Melissa Gilbert was born on May 8, 1964 in Los Angeles. She made her debut on the air in the 1960s, but her first important role was in the series “Little House on the Prairie”. When she started working on the production set, Gilbert was only 9 years old.
“I was a nine-year-old who had to learn many pages of the script very quickly. But I also had to run a lot! I don't think I ever walked in a TV series, I was always running everywhere! Even as an adult (Gilbert played in the TV series for 10 years, editor's note) )” – recalled the actress, who was associated with “Little House on the Prairie” for a decade.
The star of “Bonanza” Michael Landon played her character's father in the series. “I once couldn't remember my lines. I started crying and became hysterical. Michael asked everyone to leave us alone. He sat me down opposite him, told me to calm down and studied with me. When I finally remembered my lines, he hugged me and then then he said sharply, 'Let it never happen again!' And it never happened,” she admitted.
When asked why people still watch Little House on the Prairie, she replied that the show reminds them of a time when everything was simpler. Let us recall that the series presented the era of pioneers who created the foundations of modern America. The key to his success was showing simple, basic values: community, compassion for the weaker, faith and love.
The themes of “Little House on the Prairie” episodes are surprisingly topical. The series featured plagues affecting communities, quarantine due to disease, and even issues related to racial segregation!
Unfortunately, for Gilbert, participating in this production turned out to be her greatest professional achievement. It is true that during a break from filming “Little House on the Prairie” she appeared in such productions as “Christmas Miracle”, “The Miracle Worker” and “The Diary of Anne Frank”, but none of them achieved the expected success.
As a result, she continued to appear in projects in which she again played the role of Laura Ingalls (“Once Upon a Time, There Was a Little House…”, “A Look Back”, “The Last Goodbye”, “Bless All the Children”).
This character stuck to the artist to such an extent that she never freed herself from its stigma. In the following years, she appeared in B-class films, as well as in single episodes of popular series (“Flawless”, “Touched by an Angel”, “Babylon 5”).
We could also watch her in the fourteenth edition of “Dancing with the Stars”, in which she did not give up participating even after suffering a minor concussion as a result of a fall. Ultimately, she took fifth place in the show.
In 2009-2010, the musical “Little House on the Prairie” was performed in American theaters. In the play, Melissa Gilbert played the role of Laura Ingalls' mother. She last appeared on screen in 2018-2019 in the films “Hometown Christmas” and “When We Last Spoke”.
Melissa Gilbert was adopted the day before she was born by actor Paul Gilbert and his wife. When she was 11, her adoptive father died of a stroke. Her parents hid from her the fact that her biological father was alive. The star still considers it his greatest trauma.
Gilbert had a very turbulent personal life. She was addicted to many stimulants, and her numerous affairs were covered in the tabloids. Divorced twice, her list of lovers includes the most handsome Hollywood stars: Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise and Bruce Boxleitner, to whom she was married for 16 years.
Her most turbulent relationship was with Low, whom she met when she was only 17! They got engaged in 1986, but they were not faithful to each other. He cheated on her with Princess Stephanie and Nastassja Kinski, and she cheated on him with Tom Cruise and Scott Baio. When she became pregnant, Lowe panicked and left her. She lost the baby a few days later. The tragedy caused her to turn to stimulants and in a short time she hit rock bottom. She also became addicted to plastic surgery.
“I finally woke up. I asked myself: what am I doing? I look like a withered carrot and I'm not happy,” she added.
The actress was convinced that to be happy in Hollywood she had to be skinny, go to popular places, have the right shoes and drive a certain model of car.
In 2013, she became the wife of actor Timothy Busfield and decided to completely distance herself from the image of a scandalous woman. Today, Gilbert is 60 years old, a mother and grandmother. He lives in the countryside, raising guinea fowl and growing organic vegetables. She lives in harmony with nature and says that she developed this philosophy, among others, from “Little House on the Prairie”, where she learned to live in community with others, in accordance with the principles of tolerance and understanding of diversity.