It’s hard to believe it’s been 60 years since The Sound of Music first hit the big screen. Debbie Turnerwas just 7-years-old when she was cast in one of the most beloved films of all time. But unlike some of her co-stars, the movie didn’t launch her into stardom — it marked her only major role.
At the heart of this iconic film were seven young actors who portrayed the von Trapp children, led by legendary stars Julie Andrewsas Maria and the lateChristopher Plummer as Captain von Trapp. Among the children was Turner, who played Marta, the second-youngest sibling.
While some of her fellow von Trapp kids had already made names for themselves, Turner stepped onto the set in Salzburg as a newcomer to the big screen.
“Angela [Cartwright] was already an established actress beforehand. I wasn’t. I was a TV commercial actress,” Turner, now 69, told People. Cartwright, who portrayed Brigitta in the film, had already made her screen debut at age 3 and was known for her role in The Danny Thomas Show before joining The Sound of Music cast.
The rest of the von Trapp children were portrayed by Charmian Carr (Liesl), Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich), Heather Menzies-Urich (Louisa), Duane Chase (Kurt) and Kym Karath(Gretl). For many of them, The Sound of Music launched a career in entertainment. For Turner, however, it marked both the beginning and end of her time in Hollywood.
Despite the film’s massive success, Turner didn’t land additional major roles afterward — “not really by choice.” “I’d go in interviews and they’d go, ‘Oh, so you were in The Sound of Music?’” she recalled. “And then it’s like, I don’t know if I got put on a pedestal or I got thrown out the side — I don’t know.”
She continued auditioning, but the offers just weren’t there. “I just didn’t get jobs,” she explained. While some child stars chased the spotlight, Turner’s path gradually shifted.
Instead of a Hollywood career, she chose to embrace her true passions. Turner became an athlete and artist, gravitating toward floral design and home décor. For years, she ran Debbie Turner Originals, where she specialized in weddings and floral arrangements.
One of her proudest accomplishments? Helping decorate the White House for Christmas, an honor she described as a “neat experience.”
Though now semi-retired, Turner hasn’t slowed down. “Now it’s grandkids time!” she said. Married to Rick Larson since 1989, the couple has raised four children and are now proud grandparents to 10 grandchildren.
While she’s not actively pursuing acting, she wouldn’t rule it out entirely.
“Probably one of the reasons I’m not in Hollywood movies anymore is they don’t make movies that I’d want to ever be in,” she explained. “So it would have to have certain qualities about it that would fit with where I’m at.” Adding, “If it’s wholesome and it’s a great story. Great actors, something like that. Yeah, look, I’d consider it.”
These days, family, not fame, is what matters most to Turner. Still, we’d love to see her back on screen, especially in a story as timeless as The Sound of Music.
