'Little House' villain Nellie makes surprise cameo in Netflix reboot

Bryan Alexander, USA TODAYFri, July 10, 2026 at 2:27 AM UTC

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Nellie is back on "Little House on the Prairie," or at least the actress who played the OG villain in the classic series.

Alison Arngrim, who starred as haughty Nellie Oleson in NBC's "Little House" (and wrote the book about it, "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch"), returns for a cameo in the Netflix reboot (now streaming).

Arngrim, 64, has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it (yet still unforgettable) moment in Episode 2 of the Netflix series playing Ida, a forest drifter who meets up with Laura (Alice Halsey) and her older sister Mary (Skywalker Hughes).

"Ida is basically a crazy lady in the woods, sort of a forest drifter with friends," Arngrim told Netflix's Tudum. "They’re hanging out in the woods, having their little dinner, a little campfire in the forest, and the two poor unsuspecting Ingalls girls wander in, and we’re like, 'Hi, come hang out with us.' I thought, 'Oh, that’s creepy as all get‑out. That sounds right up my alley. I’ll be right over!'"

Arngrim said she got a phone call from Netflix producers asking, “What are you doing in a week and a half? Could you come to Winnipeg? There’s this character, we want it to be you.”

"It was very fast – maybe two weeks’ notice," she added.

More: Major changes How Netflix's 'Little House on the Prairie' differs from the original

Arngrim was in heaven on the Canadian set with the intricate period costumes. She was not as thrilled about having to go full-prairie-drifter.

"The makeup woman came in and said, 'You realize you’re living in the woods here,'" Arngrim said. "They proceeded to make me look like I took much less care of myself than I actually do. They painted my teeth and made them look horrible. They painted my nails to look disgusting, filthy, and diseased. All my beautiful nails, my beautiful teeth, my beautiful skin – out the window."

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Nellie would have been devastated, but Arngrim is a pro who knows her Ida character.

"She’s been drinking, living in the forest, and not hydrated. She’s rough," she said.

Arngrim also discussed her reign of terror on NBC's "Little House," in which Nellie made Laura's (Melissa Gilbert) life miserable. The show captured the country's imagination from 1974 to 1983, starring "Bonanza" star Michael Landon as Pa.

"It really hit the fan around the third season. We all started getting recognized," said Arngrim, who noted that heartthrob Landon made the show explode. "Michael Landon pops up off 'Bonanza' and says, 'I want to do Little House on the Prairie,' and the industry goes, 'Oh my God, really?'"

More: Original Laura weighs in Melissa Gilbert reacts to Netflix's 'Little House' reboot

The show had a major impact on everyone's lives, which continues to this day.

"It’s weird enough to be famous at 12, 13, 14, having strangers talk to you in the street like they know you," said Arngrim. "But years later, you’re 30, 40, 50, 64, and complete strangers are still coming up to you in the supermarket to discuss what you did to Laura at 12. That’s weird."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alison Arngrim, 'Little House' star Nellie, makes Netflix reboot cameo

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