Little House on the Prairie
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"To me, at forty-four years old, my book was a search for truth and identity." Melissa Gilbert has made waves in Hollywood for far more than her work on screen. After initially beginning her career as a child actress, Gilbert would go on to become an accomplished voice actor, the President of the Screen Actors Guild, and a politician running for the United States Congress. Obviously, a lot has happened throughout Gilbert's life and career, and you are here to learn about her!
During her long life in the public square, Gilbert has accomplished many tremendous things. She has portrayed iconic characters, appeared on Dancing with the Stars, and she has even released her own series of children's books and cookbooks. If Gilbert sounds fascinating just from a brief overview, you can only imagine what our up-close look at her history will reveal.
A Rough Childhood
Melissa Gilbert was born on May 8, 1964, in Los Angeles, CA. Her mother was Kathy Wood and her father was David Darlington. However, her biological parents would end up giving her up for adoption immediately after her birth. Within a day, Gilbert had been adopted by the comedian Paul Gilbert and his wife, a famous dancer, Barbara Crane. Barbara Crane was the daughter of Harry Crane, the mind famous for developing the hit show, The Honeymooners. Barbara and Paul would go on to adopt another child, a son, named Jonathan.
Despite being adopted at a young age, Gilbert would still have to deal with the fallout of her parent's divorce. Barbara and Paul would divorce when Gilbert was just eight-years-old. Barbara would go on to marry Harry Abeles, and they would go on to have a daughter named Sara Gilbert (Roseanne). Paul Gilbert would tragically pass away when Gilbert was just 11-years-old.
With so much change going on early in her life, it seemed only natural that Gilbert would take to the entertainment world. As a child, she began auditioning and landing roles almost immediately. She started out attending commercial auditions and that would eventually lead to her big break, an audition for the pilot episode of Little House on the Prairie.
Becoming an Industry Titan
When Gilbert auditioned for the pilot of Little House on the Prairie, she had to compete against more than 500 children who were all auditioning for the same part. Still, Gilbert won the role and began filming in 1973. The pilot episode of Little House on the Prairie would prove to be an instant hit and Gilbert would stick with the program for its full nine-year run as Laura Ingalls. Gilbert was revered for her work on the project, and she would end up getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as a result. The program also co-starred her brother, Jonathan Gilbert, as Willie Oleson. During her time on the show, Gilbert would cultivate a father-like relationship with star Michael Landon. Unfortunately, the two would have a falling out, and they would not reconnect until he was bedridden from pancreatic cancer.
After Little House found its way off the air, Gilbert would continue scoring notable work on television. She started her post-Little House career by landing work on Babylon 5 (1996) and Sweet Justice (1995). From there, Gilbert would go on to rack up credits in a variety of shows and made-for-TV movies, though few, if any, would land any critical or commercial acclaim. Due to the fact that commercial TV roles seemed to be dying out, Gilbert began to explore the world of voice acting. She would land a lead role in Batman: The Animated Series as Barbara Gordon, also known as Batgirl.
In 2001, Gilbert would move away from her work on the screen in order to do important work behind it as the President of the Screen Actors Guild. Gilbert was officially elected to the position in 2001 in which she competed against Valerie Harper (Rhoda) by almost 9,000 votes. She was re-elected in 2003 before stepping away from the position in 2005. Gilbert was followed by Alan Rosenberg who has since been succeeded by Ken Howard. Gilbert would then appear on Season 14 of Dancing with the Stars alongside dancer, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Gilbert would suffer a concussion during her stint on the show, but she would still make it to fifth place.
After her stint as the President of the Screen Actors Guild came to an end, Gilbert would start taking on work in theater. Gilbert would appear the theatrical adaptation of Little House on the Prairie as Caroline 'Ma' Ingalls. Gilbert kept her role for a full year, touring throughout the country before finishing at the Starlight Theater in Kansas City. Shortly thereafter, Gilber performed in a one-woman play titled, My Brilliant Divorce (2018). Since then, Gilbert has held off from her work in the theater.
In 2015, Gilbert made a turn away from entertainment and toward the field of politics. She announced her campaign for Michigan's 8th Congressional District during the 2016 election. Gilbert would win the Democratic primary before ultimately dropping out from the race due to health concerns. Since then, Gilbert has appeared intermittently on television and in film, most recently appearing in When We Last Spoke (2019).
As far as her love life goes, Gilbert has certainly been attached to some of the biggest stars in entertainment history. As a teenage star, Gilbert would be linked to both Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise before ultimately marrying Bo Brinkman. Though they would later divorce, Brinkman and Gilbert would share a son, Cody. Gilbert would go on to marry Bruce Boxleitner, and they would have a son, Michael Garrett. Michael was named in honor of Michael Landon. Again, Gilbert would file for divorce in 2011. Since then, Gilbert has been married to Timothy Busfield. The two would we during a private ceremony in Santa Barbara.
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