‘Brady Bunch' Star Eve Plumb Reveals How She Secretly Felt About Iconic ‘Marcia' Line
Eve Plumb has strong feelings about her iconic "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" line from The Brady Bunch. The actress, who played middle child Jan Brady from 1969 to 1974, uttered the famous phrase in the 1971 episode "Your Sister's Shadow." Plumb was just 12 years old as her character Jan struggled with being overshadowed by her popular older sister, Marcia (Maureen McCormick).
In the early 1990s, the scene was parodied on Saturday Night Live with comic Melanie Hutsell mimicking Plumb's iconic "Marcia" line.
During an April 27 appearance on CBS Mornings, Plumb, now 67, admitted that the mocking of the scene bothered her 20 years later. "It oddly enough felt like a schoolyard taunt," she revealed. "It took me back to being that age, and it felt like someone was making fun of my performance, but this was an adult on a comedy show, and I was an adult. So it was a very odd reaction to have, but that's sort of how I felt."
In her memoir, Happiness Included, Plumb shared her frustrations about her character, writing, "Jan became a bemoaning middle child who struggles for visibility." She also revealed that the SNL sketch felt like "a harsh mocking of me as a child."
Eve Plumb was honored to represent middle children
Plumb's character was the most complex on the ABCsitcom about a blended family of six children. During an episode of The Real Brady Bros. podcast, her co-star Barry Williams (Greg Brady on the show) said Jan had the most "interesting storylines" out of all of the characters.
"Jan had more depth," he said. "She was more troubled. She was a middle child in a classic kind of sense. … And she always seemed to have a lot of angst, which I think gave her some depth in the show."
Plumb told CBS that fans have shown her and her character a lot of support over the years.
"It's such an amazing thing, and it's such an honor to have people feel this way about Jan," she shared. "It's so great, and I really appreciate it. At the time, we were just filming our shows. We didn't have social media, so we were just trying to make the best show we could, and I think it was great that they really included these storylines, that children have emotions, children have hard times. And to have people like that is really wonderful."
In her real life, Plumb said she never went to a slumber party except for one on The Brady Bunch. Once the show ended and she was in a regular high school, she became a cheerleader and was crowned homecoming queen. "I don't even know what homecoming queen means," she laughed.
Plumb also treasures her legacy as Jan Brady. She shut down rumors that she had resentment about the show or her iconic role.
"Somehow that's become a thing. I don't know if people want to believe bad things more than they want to believe good things," The Brady Bunch star told CBS. "The only Brady reunion I didn't do was the variety show. But every other Brady TV movie I've done. I have always spoken highly of it. It's put me where I am today."
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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 7:24 AM.