Happiness Included

Jan Brady and Beyond

De: Eve Plumb, Marcia Wilkie - contributor

It’s finally time for Jan, Jan, Jan!

As Jan Brady, America’s most memorable middle child on the beloved TV sitcom, The Brady Bunch, Eve Plumb has been an enduring icon of American pop culture for over 60 years. Now in an engaging, intimate memoir, she shares the behind-the-scenes story of her colorful and impressively versatile Hollywood career and revelatory recollections of her off-camera life along the way—complete with many photos from her private archives.

Recognized world-wide as Jan Brady, the wonderfully misunderstood middle sister on television’s The Brady Bunch, actress Eve Plumb has embraced the association that seemed destined at age 10 when she was cast on The Brady Bunch. The iconic 1970s TV series has been in perpetual reruns for five decades and is well known by three generations of children and adults. Her engaging memoir reveals that her stint on The Brady Bunch was only the beginning of her TV career, a young lady with the confidence and spunk that her on-screen character often humorously lacked.

Eve Plumb’s six decades as a TV and stage actress comes across like a veritable history of the golden age of TV. Her long career began when a talent agent in her Los Angeles neighborhood suggested that the six year old audition for a national TV commercial. She was cast and many commercials followed (including Barbie commercials). Within a year, Eve was being cast in guest star roles, often multiple episodes, in the top TV series of the 60s and 70s: Gunsmoke, Lassie, Family Affair, Mannix, The Big Valley, It Takes a Thief, The Virginian, and Here’s Lucy.

Following five seasons of ABCs anchor Friday night show, The Brady Bunch, and recording albums and touring nationally with The Brady Kids singing group, Eve was cast as the lead role in Dawn, Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, at age 17. A dramatic departure from the sweet Brady family, the NBC hit TV movie came with a “parental discretion” warning in the opening titles. The movie’s success sparked the highly-rated sequel with Eve Plumb: Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn.

Continuous guest star roles filled her young adult life as an actress on highly rated TV shows, including The Facts of Life, One Day at a Time, Fantasy Island, Love Boat, Wonder Woman, and a multi-episode sitcom called The Brady Brides, featuring Eve as a young newlywed, along with Maureen McCormick from the original series.

Eve brought her acting experience to the New York stage. Tony-winning Broadway Producer Ken Davenport cast Eve in the lead role for the Times Square debut of Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating, and Marriage, with a six month run. She also appeared on stage in NY and regionally in “Love, Loss and What I Wore.”

Eve’s recent television credits include A Holiday Spectacular for Hallmark, Law and Order: SVU, Blue Bloods, Bull, Grease Live!, Crashing, a recurring role on Hulu’s The Path, and as the voice of Big Judy on Praise Petey.

Today, Eve is a talented visual artist, with thirty-five years of experience, whose oil paintings have been displayed and sold in galleries here in the U.S. and Europe. Chock-full of Brady Bunch nostalgia and the skinny on countless classic TV shows with recollections straight from the set, this is Eve Plumb as you’ve never seen her.

©2026 Broadway View LLC (P)2026 Recorded Books

I learned a lot about talented Eve.

I really enjoyed the audio book.
I had gone back and rewatched many of the shows Eve mentioned and reaffirmed my belief that Eve was my favorite Brady.
I loved hearing the stories about family, dating, regular life and the improv classes.
I didn’t know Eve was such an animal lover.
My prediction is she and Ken will adopt another pup soon!

A fine addition to the Brady kids’ memoirs

I’ve read Barry’s and Maureen’s memoirs and enjoyed them very much. Eve’s story brings fully to life the person behind the character of Jan Brady. Her upbringing in a functional family with some off camera dysfunction is well told as are her stories about her career, religion, and relationships.

My favorite Brady!

I grew up on the Brady Bunch, which debuted in 1969, when I was five. Though I was Cindy’s age, Jan was my favorite Brady. I identified with her iconic line, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” which seemed like a metaphor for my life. Imagine my disappointment reading in HAPPINESS INCLUDED that Eve Plumb hated being associated with the line. As an adult, Eve felt being reminded of that iconic line was mocking, rather than the respect for how her delivery of those three words encompassed so much meaning.

In HAPPINESS INCLUDED, Eve acknowledges her privilege of growing up with loving parents and having escaped the traps many child actors encountered—exploitation, sexual abuse, substances. Though being free from mistreatment shouldn’t be a privilege, Eve came of age before most protections were in place.

For readers, the downside of Eve’s un-fraught childhood is that HAPPINESS INCLUDED lacks the dramatic flair of other former child actors. Of course, she’s far better off and I’m glad for her.

Eve shows vignettes from her life, rather than telling them. Between my memories of her acting life and her descriptive writing, Eve transported me to the sets of her life.

I enjoyed HAPPINESS INCLUDED very much.

Absolutely Loved It!!

Eve did an amazing job telling her story and it was well worth the wait! I enjoyed this trip down the memory lane of my childhood as well as learning about her life after The Brady Bunch. Happiness was definitely included for this middle sister of 3 girls! Thank you Eve! And much success in the future!

Personable. Interesting. Recommend.

I like the author narrated her book and shared interesting experiences. Will listen again. Feels like a conversation.