Karen Trust Grassle, born on February 25, 1942, is an American actress, renowned for her iconic role as Caroline Ingalls in the NBC television drama series Little House on the Prairie.
Grassle's early career began with summers at the Stanford Contemporary Workshop, playing lead roles, and two summers at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, performing classical roles. Her first professional engagement was a season at the Front Street Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee, upon her return from London.
Throughout her career, Grassle has worked in various resident and stock theatres across the country, appeared on PBS in original works, and on networks in three soap operas. She made her Broadway debut in the 1968 play The Gingham Dog and played in Butterflies Are Free on Broadway, as well as at the Elitch Theatre in Denver, Colorado.
Grassle also starred in the Shakespeare in the Park production of "Cymbeline" alongside Christopher Walken, Sam Waterston, and Bill Devane. She auditioned for the role of Caroline Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie and won the part, starring in the series for nine seasons from 1974 to 1983.
After Little House on the Prairie, Grassle appeared in several films, including Harry's War and Wyatt Earp, and TV movies such as Battered, Cocaine: One Man's Seduction, and Between the Darkness and the Dawn. She also had recurring roles in TV shows like Hotel, Love Boat, and Murder She Wrote.
In addition to her acting career, Grassle has been an advocate for social causes, lobbying for federal funding for shelters for battered women and supporting the Equal Rights Amendment. She has also performed in numerous events and talk shows, including Hollywood Squares and Dinah.
After the end of Little House on the Prairie, Grassle moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and co-founded the Resource Theater Company, serving as its artistic director. She later relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, where she performed with the Actors Theatre of Louisville.
Grassle continues to perform in various productions across the United States, including Driving Miss Daisy, Cabaret, and others. In 2008, she received a prize for her performance in Cabaret at the San Francisco Playhouse.
