The Real Reason Why You Recognize Teeter From Yellowstone
If the name Jennifer Landon sounds ultra-familiar and you're not quite sure why, the reason could be a couple of things. While playing Teeter on the popular Western drama "Yellowstone," Jennifer has amassed her own cult following of fans who love to cheer on the relentlessly focused ranch hand. If that's not what you're thinking of, perhaps you're thinking of her long history in soap operas — she's just one of many celebs who got their start on soaps — including a stint on powerhouse soap "Days of Our Lives" and her years on "As the World Turns," which won her three Emmys.
Of course, with a last name like Landon, it's also impossible to ignore the obvious: As the daughter of "Little House on the Prairie" star Michael Landon, Jennifer has had opportunities in Hollywood that not everyone gets — like booking her first gig at only 5 years old (per Smashing Interviews Magazine).
While she's been acting for quite some time, Jennifer is still finding her way in the entertainment industry. From soap operas to running with a religious crime syndicate to working on a ranch, here's a glimpse at the roles Jennifer Landon has played so far in her growing career.
Jennifer Landon was born into Hollywood royalty
If Jennifer Landon's last name sounds familiar, there's a big reason why: Her dad is Michael Landon, the actor and filmmaker behind hit shows such as "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven." Sadly, Michael died in 1991 from pancreatic cancer.
Jennifer was only 7 when she lost her father, and her memories of him are warm and endearing. As she told Smashing Interviews Magazine, she remembers her dad as exactly all of the best things people have said about him. "I had a lot of respect for him," she added. "He didn't really ever have to get upset because you weren't really going to do anything to piss him off, which was nice."
Jennifer also enjoys watching her dad on TV if she happens to randomly catch an episode of one of his shows. In fact, she thinks having the opportunity to do so is pretty special. "It makes me feel very good," she admitted to the magazine of those times.
She was only 5 when she joined Highway to Heaven
Since her dad, Michael Landon, was the brains and star of "Highway to Heaven," it's not surprising that the show gave Jennifer Landon her first opportunity to perform on screen. As she shared with Smashing Interviews Magazine, Jennifer was only 5 years old when she appeared on the show for the first time. She spoke about feeling a lot of anxiety the day she showed up on set, as it was clear the other children were serious young actors. "I think I was nervous. I was a pretty smart kid and intuitive. There were all these other kids there and acting clearly was their bread and butter," she explained. "They were child actors and I wasn't."
Jennifer also said that the decision to join the show wasn't up to her, but, rather, to her father who "wanted to put his kid in something and he was allowed to do that," she said, adding, "I always say if your dad owns a deli, your first job is probably working at the deli." However, in retrospect, she realizes that some people at the time had a problem with her having a role just because of her famous father.
The actress starred on As the World Turns for five years
Despite Jennifer Landon's early nervousness on set, she did go on to land other roles, like the part of Gwen Norbeck Munson on "As the World Turns" (via IMDb). In true Landon style, once she took on the role in 2005, she put her all into it and earned three consecutive Emmys for her performance, as Smashing Interviews Magazine noted. Landon admitted to the magazine that, as a child, however, she wasn't overwhelmingly interested in pursuing acting as a career. She said that moment happened later, while attending a friend's birthday party where the kids dressed up as characters from Disney's "The Little Mermaid." "I was Ursula, the mean lady. I remember people laughing, really laughing," she recalled. "I just felt this thing turn on."
Landon happily refers to her role on "As the World Turns" as her first "real" acting job. According to The Pioneer Woman, Landon had an enormously successful run on the beloved soap opera, appearing in nearly 500 episodes. As fans of Landon likely know, her first foray into the world of soap operas definitely wasn't her last, but it was quite possibly her most memorable.
Jennifer Landon had an ill-fated run on The Young and the Restless in 2012
In fact, Jennifer Landon found herself back on a soap opera only a couple of years after "As the World Turns" was canceled after 54 years on the air (per Showbiz CheatSheet) when she joined the cast of "The Young and the Restless" in 2012 (via IMDb).
At the time of her hiring, Landon was the third actress to play the character Heather Stevens, and it turns out she wouldn't be the last by a long shot. As she told Smashing Interviews Magazine, it was to no fault of her own. "She's really a cursed character. It felt like four people in one month played her," she explained. "I mean, so many people have played that Heather character that I've met two of them in completely random situations." She goes on to say that she even met a former Heather Stevens in a sandwich shop when she least expected it!
