Surprise! Judy Norton, the actress who played the eldest daughter Mary Ellen Walton, graced the cover of Playboy in August 1985, several years after "The Waltons" ended. Norton was featured on the cover wearing a sheer bodysuit, and on the interior of the magazine in a pictorial. 

Her appearance was unexpected, as most of America had been watching her since she made her debut as Mary Ellen Walton (per IMDb) at the age of 13, in the pre-series movie "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story." Her character on "The Waltons" was a sports-playing tomboy, according to Fox News, who grew up on the show, allowing her fans to follow her journey to womanhood.

Years later, Norton told Fox News her decision to pose for Playboy was influenced by her managing team at the time. "They felt it would be a good, positive career move," she revealed in the interview. "I learned a lot of lessons from it, in terms of trusting my own instinct and decisions more than other people's."