Gilbert served as President of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) from 2001 to 2005. She briefly ran for U.S. Congress in 2016, but eventually withdrew her candidacy. She is also the author of a few memoirs, a children's book, and a cookbook.
Early life and family
Gilbert was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 8, 1964, to a newly engaged couple, Kathy Wood and David Darlington, and placed for adoption immediately after birth.[1] She was adopted one day later by actor and comedian Paul Gilbert[3] and his wife, dancer and actress Barbara Crane, the daughter of The Honeymooners creator Harry Crane. The Gilberts later adopted a son, Jonathan, who co-starred on Little House on the Prairie.
Gilbert's parents divorced when she was 6 years old. Her mother then married attorney Harold Abeles, and together they had biological daughter Sara Rebecca Abeles (the actress known professionally as Sara Gilbert) on January 29, 1975.
On February 13, 1976, Paul Gilbert died. Although 11-year-old Melissa was told that he had suffered a stroke, she found out years later that he had been a VA patient who dealt with constant pain and that he had taken his own life. The marriage of Barbara and Harold Abeles later ended in divorce.[4] According to her biography, Gilbert was raised in her adoptive mother's Jewish religion,[5] but did not have any formal religious education or conversion ceremony.[6]
Career
Little House on the Prairie
Gilbert as Laura Ingalls, circa 1975
Gilbert's earliest television appearances were in dozens of commercials, including one for Alpo dog food with Lorne Greene (Michael Landon's television father on Bonanza). She also attended school with Landon's daughter, Leslie Landon. It was Leslie who informed her that she had won the role of Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, beating out over 500 child actresses for the part. The pilot was shot in 1973 and was a ratings success. Almost a year later, Gilbert began filming the series. Gilbert became extremely close to the Landon family after her adoptive father died. However, a rift developed between Michael Landon and Gilbert after the revelation of Landon's affair with Little House's young makeup artist, Cindy Clerico.[7]
Gilbert had limited contact with Landon after Little House ended during the 1983–84 season. Seven years later, she was contacted by Landon's family and upon news of his condition, paid him a heartfelt visit following his May 9, 1991, appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson where he discussed his pancreatic cancer. She visited Landon at his Malibu home where he was, by then, bedridden, and they spent the afternoon together. Landon died one week later. When Gilbert gave birth to her son with second husband Bruce Boxleitner on October 6, 1995, they named him Michael, in honor of Landon..[8]
For her contribution to the television industry, Gilbert received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6429 Hollywood Blvd in 1985.[9] Her then-fiancé, Rob Lowe, was present with her when her star was unveiled during the ceremony.[10]
In March 2012, Gilbert joined the cast of celebrity contestants on season 14 of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. During week four's show, while dancing the Paso Doble, she fell and hit her head on Maksim's leg and suffered a mild concussion and was taken to a hospital. She went home to recuperate, but returned to continue in the competition.[14] In week eight of competition, she was eliminated, finishing in fifth place.
Screen Actors Guild presidency (2001–2005)
Gilbert was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 2001 after a contentious candidacy, in which she ultimately beat her opponent, Rhoda actress Valerie Harper.[15] In 2003, she was re-elected, defeating Kent McCord with 50% of the vote to his 42%.[16] In July 2005, she announced that she would not seek a third term.[17]
On a mission to reach out to other older women, Melissa Gilbert and Retail and Merchandising Executive Nicole Haase co-founded Modern Prairie in 2022. Modern Prairie is a community where women can connect to learn, share, and grow. In an interview with Better Homes & Gardens, she touched upon the fact that until recently, products marketed to older women "all had 'anti-aging' on them," Gilbert says. "There's no such thing! It's derogatory and demeaning. The idea that we're trying to teach people to be afraid of aging is a mistake. Aging is a gift. I like to say I'm aging gratefully."[22]
Bringing together a team of designers, business partners, and lifestyle experts, Modern Prairie’s offerings range from clothing to gardening tools to homewares inspired by the Little House ethos of “love, community and family,” made by women-owned or women-run businesses. At Modern Prairie, Gilbert and the team of designers, business partners, and lifestyle experts curate products with the intent of giving women a place where they can surround themselves with pieces and services that bring them together and encourage gathering. It’s not meant to be fancy—their selections are meant to become part of daily life and actually get used.
Along with these items, which all come from women-owned designers and businesses, the brand offers workshops with themes specifically for older generations of women: dealing with grief during the holidays, painting with watercolors, raising chickens, getting out of a feeling-stuck mentality, setting intentions, and more. It’s all about community—and the most telling aspect of the growing circle the brand has facilitated is that, while the video workshops it hosts started with cameras off, now mostly everyone shows their face. Friendships have formed and flourished, which Gilbert has found to be increasingly important later in life.[23]
Modern Prairie has also launched an app in fall 2023. "Women need to know they're not alone," she says of wanting to create a Modern Prairie community. "There's always someone there to help us through, to walk ahead of us, to walk behind us, to hold us up if need be."
In an interview with People magazine, Gilbert says she's on the Modern Prairie the app every day. "I’m watching these women support each other as they go through all these extraordinary changes," she says. "Women gather to talk about empty-nest syndrome or grief or how to embroider or make the perfect pie crust."[24]
Personal life
Relationships
Gilbert was married to actor Bo Brinkman from 1988-1994,[25] and to actor Bruce Boxleitner from 1995-2011.[25]
In January 2013, Gilbert's representative confirmed her engagement to actor Timothy Busfield.[26] They married on April 24, 2013,[27] lived in Howell, Michigan, from 2013 to 2018,[28] and moved to New York City late in 2018.[29] Also in 2018, the couple purchased a cottage in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York. Gilbert and Busfield have been renovating the cottage and intend to live there permanently. [30]
Tax issues
Following her announcement as a candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan, a spokesperson for her opponent's campaign referred to Gilbert as a "tax cheat". Gilbert owed $360,000 in back federal taxes and $112,000 in California state taxes.[31] Gilbert responded by stating that this is not true, that the tax debt was an outgrowth of a stalled acting career, the economy, and divorce.[32] She also stated that she had negotiated a repayment plan with the IRS.[31]
Health issues
In her late thirties, Gilbert battled addiction to prescription medication and alcohol. [33]
While playing the role of Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the touring musical Little House on the Prairie, a visit to the doctor revealed that Gilbert had been working with a broken back for months. On July 22, 2010, Gilbert underwent surgery to replace a disc as well as fuse a vertebra in her lower spine. The surgery was described as a complete success.[34]
In January 2015, Gilbert decided to have her breast implants removed for health reasons.[35]
^ abEggert, David (August 11, 2015). "Actress Melissa Gilbert running for Congress in Michigan". Associated Press. New York. Retrieved August 11, 2015. Bishop campaign spokesman Stu Sandler called Gilbert a "tax cheat," noting that she owes $360,000 in back taxes to the U.S. government and $112,000 to California.
^Sheets, Andy (August 14, 2015). "OFF THE BEATEN TAX: NOT-SO-LITTLE TAX LIEN ON THE PRAIRIE". 2015 TNT 157-4. Tax Notes Today.
^Gilbert, Melissa (January 21, 2014). Daisy and Josephine: Melissa Gilbert, Julia Kuo: 9781442445789: Amazon.com: Books. Simon and Schuster. ISBN978-1442445789.
^Gilbert, Melissa (September 16, 2014). My Prairie Cookbook: Memories and Frontier Food from My Little House to Yours: Melissa Gilbert, Dane Holweger: 9781419707780: Amazon.com: Books. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN978-1419707780.
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