American singer and actress on stage, film and TV, best known as the star of the TV series “The Brady Bunch,” 1969-74. She played a stage role in the 1970 play “Song of Norway,” and has done other stage roles in Las Vegas and on Broadway. During Johnny Carson’s run, she made regular appearances on “The Tonight Show.”
The youngest of ten children of a poor Indiana sharecropper, Henderson grew up with the resolve that there was a better life to be had after watching the musicals of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Jane Powell, dancing and singing all the way home. She was mortified of her hand-me-downs which often had holes in them. She recalls working in the fields helping her father to grow tobacco at age eight. She credits her mother for instilling much of her tenacity and her love of singing. By the time she was two, her mom had taught her 50 songs and often made her perform before family and friends.
Henderson discovered she had a hearing problem at 22 while performing in the “King and I” when she could not hear an important musical cue. Overcoming a reluctance to go to a doctor because of her early upbringing (it was too expensive to go to doctors), she went to the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles where it was discovered she was suffering from otosclerosis, a hereditary condition. It was corrected with surgery. She had suffered chronic back pain in the early 1950s while performing dances. An X-ray showed a condition known as spina bifida. Exercises were prescribed which Henderson continues to the present. She also suffered severe stage fright and developed a fear of flying after the death of her eldest brother.
It was an unhappy period in 1984 when her marriage broke up, plus she had a hysterectomy. Through hypnotherapy and counseling Henderson learned her stage fright was a phobia, a fear of failing and losing control. She also was diagnosed with hypoglycemia, which in combination with her fears induced stress that adversely affected her sugar levels, thus triggering panic attacks. A workaholic and a strict Catholic, her life is severely impacted by control issues.
Henderson was married to theatrical manager Ira Bernstein for 28 years: they had four children. Her second husband is her hypnotherapist, John Kappas. She enjoys spending time on their yacht. She gives much of her time to charitable causes, continues to perform, does guest TV appearances and commercials.
Henderson died of heart failure on 24 November 2016 in Los Angeles, aged 82, surrounded by family and friends.
Link to Wikipedia biography