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Judy Norton Got Breast Implants to Escape the Waltons

Child stars Judy Norton and Mary Elizabeth McDonough achieve fame by appearing on the hit 1970s television series The Waltons. After becoming famous on television as innocent kids, they change when they’re older to appear more adult. Sadly, both actresses came to regret the things they did to prove how much they’d matured. Join Facts Verse as we explore how Judy Norton Got Breast Implants and posed for Playboy to escape The Waltons.


It’s common for child stars to act out during their teen and early adult years. In an attempt to prove to their audience how much they mature. All actors and actresses get typecast, and child stars get it the worst. As adults, child stars expect to be the same squeaky clean personalities. They become famous when they are kids, and it causes them to lash out in unexpected ways.

Sometimes, child stars grow up to do self-destructive things. These things can be extreme, such as drug use and other illegal activities. These things can be subtler and less detrimental, such as posing for a revealing photo shoot in an adult magazine. A case with former child actress Judy Norton. She poses for Playboy magazine after rising as a child star on the 1970s CBS television series The Waltons.

The Waltons airs in 1972, and it precedes by a made-for-television film that functions as its pilot. The film releases in 1971, and it calls Homecoming: A Christmas Story. The show went on to become a major success, lasting until 1981. Judy stays with the show throughout all of its nine seasons. 221 episodes but a hard time gaining notoriety outside of the show after it comes to an end. This is what led Judy down the path to posing in Playboy magazine in 1985.

The series follows the titular Walton family during the Great Depression era of America, and Judy plays as a child. Of course, Judy played Mary Ellen Walton, while Mary Elizabeth McDonough played Erin Walton. Mary takes actions she’ll regret after her time on the show in order to appeal to a more adult audience. During their time on the show, none of the child stars ran into any controversy. However, they are stuck in the wholesome roles that they occupy on the show long after it ends.

For Judy, her attempt to become a mature adult is when she poses for a 1985 issue of Playboy magazine. The actress works for a time in the stock theater after The Waltons end in 1981. She didn’t manage to find much success. Career advisers tell Judy that doing a Playboy photo shoot might be exactly what her career needs. To help break her out of the box that The Waltons unintentionally placed her in. She ends up regretting doing the photo shoot because it didn’t bring her the kind of attention that she wants. Join Facts Verse as we explore how Judy Norton Got Breast Implants and posed for Playboy to escape The Waltons.

At the time that Judy appeared in that 1985 issue of Playboy, she was only 27 years old. She is in show business for well over a decade and she’s getting fewer offers than ever in the industry. However, the actress was still getting plenty of roles on the stage. Judy resents those that advise her to take part in the Playboy photo shoot, to help her career. In fact, many viewed it as a sign of desperation from the actress.

Judy was born in Santa Monica, California, on January 29, 1958. She starts acting when she is six, appearing on television programs such as Felony Squad and Ozzie and Harriet. When Homecoming: A Christmas Story was filmed, Judy was only thirteen years old. Even then, the young actress was beginning to blossom into a woman. She recalls having feelings for 20-year-old Richard Thomas, who plays her eldest brother, on the set of the made-for-television film. Though nothing will occur between the two romantically after Judy comes of age, the two remain great friends until now.

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At the age of 18, Judy Norton married her first husband. Judy’s first husband is Douglas Taylor, and Judy becomes famous as Judy Norton-Taylor for a period of time. However, the couple’s marriage only lasted for around two years. In 1980, Judy married her second husband. Judy’s second husband was a football player by the name of Lynn Hughes. Judy married and divorced a third time, a man by the name of Randy Apostle. The couple married in 1991 and divorced in 2001. During their marriage, they had a son named Devin.

After three failed marriage, Judy’s fourth marriage has proved the most successful. Judy married fourth husband Robert Graves in 2002, and the two currently live on the outskirts of Glendale, California. Today, Judy is open to talking about the Playboy photo shoot, as she believes it’s important to educate young women in the industry to make the right decisions for their careers. According to her, her story can be seen as an example that sometimes proving to the audience that you’re mature means more than just taking off your clothes. Sadly, Judy wasn’t the only former child star from The Waltons to make a decision she later regretted as a result of trying to prove her maturity to the audience.

Mary Elizabeth McDonough played Erin Walton, and she also found herself pigeonholed in the role long after moving on from The Waltons and becoming an adult. Even as her body grew, audiences had a hard time letting go of the image of Mary as young Erin Walton. To combat this, Mary decided it was time to take her image into her own hands. To do so, she believed she needed to get breast implants. Join Facts Verse as we explore how Judy Norton Got Breast Implants and posed for Playboy to escape The Waltons.

Mary was 24 years old when she decided that it would be a good idea for her career to undergo breast enhancement surgery. Many other stars were already doing it at the time, and Mary believed that the risks outweighed the benefits. However, Mary ended up having a good deal of trouble as a result of her breast implants, and they were later removed.

Mary has claimed that she got breast implants in order to look like the women on the hit soap opera Dallas, which had taken over television at the time. Mary believed that breast implants were her ticket to looking like one of the stars of that popular show, and that’s what made her decide that getting them was right for her career. Sadly, the effect she felt upon receiving them was far from what she had intended. Join Facts Verse as we explore how Judy Norton Got Breast Implants and posed for Playboy to escape The Waltons.

No new job offers came Mary’s way as a result of her breast enhancement surgery, but a slew of health problems did. Mary suffered from a variety of health problems after receiving her breast implants. Over a decade after the surgery, she set about getting the implants removed and her health problems went away. Apparently, Mary’s implants had ruptured inside of her, which led to a great deal of suffering during the 10 years before she realized what was going on.

A few years after receiving her breast implants, Mary had become incredibly sick, and even started experiencing hair loss. She eventually determined that the implants were causing the sickness, and had them removed in 1994. Mary had also been suffering from lupus beforehand, and it went into remission after the removal. Today, Mary is very vocal about informing women how important it is to know that they’re getting the right implants for them.

The Waltons has been off the air for four decades, but it appears as if the family may be coming back into fashion! The CW channel has recently announced plans to air a special entitled The Waltons: Homecoming, inspired by the 1971 made-for-television movie that started off the original series. Though Judy and Mary aren’t returning for the special, Richard has been tapped to narrate it. Richard and the rest of the former Waltons still keep in contact, so Richard made sure that they heard the news from him first.

Fans of The Waltons can look forward to hearing Richard Thomas’ voice once again as he narrates the new special, while those looking to see what Judy is up to nowadays can head to her YouTube channel. Recently, Judy has taken to YouTube to post vlogs about her daily life, including her thoughts on the new reboot of the show that made her famous. Perhaps, if the new reboot special is successful, it will lead to an entire new series exploring the Waltons for a new generation. If so, then the rest of the remaining cast from the original series could potentially be given cameo roles. All these years later, the child stars that made up the Walton children still have fond memories about their time on the show, even if they desperately attempted to move away from the stain it left on their image growing up.


The hit CBS television series The Waltons lasted for nine seasons, with 221 episodes being produced by the end of the show’s run. Comment down below to share if you have fond memories of the Walton family, or if you’re one of many fans that are excited to tune in for the new reboot special that is going to be airing soon on the CW network. As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!

Written by Alex Carson

Alex Carson is a seasoned writer and cultural historian with a passion for the vibrant and transformative decades of the 1960s and 1970s. With a background in journalism and a deep love for music, film, and politics, Alex brings a unique perspective to the ever-evolving landscape of entertainment.

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