Ruth E. Foster (January 29, 1920 – May 12, 2012) was an American actress who portrayed Walnut Grove's postmaster, also named Foster, for several seasons on the NBC TV series Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983).

[1] She first broke into show business at the age of 12 when the Shubert Theater sponsored a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance contest.

This exposure lead to a job as a dancer with a traveling dance group.

Foster danced professionally in the Palm Springs and Branson Follies until the age of 85.

[4][5] Foster died of natural causes in Del Mar, California at the age of 92.