Millions of viewers watched Kami Cotler grow up as Elizabeth Walton, the youngest child on The Waltons. She was only a little girl when audiences first fell in love with the red-haired, outspoken Elizabeth—and for nearly a decade, she grew up right alongside the show’s devoted viewers.

But when The Waltons ended, Cotler did something surprising. Instead of spending her adult life chasing another Hollywood role, she largely walked away from acting. She later explained that after years of working as a child, auditioning no longer appealed to her and she was ready to pursue other interests.

Her next chapter couldn’t have been more different. Cotler went into education, teaching in places including Virginia and California before eventually becoming a school administrator and principal. In an interesting twist, one episode of The Waltons had even suggested that Elizabeth wanted to become a teacher—years before Cotler followed that path in real life.

She hasn’t forgotten Walton’s Mountain, though. Cotler has remained connected with her former castmates and fans, participating in reunions and Waltons events and discussing her memories of the series. More than 50 years after viewers first met little Elizabeth, the child star chose something Hollywood fame couldn’t offer her: a completely different life helping educate the next generation.