Did you know Danielle Brisebois went on to cowrite Natasha Bedingfield hits like “Unwritten” and “Pocketful of Sunshine”? Now you do.

What happened to the All in the Family cast? Inside their lives and careers 55 years later

Did you know Danielle Brisebois went on to cowrite Natasha Bedingfield hits like "Unwritten" and "Pocketful of Sunshine"? Now you do.

By Skyler Trepel

July 12, 2026 9:00 a.m. ET

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Rob Reiner, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers, and Carroll O'Connor in 'All in the Family'. Credit:

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Norman Lear's *All in the Family* was, and remains, one of television's most groundbreaking sitcoms. The legendary series never shied away from broaching social taboos or tackling the thorny conversations taking place in working-class households across America during the 1970s. In the process, it changed the sitcom forever while turning its talented cast into stars.

The show ran for nine seasons between 1971 and 1979. At its center was Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), a man perpetually resisting the changing times who provocatively expressed his old-school views through blunt, matter-of-fact bigotry.

His charming, though somewhat naïve, wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) often bore the brunt of his insults, but both she and their daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) increasingly stood up to him as the series progressed.

That said, it was the Bunkers' counterculture son-in-law, Meathead (Rob Reiner), who became Archie's ideological nemesis, challenging the old man's worldview whenever he had the chance.

*All in the Family* is regularly ranked among the greatest television series ever made, and it ultimately won 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, among countless other honors. Ah, those were the days.

Now, it's time to look back at the classic sitcom and see what its cast members have been up to in the 55 years since its premiere.

Carroll O’Connor (Archie Bunker)

Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker; O'Connor in Beverly Hills in 1990.

Silver Screen Collection/Getty; J. P. Aussenard/WireImage

Carroll O'Connor played the cantankerous antihero Archie Bunker, legendary for firing off his grumpy, bigoted views. (He's unimpressed with society's progress, to say the least.) Archie butting heads with anyone who challenged him became one of the show's defining through-lines.

According to his onscreen foil Rob Reiner, O'Connor was a far cry from Archie. He valued his fellow actors' input and proved to be a terrific verbal sparring partner.

"Carroll O'Connor set the tone of how we were to work on *All in the Family*. He was very inclusive — he allowed everybody to participate and say what they wanted to say," Reiner wrote in ** in 2001. "Any time I did scenes with him was a great joy. It's like hitting with a good tennis player — the ball always comes back to you good."

A longtime television guest star, O'Connor appeared in supporting roles in major films including *Point Blank* (1967) and *Kelly's Heroes* (1970). But Norman Lear wanted him for Archie after seeing his performance in *What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?* (1966).

The four Primetime Emmy Awards O'Connor won for the role suggest Lear made the right call — not to mention his frequent inclusion on lists of television's greatest performances of all time.

O'Connor went on to lead the sequel series *Archie Bunker's Place* before headlining the television adaptation of *In the Heat of the Night* as old-school police chief Bill Gillespie, taking over the role Rod Steiger played in the original film. The performance earned him another Emmy.

The New York native's final screen role was in the David Duchovny–Minnie Driver romantic comedy *Return to Me* (2000). He died of a heart attack in 2001 and was survived by his wife of 50 years, Nancy Fields.

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Jean Stapleton (Edith Bunker)

Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker; Stapleton at opening night of 'The Carpetbagger's Children' in 2002.

Fotos International/Getty; Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty

Jean Stapleton played Archie's kindhearted wife Edith, the Bunker family's emotional center, whose quiet wisdom often shines through when she stands up to her prickly husband.

Although Archie occasionally refers to Edith as a “dingbat,” Stapleton found much deeper qualities to her signature character.

“[Edith was a] very compassionate individual and [had] a peculiar way of arriving into things and thoughts. Not very bright, not well educated but a great sense of wisdom and heart,” Stapleton told the Television Academy. “[She was] fun, [had a] sense of joy about her and… just great love for everyone. And a perception about people that was instinctive, intuitive, but certainly not intellectual.”

Stapleton won three Emmys and two Golden Globes for the performance. She reprised the role for five episodes of *Archie Bunker’s Place*, but ultimately wanted to move on to different projects. One of those was her Emmy-nominated portrayal of Eleanor Roosevelt in the TV movie *Eleanor, First Lady of the World *(1982).

The New York native went on to a variety of TV roles, including the short-lived sitcom *Bagdad Cafe *opposite Whoopi Goldberg and the title role in the children’s series* Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle*.

Stapleton was married to William Putch from 1957 until his 1983 death and had two children, including *One Day at a Time *actor John Putch. She died in 2013 at 90 years old.

Sally Struthers (Gloria Stivic)

Sally Struthers as Gloria; Struthers at the 'Christmas Harmony' premiere in 2018.

everett; Maury Phillips/Getty

Sally Struthers played the Bunkers' daughter, Gloria. She had her mother's kindness and her father's stubborn streak — perhaps best illustrated by the fact that she married Archie's ideological opposite, the socially conscious Mike.

