McDonough at The Waltons' 40th anniversary in September 2012
Born
(1961-05-04) May 4, 1961 (age63)
Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s)
Actress, writer
Yearsactive
1963–present
Spouses
Rob Wickstrom
(m.1988–1996)
Don Couch
(m.2011)
Mary Elizabeth McDonough (born May 4, 1961), sometimes credited as Mary Beth McDonough, is an American actress and writer, best known for her role as Erin Walton on The Waltons from 1972 to 1981, and several subsequent made-for-television reunion films in later decades.
McDonough was born on May 4, 1961[1] in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles, California, the third of four children to Lawrence and Elizabeth (née Murray) McDonough.[2] Her father was an Irish American ex-United States Navy from Nebraska, while her mother was from La Junta, Colorado.[3] McDonough was raised in the Roman Catholic Church, in what she described as a working-class family.[4] She and her siblings were raised in the Northridge section of Los Angeles, and attended the Our Lady of Lourdes School on South Eastman Avenue in East Los Angeles.[5] McDonough was an active theater student, and became interested in acting in elementary school.[6]
McDonough began her career as a child actor, portraying Erin Walton in the series The Waltons beginning in September 1972, a role which she would portray until the series' finale nine years later in 1981.[7]
She made her feature film debut with a minor part in the action film Lovely But Deadly (1981) before co-starring with Melissa Sue Anderson in the television horror film Midnight Offerings (1981).[8] McDonough was subsequently cast in a lead role in the slasher horror film Mortuary (1983), opposite Lynda Day George and Bill Paxton.[9]
She reprised her role of Erin Walton in several of The Waltons subsequent television reunion films A Wedding on Walton's Mountain, Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain, and A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain (all released and televised in 1982).
In 1987, she had a lead role in the dark comedy Funland, about an unhinged amusement park operator.
In the 1990s, McDonough appeared again as Erin Walton in a further three Waltons reunion made-for-TV films: A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (1993), A Walton Wedding (1995), and A Walton Easter (1997).[10][11]
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