Michael Landon’s 9 Children: From ‘Yellowstone’ Star Jennifer Landon to Director Christopher Landon
Michael Landon welcomed nine children via adoption and with his three wives during his 54 years of life
Michael Landon is remembered as one of the most beloved TV dads of all time — notably Charles Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. But behind the scenes, Landon was a father to nine children of his own.
Throughout his three marriages to Dodie Levy-Fraser, Marjorie Lynn Noe and Cindy Landon, Michael Landon welcomed sons Mark and Josh via adoption, as well as sons Michael Jr., Christopher and Sean. Landon also adopted daughter Cheryl and welcomed daughters Leslie, Shawna and Jennifer.
Many of his children have followed in their father’s footsteps, becoming actors and directors in their own right, while some of them have forged individual paths. Michael Landon sadly passed away on July 1, 1991, due to pancreatic cancer, leaving his children, with the youngest only a toddler. Learn everything there is to know about his nine children.
Mark Landon
The oldest of his children, Mark Landon, was born on October 1, 1948, to Landon’s first wife, Dodie Levy-Fraser and her first husband. When Michael and Dodie tied the knot, he adopted 11-year-old Mark as his son.
Mark was an actor, like his father, appearing in projects such as Double Edge (1985), Us (1991) alongside his father, and Goodbye America (1997). Mark sadly died on May 11, 2009, at age 60.
Cheryl Ann Pontrelli
Landon’s oldest daughter, Cheryl, was born to his second wife, Marjorie Lynn Noe, in 1953. When He and Noe married, he adopted her daughter, expanding his own family tree.
Although Cheryl keeps out of the spotlight, unlike her father and a few siblings, she served as the inspiration for one of her father’s biggest projects. In 1973, Cheryl was involved in a massive car accident that resulted in the breaking of nearly every bone in her body and the death of four other passengers.
At that time, Landon made a promise that if his daughter survived and got better, he “would do my best to make a product to help people.” Cheryl did recover and years later Landon came up with the idea for his series, Highway to Heaven (1984-1989).
Cheryl, however, had no idea that her father had made this promise until he was on his own deathbed. In 2023, she shared the details, recalling, “I looked at him and said, ‘You made this promise over my life?’ And he squeezed my hand; he said: ‘We don’t know how to love each other; we’ve forgotten,’” she said.
In her adult years, Cheryl wrote books based on and inspired by her father, one titled I Promised My Dad: An Intimate Portrait of Michael Landon by His Eldest Daughter in 1992, as well as Michael Landon’s Legacy: 7 Keys to Supercharging Your Life in 2001. She has also been a motivational speaker and lecturer for many years.
Josh Fraser Landon
Landon’s second eldest son, Josh, was born in 1960 and adopted by Landon and his first wife, Dodie Levy-Fraser. Not much is known about Josh or his relationship with his father. Landon did, however, make a statement about his adopted sons back in 1962.
“I hate it when someone calls [Josh] ‘adopted’…. They’re my sons—period,” Landon explained. “Not my ‘adopted sons.’ They’re my sons and I’m their father until they die—or I die.”
Leslie Landon
As the second eldest daughter, Leslie Landon was the firstborn between Landon and his second wife, Marjorie Lynn Noe, in 1962. Leslie was a former actress, appearing in multiple episodes of Little House on the Prairie, as well as a few of the TV movies it inspired, as Etta Plum. Her acting career didn’t last long afterward as Leslie became a psychologist.
Michael Landon Jr.
Michael Landon Jr., born in 1964, was the second child born to Landon and Noe. Michael Jr. didn’t just take on his father’s name — he also followed in his footsteps as an actor and director. He appeared in two episodes of Little House when he was younger.
His directing career began with the 1999 TV movie, Michael Landon: The Father I Knew. Today, Landon is the writer and co-creator of the Hallmark hit series, When Calls The Heart.
Shawna Landon
Landon and Noe welcomed daughter Shawna Landon in 1971. Like her siblings, Shawna gave acting a shot, appearing in an episode of Little House, but she later found her own path. She’s now a luxury real estate agent along with her youngest brother, Sean.
Christopher Landon
Christopher was the last child to be born during Landon and Noe’s marriage in 1975. He, too, has become a director and writer, working on mostly horror films such as Happy Death Day (2017) and writing the recently released Heart Eyes (2025).
Jennifer Landon
Once Landon married third wife Cindy in 1983, he welcomed his second youngest child, Jennifer Landon. As his youngest daughter, Jennifer truly followed in her father’s footsteps, her acting career beginning with an appearance on Highway to Heaven in 1989.
In 2005, Jennifer became a major character on the soap opera As The World Turns, which she starred in until it ended in 2010. Since then, the actress has jumped around to different soaps, including Days Of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless.
Jennifer’s most recent and popular role was as Teeter on Yellowstone, which she held from season three until the fifth and final season in 2024.
Sean Matthew Landon
Landon’s youngest son, Sean, was born in 1986 to the actor and Cindy. Sean was only a toddler when Landon passed in 1991. The youngest of the Landon clan has since become a luxury real estate agent along with his older sister, Shawna.
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