As the actress tells it, she worked with the writers to give her character more dimension as the series progressed. The result was Gloria's evolution into a more outspoken feminist, partially inspired by Mike, from whom she eventually separated in the spinoff *Archie Bunker's Place*.

"Gloria Bunker Stivic would have remarried," Struthers told *Woman's World* in 2025. "Someone just as inspiring as her first husband, because Mike taught Gloria a lot."

When she landed the role, Struthers was a rising figure on the comedy circuit, having appeared on *The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour* and *The Tim Conway Comedy Hour*. But *All in the Family* became her breakout, earning her two Emmy Awards before she returned as Gloria in both *Archie Bunker's Place* and her own short-lived spinoff, *Gloria*.

The Oregon native also carved out a successful career as a voice actor, starring as Pebbles Flintstone on *The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show* before landing regular roles on *TaleSpin* and *Dinosaurs*.

She later found a new audience as Lorelai's eccentric, gossip-loving neighbor Babette on *Gilmore Girls*. These days, Struthers has a recurring role on Ted Danson's Netflix comedy *A Man on the Inside*.

The veteran actress has one daughter with her ex-husband, psychiatrist William C. Rader.

Rob Reiner (Mike “Meathead” Stivic)

Rob Reiner as Meathead; Reiner arrives for 'Late Night with Seth Meyers' in 2025.

Fotos International/Getty; Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty

Rob Reiner played Archie and Edith's progressive son-in-law, Meathead, the perfect ideological counterpoint to Archie. Just as stubborn as one another, the two clashed regularly—and often hilariously—throughout the show.

The role was Reiner's onscreen breakout after years as a bit player. As he wrote in EW, playing the character left a lasting emotional impression on him.

"I remember the last show, where my character and Sally's character were leaving to go away. It was the last show of the last season we did, and that was a very emotional show for me," Reiner wrote. "When I said goodbye to him, and basically started crying, that's one of those things where I really didn't have to act."

Despite winning two Emmys for the performance, the New York native soon shifted his ambitions from acting to directing. After launching his feature directorial career with the instant classic *This Is Spinal Tap* (1984), he embarked on one of Hollywood's most remarkable runs, directing *Stand by Me* (1986), *The Princess Bride* (1987), *When Harry Met Sally* (1989), and *Misery* (1990). The streak also included the hit legal drama *A Few Good Men* (1992), which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.

In addition to directing later films such as *The American President* (1995) and *The Bucket List* (2007), Reiner continued acting occasionally, appearing in *Sleepless in Seattle* (1993), *Bullets Over Broadway* (1994), *New Girl*, and *The Wolf of Wall Street* (2013). Most recently, he stood out in a three-episode role on *The Bear*, for which he earned a posthumous Emmy nomination.

He and his wife, Michele Singer, were married from 1989 until their deaths in 2025. In December of that year, Reiner and Singer were found dead in their Brentwood, Calif., home. Their son, Nick Reiner, was later arrested and charged with murder in connection with their deaths. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in February 2026 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in September.

Danielle Brisebois (Stephanie Mills)

Danielle Brisebois as Stephanie; Brisebois at opening night of 'Annie'.

CBS via Getty; Bruce Glikas/Gett

At age 9, Danielle Brisebois began playing Stephanie, the sweet yet cunning daughter of Edith's cousin. The Bunkers took her in during the show's final season after she was left on their doorstep. As Brisebois has discussed, her character brought out a gentler side of Archie.

"I think she was one of the only people who was actually able to get to Archie, get him to soften up," Brisebois said in Donna McCrohan's in-depth book about the show. "I had him in the palm of my hand. I could make him do anything I wanted. Stephanie was really smart, really shrewd. But she didn't abuse her gift. She cared a lot about people, and all she really wanted was a happy life."

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Prior to the sitcom, Brisebois starred as the youngest orphan, Molly, in the original 1977 Broadway production of *Annie*—and decades later, her vocals from the cast recording were famously sampled on Jay-Z's "Hard Knock Life."

Brisebois continued portraying Stephanie throughout the run of *Archie Bunker's Place*, earning a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

Though she had occasional acting roles in the years that followed, she eventually retired from acting and carved out a successful music career. She was the keyboardist, percussionist, and backing vocalist for New Radicals, best known for the hit "You Get What You Give." She has also released two solo albums and cowritten hit songs for other artists, including Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" and "Pocketful of Sunshine."

Brisebois married musician Nick Lashley in 2008, and they have two daughters. The songwriting duo received an Academy Award nomination for "Lost Stars" from *Begin Again* (2013).

Where can I watch All in the Family?

*All in the Family* is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Comedy”