Betty Buckley portrayed Sandra Sue “Abby” Mitchell Abbott Bradford on Eight Is Enough from season 2 through season 5. Where is the actress today?
Betty Buckley Made Her ‘Eight Is Enough’ Debut in Season 2
Betty’s first episode of Eight Is Enough came in season 2 when she first appeared as the love interest for Tom. She was brought on after the passing of Diana Hyland, who died from breast cancer at age 41, in 1977. Diana played Joan Wells Bradford in four episodes before her death.
Tom and Abby’s characters ended up getting married and she became a stepmom to his kids.
Prior to Eight Is Enough, Betty made appearances in 1976’s Carrie, a 1977 episode of Ryan’s Hope and the 1977 TV movie The Rubber Gun Squad. She also starred in the Broadway show 1776 along with many other theatrical productions throughout her career.
Betty explained how she got her start in show business.
“My mother, who had been a singer-dancer, had an extensive record collection, including Broadway cast albums, and I learned to sing by listening to all the great lady singers,” she told The Pioneer Woman in January 2015. “I was desperate to be in Bye Bye Birdie when I was a kid. I could do the whole show.”
“At 15, I made my professional debut as Dainty June in Gypsy. Later that summer, I danced in West Side Story,” Betty said. “There wasn’t a role for me – I danced the part of Baby John’s girl at the ‘Dance at the Gym’ – but I memorized the entire score. I could sing everyone’s part, the orchestrations too. I did two summers at Six Flags Over Texas in the Campus Revue and later the Crazy Horse Saloon. In the summers following I did some great shows at Casa Manana in Fort Worth and for two summers I performed several shows a day at Six Flags Over Texas.”
In the same interview, Betty also reflected on portraying the character of Abby on Eight Is Enough.
“If people love Abby Bradford that makes me happy. Abby is like a younger sister and I love her a lot,” the theater maven remarked. “As an actress, I’m a portrait painter, and Abby is one of my favorite portraits I’ve had the opportunity to do. I knew her very well – the American housewife trying to balance serving her family with her own aspirations. She was a great character.”
Where Is Betty Buckley Now?
After Eight Is Enough ended after five seasons in 1981, Betty went on to make dozens more appearances on TV and in films, including Evergreen, Another Woman, L.A. Law, Square One Television, Last Time Out and Simply Irresistible. From 2001 to 2003, the Texas native starred as Suzanne Fitzgerald on Oz.
Her acting appearances continued in the 2000s with roles in Pretty Little Liars, Split, Preacher, Supergirl, The Cleaning Lady and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Most recently, Betty played Cynthia in 2025’s By Design.
Additionally, Betty is also a singer and has multiple albums under her belt, with her most recent one being 2018’s Hope.
In March 2024, the Tony winner opened up about some of the “tough” experiences she had while negotiating her role on Eight Is Enough and the network’s standards for the character.
“The first season they promised me this character who was getting her doctorate and drove an old green MG, and they made her sound like this really interesting modern person,” Betty recalled in an interview with People. However, she pointed out that’s not what actually ended up happening.
“They put me in a muumuu and put me in the kitchen. And so I was like, ‘You guys, this is pre-1950s. Come on,’” she added.
Betty’s onscreen stepkids were just a few years younger than her and some were the same age as her.
“One day I was sitting in my dressing room and one of the girls [who played a stepdaughter], I won’t say her name, she came in. She goes, ‘Betty, I know you’re going through a really rough time. I just want you to know I’m older than you are.’ So amazing. It was funny,” Betty told the outlet.
