Tragic Details About Brady Bunch Star Maureen McCormick

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For better or worse, Maureen McCormick will forever be best known as Marcia Brady, the oldest daughter on the beloved sitcom, "The Brady Bunch," which ran for five seasons in the late '60s and early '70s. Far from being a one-hit wonder, McCormick continued acting after "The Brady Bunch" was canceled, working on series like "The Love Boat," "Dancing with the Stars," and even playing Amanda Bynes's mom on "Moody's Point," a segment on "The Amanda Show."

However, for someone who played the stereotypical "good girl" onscreen, McCormick certainly had a "bad girl" side off-screen. This involved substance abuse and eating disorders, as well as her mental health taking a nasty turn. Her iconic character may have had a happily ever after, but McCormick's real-life tragedies would send Marcia Brady running for the hills.

Thankfully, she seems to have emerged from the darkness and is doing much better these days. She's even using her platform to help people living with disabilities after being inspired by her brother Denny, who doctors told McCormick's parents "should be institutionalised or put away" after he was born (via Daily Mail). That being said, getting to a good place didn't happen overnight for McCormick.

The worst thing Marcia Brady ever did was tell a white lie, but actress Maureen McCormick can easily top that. In September 2018, McCormick spoke to Us Weekly about her journey to sobriety, crediting both her parents and husband with helping her get clean. "My mom and dad, they almost turned me into the cops," she admitted, adding how she had gotten good at hiding her drug abuse. She admitted that because of her habit, she was making mistakes at work, as well as in other areas of her life.

Before he became her husband, Michael Cummings gave his girlfriend an ultimatum after she relapsed. He told her if she used again, he was done with their relationship. "It woke me up. It was like the coldest shower you could ever take," she said. "There's just no way I'm gonna lose somebody that I love."

McCormick became addicted to cocaine when she was only 20 years old, trading sex for drugs, and even bombing an audition for Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" because of her addiction, as she wrote in her memoir, "Here's The Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice." She also once shared during a "Changing Lives" luncheon at the Drug Abuse Treatment Center back in 2012 that she wasn't surprised she became an addict. Addiction runs in her family, and she also came of age in the 1970s, which isn't known for being the most straight-laced decade.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Drug addiction wasn't the only major issue that impacted Maureen McCormick's life. She also struggled with both an eating disorder and depression. She was bulimic for a decade, which began after "The Brady Bunch" ended. During her time on the show, she was tutored on set, but then she returned to regular school, and that's where the issues started. "I was with some girlfriends, and they said, 'Hey, you know what you can do? You can eat a lot of food and get rid of it.' That's how [I] got into it," she told Good Morning America in 2007.

Interestingly, no one knew about her eating disorder until Entertainment Tonight point-blank asked her if she had one, and McCormick revealed to GMA she wasn't going to lie. While arguably an intrusive question, McCormick hoped her then-teenaged daughter wouldn't follow in her footsteps when it came to her self-image.

McCormick has also been open about her battles with depression. While appearing on a 2016 episode of "The Doctors," McCormick admitted she had been on medication to manage it, but then decided to safely wean off of it because she realized she was feeling "numb." She also had other "tools" to help her manage her depression. When asked if she was happy, McCormick admitted that happiness fluctuates, but she is doing well. "I feel good, I feel lucky to be alive," she said. "When I wake up now, my glass is half full." 

If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).

Playing a beloved TV character isn't all it's cracked up to be. Maureen McCormick has made peace with still being called "Marcia" more than 50 years after "The Brady Bunch" ended, but it took her a while to get there. "It used to bother me a lot right after the show. I was battling depression, went through a really hard time in my marriage, and I used to cry myself to sleep," she told Today back in 2008, while promoting her memoir. "I went through years and years of pain and suffering, and finally got help. I feel so much better now, feel like a new person, so now I can be happy about it."

McCormick also shared with the outlet that she felt like the public expected her to be little-miss-perfect IRL, just like Marcia Brady was onscreen. She didn't feel like she could make mistakes and show that she actually wasn't infallible. Of course, McCormick was not the goody two shoes her character was, and she had to jump over many hurdles before getting to a place of tranquility in her life.

Despite being besties in TV's happiest family, things haven't always been copacetic between Maureen McCormick and her onscreen "Brady Bunch" sister, Eve Plumb, who played middle daughter Jan Brady. Decades after the sitcom ended, McCormick and Plumb had a years-long feud. When asked about it in 2008 by Today, McCormick shared what caused the rift. "There have been so many jokes about sex and relationships on the 'Brady Bunch' set," McCormick began. "I was on a late-night show and I said, 'Oh, yeah, I've kissed [Eve Plumb].' I have kissed all the girls I worked with!" Unsurprisingly, that soundbite did not play well in the tabloids and rumors really started flying about Plumb.

McCormick admitted she tried to explain to Plumb what happened, but it didn't sound like her former TV sister wanted to hear it. This incident was a huge reason their relationship went up in flames, something McCormick said was a bummer. "She was my best friend. We went through a lot together." The beef was so bad, it caused a "Brady Bunch" TV reunion to be canceled back in 2010. According to a source at RadarOnline, the Brady kids were set to appear together on a morning show, but McCormick and Plumb refused to be on it together. This marked one of many tragic details of the "Brady Bunch" cast.

However, McCormick and Plumb seem to have at least somewhat mended their relationship since then, appearing together for "A Very Brady Renovation," an HGTV series, in 2019.

In June 2025, HGTV icon Loren Ruch died of acute myeloid leukemia at age 55 (via Variety). Maureen McCormick took the news hard, posting a heartfelt message to her late friend on Instagram. The snapshot is from "A Very Brady Renovation," where McCormick and Ruch met. "Your kindness, your heart, and your desire to bring people together in love is a gift so precious to all who were lucky enough to know you and have you in their lives," McCormick wrote, adding, "my heart is broken."

She posted a second photo to Instagram shortly after, this one a picture of her with Ruch, big smiles on both of their faces. She expressed her love for her friend and said how he will always be in her heart. Losing someone close to you is never easy, and the fact that Ruch died before he even hit 60 makes the situation extra tragic.