face today, just presented in a comical way.
The main characters in *All In The Family* are Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton), Gloria Bunker-Stivic (Sally Struthers), Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner), and Stephanie Mills (Danielle Brisebois). They all had great chemistry together.
In my opinion, Sally Struthers was very talented and often underrated as an actress. She even sang in some episodes of *All In The Family*, and I could see how she grew as a performer throughout the series.
“At first, I behaved like an idiot on the set. I thought that was how to get people to like me. I’ve learned to be myself, and now they respect me,” she told *Longview Daily News* in 1973.
When the series premiered in January 1971, Sally was a 22-year-old unknown with little TV experience. Producer Norman Lear, who Sally called the “father of us all,” discovered her while she was dancing on *The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour*.
Despite her lack of experience, Sally did a fantastic job, just like the rest of the cast. Six months after the premiere, she was a certified star as *All In The Family* became the No. 1 show on television.
At the peak of her fame, she could hardly walk outside or go to dinner without being swarmed by fans. For an innocent 22-year-old, it was a very challenging experience.
During the first seasons of the show, Sally was happy playing Gloria Stivic. However, she was rarely given a chance to fully develop her character or showcase her acting skills. During a break from *All In The Family*, she told producers that she wanted to try a more dramatic role.
“When we go on hiatus, I want to do something different,” she said.
“There are so many ways to represent a woman. I would like to play a murderess, an unwed mother, a nun, and an old Jewish mother. At the end of my career, I’d like people to say that I am as funny as Judy Holliday and as respected as Ruth Gordon.”
Unfortunately, typecasting can hurt a career – how often do we see someone become famous from an iconic show, only to struggle afterward?
Sadly, that was somewhat true for Sally.
She won two Emmy Awards for her role as Gloria and was given leading parts in a few other shows after leaving *All In The Family*. But the reality was that she didn’t receive many offers, and work soon began to slow down for her.
In the 1990s, Sally was a semi-regular panelist on the game show *Match Game*. Others might recognize her as Babette Dell in *Gilmore Girls*.
Today, she has been a regular at the Ogunquit Playhouse since the early 2000s. This regional theater is located in Ogunquit, Maine, and produces four or more shows each season.
In 2022, she starred alongside AJ Holmes as Frau Blucher in Mel Brooks’ *Young Frankenstein* at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.
The *All In The Family* star has also worked hard to advocate for impoverished children in developing countries. Sally has been a spokesperson for the Christian Children’s Fund for many years and has appeared in their well-known TV commercials.
**Sally Struthers’ Daughter**
Many might not know this, but Sally is a mother of one, even though she never really wanted a child at first. After meeting famous psychiatrist William C. Rader, she changed her mind. The couple married in 1977, and two years later, they welcomed a daughter named Samantha.
Over the years, Sally has had her ups and downs. She lost her mother to Alzheimer’s in 1996; her mother passed away in Sally’s arms just two days before Christmas. Sally has also faced mean comments about her looks and weight over the years, mostly from random people on social media.
But the actress has handled all these challenges with charm, integrity, and a sense of humor.
“From the time I was able to walk and say a few words, my whole aim in life was to make people laugh,” she told *Spectrum News* in 2022.
“And when I hear other people laugh, and I know that some silly face I’ve made or some line reading has made them double over, I’m transported to heaven. That’s my thing. Laughter.”
This Lady Is Married To One Of The Most Beautiful Actors In The World
It’s just that by now, we’re used to seeing certain Hollywood romance tropes repeatedly.There are the young, cute couples who aren’t shy about promoting their blossoming romance on social media; the co-stars who have secret on-set affairs while being probed for adultery; and the old man in his sixties or seventies who is openly romancing a young, gorgeous woman half his age.We observe these paradigms without questioning them and come to accept them as the standard.Pierce Brosnan’s professional contemporaries, along with the general public, assumed he would finish dead last in this competition.Despite being a good fit, he boldly and creatively disproved all the assumptions being made about him.He’s been married to Keely for twenty years, and they’ve been together long enough to start a family.
Having Keely in his life at the proper time gave him the boost he needed to embark on the challenging, yet rewarding, role of motherhood.“Her friends offered her weight-loss surgery. However, I adore every curve in her physique. She is the most beautiful woman in my eyes. Additionally, she gave birth to our five children,” says Pierce Brosnan.They adopted Pierce’s two boys, Dylan and Paris, and tied the knot in 2001 in Pierce’s homeland.They’ve been together for twenty wonderful years, and their love for one another has only deepened in that time.Last week, Pierce gave his wife a touching 20th anniversary letter in which he wished her “Happy anniversary my dear Keely, my love forever increases with you” and included two photos of the couple taken 20 years apart to illustrate the wonderful development of their relationship.
The public constantly seems to find something negative to say about the couple, even though there is no reason for them to do so.The hostility seems to be directed towards Keely’s physical appearance, especially her weight. The public at large appears to be startled and outraged.Pierce’s mistake was to marry an idealized version of his own age and physical attractiveness.Someone who doesn’t fit the size 0 mold and has a normal body type rather than looking like a bombshell If he is so wealthy and powerful, why does he choose to marry a common woman who is apparently below his social status?His feelings for her invalidate sexist views on the value of women.It’s easy to forget that one might defy beauty standards by putting on weight. No one forces you to exist in a society where your success is measured by how well you blend in and howlittle of an impact you have on those around you.Growing older means prioritizing different things, and you could find that you no longer need validation from others to feel secure in yourself.Pierce has said that he likes Keely more for who she is than for how she looks.If you’re serious about someone, you’ll be willing to change as they do and adapt your views as they develop.
If love were simple, we wouldn’t have spent millennia trying to figure it out.
Pierce revealed in an interview that several of their acquaintances had suggested that his wife get weight loss surgery, but the former James Bond is unwavering in his admiration for her in spite of her size.
He is completely indifferent to the idle rantings of internet strangers about his girlfriend’s body, which he likes in all its imperfect glory.
Pierce went out of his way to say that he has always had a thing for Keely because of her sweet nature and generous spirit.
“In the past, I actually loved her for her person, not simply for her beauty, and now I’m loving her even more that she is my children’s mother, and I am extremely proud of her, and I always aim to be worthy of her love,” he stated on Hollywood Star.
Pierce has no right to defend his desire for her after 20 years or even to reply to the insult.
But it’s so sweet to watch an elderly couple show their love for one another.
Pierce’s decision to stay with the same woman and continue their relationship stands out as oddly defiant because it is so common for older Hollywood superstars to get connected with attractive, young ladies who are around thirty years their junior.
It once again calls attention to the excessive expectations placed on women’s bodies and appearances; women are told that they must never “let themselves go” and that they must constantly be more gorgeous than men in order to “deserve” love. Any time they act out of character, they give guys carte blanche to pursue other women.
Pierce values his wife more for the role she has played in his life than for her physical attractiveness.
She pulled him out of his despair, allowing him to develop and find his place in a harsh and unforgiving world. It’s not unexpected that the couple is still going strong.
In the face of criticism, love has no chance.
When it comes to their commitment to one another, Keely and Pierce don’t give a hoot about what others think.
As you become older, you realize that it’s not principles but rather a shared understanding of the world and each other that sparks attraction and desire.
When you spend time with someone, it’s not just because they make you feel good physically; it’s also because you wouldn’t want to be with anybody else.
It doesn’t mean you can’t fall in love with them again; it just means you appreciate them beyond their physical looks and traditional standards of beauty.
Pierce’s love for Keely demonstrates that one need not care what others think.
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