lorence
Henderson was born on Valentine's Day, 1934 to a family of ten
kids. Her father was a share-cropper, and the bigger-than-the-Brady-Bunch-family
did all they could to help with the responsibilities of farm
living. Aside from milking cows, Florence showed an aptitude
for singing early on and had developed a repertoire of fifty
tunes by the time she was two.
Henderson's acting career really began at age seventeen,
when she entered New York's prestigious American Academy of
Dramatic Arts. In 1952, while attending the Academy, she appeared
in the Joshua Logan musical, "Wish You Were Here." That led
directly to a lead role in Rogers & Hammerstein's national
company of "Oklahoma!," which she followed up with performances
in "The Great Waltz," "Fanny," "The Sound of Music," "The
King and I," and "South Pacific," to name a few.
Florence became a familiar face by appearing on a number
of variety shows as well as a high profile spot on The
Today Show. Ms. Henderson also has the distinction of
being the first woman to have hosted The Tonight Show.
While continuing her stage career, Henderson nabbed the role
of Carol Brady, and made pop-culture history as one of TV's
all-time favorite moms.
After The Brady Bunch, Henderson continued to be broadcast
into people's homes in commercials for Wesson Oil (she's got
"Wessonality!") as well as never missing a Brady reunion show.
Today her credits are numerous and she frequently appears
on the sitcom and talk-show circuit to this day. Henderson
hosted Country Kitchen on the Nashville Network for
nine seasons and as well as commercials for her husband's
Los Angeles-based Hypnosis Motivation Institute.
