Daughter Of “Bonanza” Actor Michael Landon Is An Actress On “Yellowstone”

In 1959, the show Bonanza premiered and changed television forever. Lasting 14 seasons, Bonanza is NBC’s longest-running western, and is the second-longest running western on US television, behind Gunsmoke, which ran for 20 years.

Bonanza was centered around Ben Cartwright, who is a three-time widower, and his three sons. Adam Cartwright, played by Pernell Roberts, Eric “Hoss” Cartwright, played by Dan Blocker, and Joseph “Little Joe” Cartwright, played by Michael Landon. They all lived on a Lake Tahoe, Nevada-area ranch called the Ponderosa.

After wrapping up Bonanza in 1974, Michael went on to land another huge role on the TV show Little House on the Prairie. He played Charles Ingalls for the entirety of the series, which ran on NBC from 1974-1982.

After Little House, Michael starred in – and produced – the NBC TV series Highway To Heaven from 1984-1989.

He is such a legend in the television world that only one person graced the cover of TV Guide more times than him – Lucille Ball. Now that’s good company!

Michael passed away in 1991, leaving behind nine children from his three marriages. Several of his children followed in his footsteps, with one even landing a role on Little House of the Prairie! Thanks to Season 3 of the wildly popular Paramount Network TV show, Yellowstone, we have now met his youngest daughter, Jennifer.

She was born on August 29, 1983 to Michael and his third wife, Cindy Clerico, who was a makeup artist on Little House of the Prairie.

Jennifer joined the Yellowstone cast during Season Three, playing the character Teeter, a tobacco-chewing, female ranch hand who has a thick Southern accent.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCy_5fLJsjh/

In the beginning of Season 3, Kevin Costner’s John Dutton instructed his men to hire a female ranch hand who was ugly, mean, or both, so the male ranch hands wouldn’t be distracted with a romantic relationship – and they found Teeter, who has been a sense of comic relief in the normal drama-filled series.

After watching Teeter hold her own against the tough ranch hands, we wondered who she was in real life, and we were surprised to discover she is television royalty. Being the daughter of a legend, she has big shoes to fill and if her role on Yellowstone says anything about her already impressive career, she’s making him proud!

Prior to her work on Yellowstone, Jennifer starred on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns and won three Daytime Emmys for her portrayal of Gwen Norbeck Munson. She even worked with her father twice – once on the series finale of Highway to Heaven when she was five years old and on the TV movie Us, which was actually filmed as a pilot to a TV series, but Michael passed away before more episodes came to fruition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfB474KnjU0

Watch the video below, where we get to know Jennifer and her Yellowstone character Teeter.