Melissa Gilbert Biography

Melissa Ellen Gilbert (born May 8, 1964) is an American actress and television director. Gilbert began her career as a child actress in the late 1960s appearing in numerous commercials and guest starring roles on television. From 1974 to 1984, she starred as Laura Ingalls Wilder on the NBC series Little House on the Prairie. During the run of Little House, Gilbert appeared in several popular television films, including The Diary of Anne Frank and The Miracle Worker.

As an adult, she continued her career mainly in television films. Gilbert has also continued with guest starring roles on television and has done voice work for animated series such as Batman: The Animated Series. Gilbert served as the President of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001 to 2005. In 2009, her autobiography Prairie Tale: A Memoir, was released. From 2009 to 2010, Gilbert appeared as Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the touring production of Little House on the Prairie, the Musical. In 2012, she was a contestant on the season fourteen of the popular reality dance competition show Dancing with the Stars on ABC.

Early life and family

Gilbert was born in Los Angeles, California to a newly engaged couple named David Darlington and Kathy Wood and was put up for adoption immediately after birth. She was adopted one day later by actor and comedian Paul Gilbert (born Ed MacMahon, he changed his name to Paul Gilbert to get a Screen Actors Guild card) and his wife, dancer and actress Barbara Crane, the daughter of The Honeymooners creator Harry Crane. The couple later adopted a son, Jonathan, who co-starred on Little House on the Prairie. Gilbert's parents divorced when she was 8 years old. Her mother, Barbara, then married Harold Abeles, and together they had biological daughter Sara Rebecca Abeles (the actress known professionally as Sara Gilbert), born on January 29, 1975. On February 12, 1975, Paul Gilbert suffered a fatal stroke at the age of 56. Barbara and Harold Abeles' marriage later ended in divorce. Gilbert was raised in her adoptive mother's Jewish religion, but did not have any formal religious education or conversion ceremony.

Career

Early years

Gilbert had already done dozens of commercials, including one for Alpo dog food with Lorne Greene (Michael Landon's television father on Bonanza) and 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. But a rift developed between Michael Landon and Gilbert after the revelation of Landon's affair with Little House young makeup artist, Cindy Clerico.

Gilbert had no contact with Landon after Little House ended during the 1983-84 season. Seven years later, on May 9, 1991, when she saw a gaunt-looking Landon on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson discussing his pancreatic cancer, she was compelled to finally telephone him. 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.

Career after Little House

Gilbert has continued to work regularly, mainly in television. She starred as Jean Donovan in the biopic Choices of the Heart (1983), and as Anna Sheridan in three episodes of Babylon 5 with then husband Bruce Boxleitner in 1996.

For her contribution to the television industry, Gilbert received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6429 Hollywood Blvd in 1985. Her then-fiance, Rob Lowe, was present with her when her star was unveiled during the ceremony.

In 1998, she was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 2006, Gilbert appeared as Shari Noble, a patient looking to reconstruct her nipples after committing zoophilia with her dog in a season four episode of Nip/Tuck.

In 2008 and through 2009, Gilbert played Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the musical adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. This world premiere production at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis was directed by Francesca Zambello and also starred Kara Lindsay as Laura. The show ran through October 19 and was on a US National tour for 2009-10. The tour ended in June 2010 at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri.

Dancing with the Stars

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. In week eight of competition, she was eliminated, finishing in fifth place. She was the first celebrity in history to be eliminated on his or her birthday.

Screen Actors Guild presidency

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, 21,351 votes to 12,613 votes after a second vote was taken. In 2003, she was re-elected, defeating Kent McCord with 50% of the vote to his 42%. In July 2005, she announced that she would not seek a third term. She was succeeded by Alan Rosenberg, who assumed the guild presidency on September 25.

Personal life

Relationships

At age 17, she reconnected with then little-known actor Rob Lowe, also 17. They had met briefly when they were about 14. In 1981, Gilbert, in her convertible, saw Lowe stopped next to her at a red light. Gilbert dated Lowe on and off for six years. During this time, both had affairs with other famous people. She also dated Tom Cruise, John Cusack, Scott Baio, and Billy Idol. After Lowe's failed romance with Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, he suddenly proposed to Gilbert. While making wedding plans, Gilbert found out she was pregnant. Upon being informed of the pregnancy, Lowe ended their relationship. Gilbert miscarried days later.

