The late Little House on the Prairie star Michael Landon had nine children from his three marriages.
Landon first tied the knot with first wife Dodie Levy-Fraser at age 20 in 1956 and soon adopted Dodie’s two sons, Mark and Josh. Landon later was married to his second wife Marjorie Lynn Noe for 19 years. He spent the last few years of his life with Little House on the Prairie makeup artist Cindy Clerico. When Landon died in 1991 from pancreatic cancer, he left behind an incredible legacy as both a Hollywood star and as father for his nine children.
Several of Landon’s kids followed in his entertainment industry footsteps by working in Hollywood, including hugely successful horror filmmaker Christopher Landon. Yellowstone fans may be most familiar with Michael’s youngest daughter, Jennifer Landon, who played ranch hand Teeter on the hit TV drama, though all of Michael’s children have lived exciting and accomplished lives.
Keep scroll to scrolling to meet all of Michael’s nine children and find out how his enduring work shaped their lives:
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Mark Landon
Michael adopted his first wife Dodie’s two sons, Mark and Josh, after the couple got married in 1956. Michael and Dodie’s marriage only lasted until 1962, but Mark pursued acting just like his stepfather.
Mark had a minor role in the 1985 action movie Double Edge, and teamed up with Michael for the 1991 TV movie Us. CNN reported that Mark was found dead at age 60 in his West Hollywood, California, home in 2009, but police found “no indication of foul play.”
Josh Landon
Mark’s younger brother Josh, 65, largely lived his life outside of the spotlight. In a rare public comment about his first marriage, Michael was quoted in 1962 as saying he didn’t like referring to Mark and Josh as his “adoptive sons.”
“I hate it when someone calls them ‘adopted.’ They’re my sons, and I’m their father until they die — or I die,” the actor said.
Cheryl Lynn Landon
Cheryl, 72, was 9 years old when Michael adopted her following his marriage to second wife Marjorie Lynn. Michael and Marjorie Lynn’s marriage lasted from 1963 to 1982.
Michael told People that Cheryl inadvertently inspired his 1984 TV series Highway to Heaven, in which he played a guardian angel sent to earth to help those in need. The actor suggested there may have been divine intervention when Cheryl was involved in a 1973 car wreck.
“She was coming home from a fraternity-sorority gathering with four friends in a little Volkswagen, and they were struck by a Ford going in excess of 80 miles an hour,” Michael said in 1985. “It killed everyone but her, and it broke everything in her — all her ribs, her neck, you name it.”
Cheryl wrote two books about her relationship with her father, 1992’s I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portrait of Michael Landon and 2001’s Michael Landon’s Legacy.
Leslie Ann Landon
Leslie, 62, worked with father Michael in Little House on the Prairie, first in a series of guest roles and later as a recurring character, school teacher Etta Plum, in season 9. She returned in Little House on the Prairie’s TV specials through 1984.
After her early success in Hollywood, Leslie pivoted to a career in clinical psychology and family therapy after graduating from Pepperdine University and earning a Phd from the California Graduate Institute, respectively. In 2024, Leslie told People that what she missed most about her father was his laugh.
“Most of my memories are about laughter that he brought to our family,” she recalled.
Leslie’s daughter, Rachel Matthews, has had notable success in Hollywood as well, starring in her uncle Christopher’s Happy Death Day horror movie series. Rachel recently produced Camila Mendes’ SXSW indie movie Idiotka.
Michael Landon Jr.
Michael Jr., 60, also got his start in Hollywood with a guest role in Little House on the Prairie before landing a recurring part in 1988’s Western TV series Bonanza: The Next Generation. The job was a full-circle moment for Michael Jr. since his dad had starred in the original Bonanza.
He cowrote the 1999 TV movie Michael Landon, the Father I Knew, based on his difficult relationship with his dad following Michael’s 1982 divorce from Marjorie.
“The movie was centered around the divorce, and that was my main reason for making the film,” Michael Jr. told Christianity Today in 2005. “I basically used the guidelines my father had set in his Life magazine article, the last interview he gave before he died. The movie put things in perspective from my point of view — the affair, his drinking, everything in the Life article. I went by the parameters set by my father in that article, and I was not going to disrespect those parameters. The only difference was that it was exploring what I was going through, and my brothers and sisters were going through.”
Michael Jr. co-created the Hallmark Channel’s Western drama series When Calls the Heart, which was renewed for its 12th season in 2024.
Shawna Leigh Landon
After making an appearance on Little House on the Prairie like her older siblings, Shawna, 53, left Hollywood behind to work with her younger brother Sean in real estate.
In 2024, Shawna paid tribute to Michael’s lasting legacy and acknowledged the profound loss she felt after his death from pancreatic cancer in 1991.
“Thirty-three years ago I lost my dad to cancer. I was 19 years old,” she wrote via Instagram. “My dad never walked me down the aisle when I got married, never met any of his grandchildren but I know he is with Dylan now . Grief has never been an uncharted territory for me throughout my life . But what I do know is that our loved ones never truly leave us. I miss you and love you dad.”
Christopher Beau Landon
Christopher, 50, found huge success as a horror filmmaker, notably as writer or cowriter of four Paranormal Activity installments. More recently, he directed horror blockbuster Happy Death Day – on which he worked with his niece and Michael’s granddaughter, actress Rachel Matthews – and cowrote 2025’s Valentine’s Day slasher Heart Eyes.
The filmmaker was announced as Scream 7’s director in 2023, but bowed out due to star Melissa Barrera allegedly being fired from the film due to her public opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza.
“I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago,” Christopher wrote via X in December 2023. “This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on. I have nothing.’
He veered away from horror in 2021 by cowriting a reboot of his dad’s classic TV show Highway to Heaven, this time as a TV movie starring Jill Scott as an angel sent to earth to perform good deeds.
Jennifer Rachel Landon
Michael had two children, Jennifer and Sean, from his third marriage to Little House on the Prairie makeup artist Cindy.
Jennifer has a hugely successful acting career, most notably playing ranch hand Teeter in Yellowstone. She also had a recurring role as Supervisory Special Agent Jess LaCroix’s (Julian McMahon) girlfriend Sarah Allen in two seasons of CBS’s recently-cancelled procedural FBI: Most Wanted, and won three consecutive Daytime Emmy Awards for her three-year stint on As the World Turns.
In 2017, Jennifer told Smashing Interviews that she would always have a “golden image” of Michael because he died when she was only 8 years old.
“Dad had a really golden image. Period. But when somebody has got this other thing around them, it’s a tricky thing to answer,” she said. “Sometimes when I was growing up, I just wanted to hear something shitty about him because I, as a person, deal with my own shit, my own personality quirks and my own inclinations. But I sometimes feel just wildly genetic.”
Sean Matthew Landon
Sean, 39, was only 5 years old when Michael died in 1991. As an adult, Sean has worked in real estate along with older sister Shawna.
He marked the 29th anniversary of Michael’s death in 2020 via a poignant social media post, which read, “29 years ago today you passed away. I am beyond grateful for the time we had together and the impact you made in my life and the lives of many others. Until we meet again. I love you forever.”
