She embodied the sweet innocence of childhood, and her character became one of television’s most recognizable faces.
With her blond pigtails and charming smile, Anissa Jones was catapulted into the spotlight as Buffy Davis on Family Affair. How the beloved child star spent her final days is a sobering reminder for us all.
When Family Affair premiered on CBS in 1966, audiences instantly fell in love with little Buffy Davis, the sweet, blonde-haired orphan played by Anissa Jones, and her beloved doll, Mrs. Beasley.
Buffy’s innocence and charm made her one of television’s most recognizable faces. For audiences in the late 1960s, Buffy embodied the innocence of childhood during a time of social upheaval. Entertainment historian Geoffrey Mark noted, “America was aching for gentleness then. Anissa gave them that.”But behind the smiles and pigtails, Anissa’s life was far from the picture-perfect childhood she portrayed on screen.
A rising star
Anissa Jones was born on March 11, 1958, in West Lafayette, Indiana, a college town known for Purdue University. Her father, John Paul Jones, was an engineer and faculty board member at Purdue, while her mother, Mary Paul Tweel, was studying zoology.
The family eventually moved to Playa Del Rey, California, in 1963 when her father took a job in aerospace engineering.
Anissa began acting at a young age, appearing in commercials at just six years old. By 1966, at the age of eight, she landed her breakthrough role as Buffy Davis. Anissa was small for her age, which made it easy for her to play a six-year-old on TV, even though she was actually a few years older.
