Lindsay Greenbush was born Rachel Lindsay Bush, the elder sister of identical twin sister Sidney Robyn Bush (born three minutes later) on May 25th May, 1970 in Hollywood, California. Their father, Billy Bush, is an actor who starred in films such as “Five Easy Pieces” (1970), “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (1974), and “Tom Horn” (1980)”; he was billed as Billy Green Bush in those films. The twins have a brother, Clay. He was seen occasionally on “Little House on the Prairie”. Their mother was Carole Kay Bush.
Lindsay and Sidney had their first break sharing the role of Jill Hayden in the 1973 television film “Sunshine” with Cliff DeYoung. After the film wrapped, Michael Landon was casting for his series called “Little House on the Prairie” (based on the series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder). The Director of “Sunshine”, Joseph Sargent, recommended the twins for the role of the youngest daughter Carrie Ingalls. Finally, Landon met them and signed them immediately.
On March 30, 1974 the pilot of “Little House” premiered on NBC, and it was a hit. Six months after the success of the pilot, it had turned into a weekly series. The series premiered on September 11, 1974, and it was a hit as well. In the series, they are billed as Lindsay Sidney Greenbush. The first season, ended with the show at #13 in the ratings. In its second season, the show was in danger of getting the ax because it slipped out of the top 30. Attempting to save the show, NBC moved it from Wednesday to Monday night. By the end of its third season, the show was at #16.
The Carrie character was limited, and fans of the series wanted to see more of her. On December 18, 1978 the fans’ wish came true: they get to see the twins alongside one another in an episode called “The Godsister”, in which a heartsick Carrie feels lonely after her Pa goes away to work for a month. Carrie creates an imaginary friend, Alyssa, to heal her heartache. The twins switched roles for those characters as well. From seasons 4-7, the show hovered inside the top 20.
During the show’s success, the twins (along with co-stars Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson) built a fan base across the country.
For the ninth season, Michael Landon decided to take “Little House” in a new direction, and the show was re-tooled as “Little House: A New Beginning”. The twins’ absence was explained by having the Ingalls family (except Laura) move to Burr Oak, Iowa, to build a much better life.
After the sisters’ departure from “Little House” in 1982, Lindsay guest starred in “Matt Houston” in 1983. She portrayed a victim of abuse. Lindsay went to audition for the part of Dorothy Gale in “Return To Oz”. Unfortunately, the producers passed on her because she was considered too old. Sidney starred as Amy McVickers on “Hillie and Hambone” in 1984 with the late Alan Hale.
Outside “Little House”, the twins appeared in magazines, commercials, etc. In 1978, the twins wrote to Amy Carter, whose father was president at the time. Carter wrote back, expressing her desire to have them visit the White House, and off they went. Amy told them that “Little House” was her favorite show, so the twins gave her a gift: a portrait of the cast.
They decided to continue with their high-school studies and graduated in 1988 at Santa Monica High School. Rachel Lindsay studied theater arts at both Santa Monica High School and Moorpark College, graduating with a BS in Accountancy from California State Lutheran University.
Rachel Lindsay makes numerous appearances and, in 2016, performed in the “Vagina Monologues”, alongside cast mate Alison Arngrim.
Lindsay has one daughter.
