A LEGENDARY Emmy-winning actress stunned as she showed off her unrecognisable look in Los Angeles.
The iconic screen star, now aged 85, was seen stepping out of a vehicle holding a canned drink as she enjoyed an animated chat.
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Washington-born Michael Learned was all smiles as she wore a cosy blue jumper and navy trousers, paired with a stone-coloured overcoat.
She swept her shoulder-length blonde locks in a straight style and threw a black handbag over her forearm.
Michael arrived at the venue alongside husband John Doherty, who she married 34 years ago.
Her dazzling smile was the exact same as that spotted in her acting career, which saw Michael scoop a whopping four Emmy Awards for outstanding actress in a lead series.
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A trio of these were for her iconic TV role as mum Olivia Walton on The Waltons, while the other was clocked up for 1982 medical drama The Nurse.
The Waltons ran for nine seasons from 1972 to 1981.
For its first five seasons, Michael was known as Miss Learned in the credits so as to avoid confusion about her gender.
Her character left in season seven after developing TB.
Her co-star Erin, who played Michael’s daughter, previously revealed how she was branded “fat” on the show set.
Mary McDonough took on the role of Erin in the family drama and told UK Loose Women panellists Ruth Langsford, Coleen Nolan, Janet Street-Porter and Stacey Solomon: “When it came to the body image stuff, Erin was supposed to be the ‘pretty one’ so there was a lot of pressure for me to look a certain way and weigh a certain amount.”
Janet continued: “Did they say you were fat?”
“Yeah, I created a body image issue for myself, a lot of radical diets and starving and trying to fit in and be perfect until I grew up and realised there is no perfection in that way,” Mary added.
OFF SCREEN
Michael previously confessed her “love” for her on-screen husband – and admitted the pair went on a date, but didn’t take things further.
She and Ralph Waite starred as a married couple on The Waltons, with their close connection spilling away from the filming set.
She told how Ralph, who played John Walton Snr, was her “spiritual husband” yet admitted they didn’t pursue their feeling as they didn’t want things on the show to get “messy.”
Michael previously told MailOnline: “We had a deep love for each other that we would have ruined if we had taken it that extra step, and we didn’t.
“We never did. We thought about it, but we didn’t.
“And I think that’s why we became a spiritual husband and wife if you will, and I miss him terribly. His wife is a very good friend.
“But what Ralph and I had was something that came across on screen.”
After The Waltons, Micheal went on to scoop a slew of further TV and movie roles.
These included spots in soaps All My Children, One Life to Live, General Hospital and The Young and the Restless.
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