With that character curse in mind, perhaps it's no wonder Landon was let go from the show after less than five months (per Soap Central).
Her role on Banshee was definitely something new for Jennifer Landon
Jennifer Landon took a bit of a break from acting following her departure from "The Young and the Restless," but when she came back to the fold she was more than ready (via Soap Opera Spy). Landon starred as Lilith Bode in 11 episodes of the crime thriller "Banshee," set in Amish Country, Pennsylvania. Soap Opera Spy noted that the character was the "most complex" the actress had played at the time.
Landon was thrilled for the opportunity to be part of the show's final season, which she said was "a blast." As she told Naluda Magazine a few years later, she even used her time as Lilith to inform a character she later played on "Animal Kingdom." "I played the young wife of a satanic cult leader [on "Banshee"], and I approached my reverie for the faith much like I approached it with Amy," she noted.
She returned to soap operas when she joined Days of Our Lives
In 2017, Jennifer Landon made a move that would take her back to her acting roots when she joined the cast of "Days of Our Lives." Plenty of fans of the show were thrilled with the news of her casting, with Soaps In Depth sharing the casting notice for Landon's character, a police officer named Hillary Nelson (via IMDb). As the site shares, the character was also assigned an episode arc of eight to 10 episodes.
Soaps in Depth describes Hillary as "outgoing and warm" before noting that the cop is on a break of several months to "recover from an intense case that she solved." Despite the initial expectations and hopes of many of her fans, Landon's run on the longtime soap was, unfortunately, cut short — she appeared on only five episodes of the show (via IMDb).
Jennifer Landon next played a mother of three on Animal Kingdom
Jennifer Landon was soon back in the saddle again when she joined the cast of "Animal Kingdom" in 2017. Based on the Australian TV show of the same name, the show follows the exploits of a teen who moves to Southern California to live with his grandmother. To say the show is dramatic is an understatement — his grandmother is actually the head of the family crime ring. Landon was cast as Amy, the mother of the teen and his two siblings.
As Landon told Naluda Magazine, the show is an incredible piece of work, but it has some troubling elements. After praising the show's values of "love and home and family," she added, "It's a sick version of those values, which I think is more often the case than not." In other words, in some ways, the show is just like any other family drama — until it's not.
It also turns out that Landon wasn't incredibly familiar with the show when she first received the script, though that's not because of the show's content. The reason? For a TV star, she doesn't watch much television — but she has a good excuse. "I should be a huge viewer of television, but I tend to find that between life and cleaning up after my two really disgusting bulldogs ... I don't have time," as she told Smashing Interviews Magazine.
It took eight months from her audition to get hired for Yellowstone
Jennifer Landon was introduced to "Yellowstone" audiences in 2020 when she joined the cast as Teeter, a woman who comes on board the ranch's team as an extra set of hands. Teeter can hold her own in a sphere typically dominated by men, a fact Landon appreciates in the character. As she told Bridle & Bit Horse Magazine, her character brings a lot to the table. "Teeter does not have that much personally, but she is honorable," she said.
Landon has an interesting story about how she actually ended up on "Yellowstone." After auditioning for the role, it was a full eight months later when she finally got the call that she had landed the role. However, once she was in, Landon was fully committed to the role, which has provided her opportunities and experiences she might never have had otherwise — experiences with horses, that is. As she told Bridle & Bit Horse Magazine, "One of the most unique horse experiences that I've had was during ... [S]eason [3], where we ran 200 wild horses over several acres in a field!"
She was most recently seen on FBI: Most Wanted
In December 2021, fans of "Yellowstone" came to a startling realization quite quickly: It might be time to say goodbye to Teeter. After the character was fired from her work at the ranch, viewers wondered if she'll ever return to the show. For her part, Landon has been pretty quiet. While only time will tell if she ever returns to "Yellowstone," the actress has picked up a new job on "FBI: Most Wanted" (per IMDb).
Landon's role on "FBI: Most Wanted" was announced back in January 2021. She joined the cast as equestrian instructor Sarah Allen, who works with the daughter of Jess LaCroix (via TVLine). Clearly, her time at "Yellowstone" made Landon a natural for the part, and, in March 2021, she shared a photo on Instagram from the show alongside a caption that made it clear she enjoys the parallels between the two shows. As she put it, "Let's get Western on tonight's episode of @fbimostwantedcbs!"