*All In The Family* was one of the greatest shows ever, and I believe its lessons are still relevant today. It made several actors famous – and Sally Struthers was one of them.
Today, the beautiful woman with her iconic blonde hair looks quite different – but she’s still working in the industry…

**A Precocious Talent**
For many of us, Sally Struthers will always be remembered for her role as Gloria Stivic in the ’70s sitcom *All In The Family*. The iconic show was about a working-class white family living in Queens, New York, and it received an incredible 73 award nominations and won 42 times during its run.
However, I wonder if people born after the show ended can really understand how groundbreaking it was. There had been funny sitcoms before, but they rarely addressed social issues and taboos. *All In The Family* took many of these topics and made them funny, heartbreaking, or sometimes both.
Watching old episodes of the show on YouTube really makes you feel young again. It makes you laugh and helps you forget about today’s problems. Many of the issues back then are still the same ones we face today, just presented in a comical way.
The main characters in *All In The Family* are Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton), Gloria Bunker-Stivic (Sally Struthers), Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner), and Stephanie Mills (Danielle Brisebois). They all had great chemistry together.
In my opinion, Sally Struthers was very talented and often underrated as an actress. She even sang in some episodes of *All In The Family*, and I could see how she grew as a performer throughout the series.
“At first, I behaved like an idiot on the set. I thought that was how to get people to like me. I’ve learned to be myself, and now they respect me,” she told *Longview Daily News* in 1973.

When the series premiered in January 1971, Sally was a 22-year-old unknown with little TV experience. Producer Norman Lear, who Sally called the “father of us all,” discovered her while she was dancing on *The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour*.
Despite her lack of experience, Sally did a fantastic job, just like the rest of the cast. Six months after the premiere, she was a certified star as *All In The Family* became the No. 1 show on television.
At the peak of her fame, she could hardly walk outside or go to dinner without being swarmed by fans. For an innocent 22-year-old, it was a very challenging experience.

During the first seasons of the show, Sally was happy playing Gloria Stivic. However, she was rarely given a chance to fully develop her character or showcase her acting skills. During a break from *All In The Family*, she told producers that she wanted to try a more dramatic role.
“When we go on hiatus, I want to do something different,” she said.
“There are so many ways to represent a woman. I would like to play a murderess, an unwed mother, a nun, and an old Jewish mother. At the end of my career, I’d like people to say that I am as funny as Judy Holliday and as respected as Ruth Gordon.”
Unfortunately, typecasting can hurt a career – how often do we see someone become famous from an iconic show, only to struggle afterward?
Sadly, that was somewhat true for Sally.
She won two Emmy Awards for her role as Gloria and was given leading parts in a few other shows after leaving *All In The Family*. But the reality was that she didn’t receive many offers, and work soon began to slow down for her.

In the 1990s, Sally was a semi-regular panelist on the game show *Match Game*. Others might recognize her as Babette Dell in *Gilmore Girls*.
Today, she has been a regular at the Ogunquit Playhouse since the early 2000s. This regional theater is located in Ogunquit, Maine, and produces four or more shows each season.
In 2022, she starred alongside AJ Holmes as Frau Blucher in Mel Brooks’ *Young Frankenstein* at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.
The *All In The Family* star has also worked hard to advocate for impoverished children in developing countries. Sally has been a spokesperson for the Christian Children’s Fund for many years and has appeared in their well-known TV commercials.
**Sally Struthers’ Daughter**
Many might not know this, but Sally is a mother of one, even though she never really wanted a child at first. After meeting famous psychiatrist William C. Rader, she changed her mind. The couple married in 1977, and two years later, they welcomed a daughter named Samantha.
Over the years, Sally has had her ups and downs. She lost her mother to Alzheimer’s in 1996; her mother passed away in Sally’s arms just two days before Christmas. Sally has also faced mean comments about her looks and weight over the years, mostly from random people on social media.
But the actress has handled all these challenges with charm, integrity, and a sense of humor.
“From the time I was able to walk and say a few words, my whole aim in life was to make people laugh,” she told *Spectrum News* in 2022.
“And when I hear other people laugh, and I know that some silly face I’ve made or some line reading has made them double over, I’m transported to heaven. That’s my thing. Laughter.”
A baby with a rare skin disorder is born after an urgent C-section by medical professionals.

Throughout the nine months of pregnancy, a mother’s heart is filled with anticipation, excitement, and a hint of doubt. When an expecting parent gives birth, they all want the child to be healthy and happy. Regretfully, our expectations are not always met by the way things work out.
Jennie Wilklow, of Highland, New York, was looking forward to meeting her daughter. Jennie and her spouse were overcome with happiness the moment they held their baby.
After multiple ultrasounds and check-ups with the physician, the results consistently showed a healthy baby.
This assurance put their minds at rest, and they had no idea that their darling Anna would be born with a disease that would permanently alter their lives.
At 34 weeks, Jennie had a C-section to deliver Anna. She peered into Anna’s eyes when the physicians placed the baby in her arms and felt an overwhelming sense of love.
Everything was going fine with their cute little one. However, Jennie couldn’t help but feel apprehensive about her husband when he came to visit her.
Jennie told Cafe Mom, “My husband’s silence scared me.” I pressed him for additional information as the doctor was leaving the room, and he just sat there looking shocked. With remorse, he added, “It’s bad.”
Upon meeting her gaze, her spouse said, “Jennie, she has the most beautiful soul.” Jennie did not know what such terms meant at the moment. Her mind was racing, but she had no idea what was wrong.
Anna suffered from an uncommon disease known as harlequin ichthyosis, which showed up as thick, severely fractured diamond-shaped plates. Jennie said to Cafe Mom shortly after giving birth, “Her delicate skin hardened as they desperately tried to help her.”
The dramatic splitting that followed the hardening left her slathered in open wounds throughout her body.”Anna prevailed despite the physicians’ concerns about her prognosis. She was quite beautiful,” Jennie proudly declared.
Unfortunately, there is no known cure for harlequin ichthyosis. The treatment involves regular showering and thorough skin moisturization, which takes consistent effort. I used to bathe her for hours every few hours, slathering her in Vaseline.
It might not seem like much, but it was one of the things I struggled with the most. I had visualized all the amazing clothes my child would have,” Jennie said.
She set up the “harlequin diva” Instagram page and started posting images of Anna there in an effort to raise awareness of this illness. Through her articles, she sheds light on the challenges faced by parents of children with harlequin ichthyosis on a daily basis.
“Anna won many people’s hearts and is the pinnacle of perfection in its purest form.” She has a natural capacity to carry out these mundane tasks. The world celebrates with us every time we achieve a new milestone, Jennie said to Cafe Mom.She went on, “I now realize that my love for my daughter is the reason Anna was given to me.” Because we were destined to be together, we will work together to redefine what true beauty means to the world.
In addition to being beautiful in her own right, Anna is fortunate to have parents who will stop at nothing to ensure that she has a happy existence.
Let’s help spread the news about Anna’s story by inviting our friends and family to read this article on Facebook. Despite our differences, we can work together to raise awareness of and respect for the incredible beauty and power that each individual holds.
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