Marcia From ‘The Brady Bunch’ Had a Dark History With Cocaine

Maureen McCormick famously starred as a member of one of America’s most beloved families. From 1969 to 1974, she played the girl-next-door in The Brady Brunch as Marcia Brady, a member of a blended family who was a good girl with big dreams. But life outside of the spotlight was much darker. Her upbringing was riddled with trouble. Her father was a philanderer, and her brother was a heroine addict. She also had a brother who was mentally impaired and both her mother and grandmother lived with syphilis, an STI she feared was passed onto her. After the show ended, she was introduced to drugs by a boyfriend when she was 18, and it would change the course of her life.

In a personal essay reported by Newsweek in 2008, she detailed her addiction to cocaine. The first time she tried it was at the home of a major dealer in LA. She recalls seeing the powdery substance on a table and not knowing what is was, but felt pressured to try it. She did, and became hooked for the next five years. Her addiction got so bad that she says she did unspeakable things in order to get her next hit.

“I got naked for a drug dealer so he could videotape me. And I also had sex with a dealer to get more cocaine,” she remembered. “They loved the fact that I was hanging out with them because I was Marcia Brady, and apparently that was good for their image and business.”

As her addiction worsened, her work declined more and more as she was unable to escape her perfect character from The Brady Bunch. Casting directors couldn’t see past Marcia Brady. So she dove deeper into her addiction.

The Brady Bunch reunited for a number of specials, one in 1981. Instead of going to set for rehearsals, she found herself in her apartment doing cocaine. Her agent found her and forced her into treatment. Her on-screen husband from The Brady Bunch took her to Church one day, and things changed. She reconnected with her faith and met her future husband, Michael, and her journey to sobriety began. 

After discovering she suffered from depression, she was put on meds to balance her moods. It helped with her sobriety as well, and she’s been sober for over 30 years.