After her break up with Lowe, Gilbert left for New York City to star in the play A Shayna Maidel. Gilbert was set up with actor Bo Brinkman, a cousin of actors Randy Quaid and Dennis Quaid. The couple married on February 22, 1988, only seven weeks after she ended her relationship with Rob Lowe. Gilbert became pregnant months later. On May 1, 1989, she gave birth to son Dakota Paul Brinkman. They divorced in 1992.

Only weeks after Gilbert's divorce filing, Bruce Boxleitner's ex-wife, Kathryn Holcomb, set Boxleitner up with Gilbert. Holcomb by then was married to actor Ian Ogilvy. Gilbert had met Boxleitner as a teenager when they both were on Battle of the Network Stars when Gilbert introduced herself, as she had a pin-up of him in her locker. But Boxleitner ignored her, as she was a teen and he was many years older than she was. After reconnecting, the couple started dating on and off for over a year. They were engaged twice and Boxleitner broke up with her each time. After reuniting for a third time, they finally married on January 1, 1995, in her mother's living room. Gilbert quickly became pregnant, but went into premature labor more than two months before her due date. She gave birth to a son, Michael Garrett Boxleitner, named in honor of Michael Landon, on October 6, 1995. His middle name is in honor of Garrett Peckinpah, her friend Sandy Peckinpah's son, who had died suddenly of meningitis at age 16. Gilbert is also stepmother to Boxleitner's two sons with Holcomb, Sam (born 1980) and Lee (born 1985). On March 1, 2011, Gilbert announced that she and Boxleitner had separated. On August 22, 2011, Gilbert filed for divorce from Boxleitner.

On January 29, 2013, Gilbert's representative confirmed the actress' engagement to fellow actor Timothy Busfield. The couple married on April 24, 2013. Since July 2013, Gilbert and Busfield have resided in Howell, Michigan.

Health issues

She has battled alcoholism and drug abuse, which she wrote about in her 2009 autobiography.

While playing the role of Caroline "Ma" Ingalls in the touring musical Little House on the Prairie, a visit to the doctor revealed that she 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.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	'	Niece
1979	Nutcracker Fantasy	Clara (voice)
1985	Sylvester	Charlie
1986	Drug Free Kids: A Parent's Guide		Video
1989	Ice House	Kay
2007	Safe Harbour	Ophelia MacKenzie	Video

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	'	Girl on Santa's Lap	Episode: "1968 Christmas Show"
1972	Gunsmoke	Spratt's Child	Episode: "The Judgement"
1972	Emergency!	Jenny	Episode: "Dinner Date"
1973	Tenafly	Suzie's sister	Episode: "The Cash and Carry Caper"
1974-83	Little House on the Prairie	Laura Ingalls	Lead role (206 episodes)
1977	Christmas Miracle in Caulfield, U.S.A.	Kelly Sullivan	Movie
1978	'	Rosemary 'Rocky' Simpson	Episode: "Rocky"
1979	'	Helen Keller	Movie
1979	Little House Years	Laura Ingalls	Movie
1980	'	Anne Frank	Movie
1981	Splendor in the Grass	Wilma Dean 'Deanie' Loomis	Movie
1983	Choices of the Heart	Jean Donovan	Movie
1983	Little House: Look Back to Yesterday	Laura Ingalls Wilder	Movie
1984	Little House: Bless the Dear Children	Laura Ingalls Wilder	Movie
1984	Little House: The Last Farewell	Laura Ingalls Wilder	Movie
1984	Family Secrets	Sara Calloway	Movie
1985	Faerie Tale Theatre	Gerda	Episode: "The Snow Queen"
1986	Choices	Terry Granger	Movie
1986	'	Leah Furman	Movie
1987	Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife	Marian	Movie
1988	Killer Instinct	Dr. Lisa DaVito	Movie
1989	Chameleons		Movie
1990	Without Her Consent	Emily Briggs	Movie
1990	Forbidden Nights	Judith Shapiro	TV film
1990	Joshua's Heart	Claudia	TV film
1990	Donor	Dr. Kristine Lipton	TV film
1990	'	Gina / Jennifer	TV film
1991	'		Episode: "Spirit Cabinet"
1992	Stand by Your Man	Rochelle Dunphy	Main role (8 episodes)
1992	With a Vengeance	Jenna King / Valerie Tanner	Movie
1992-94	Batman: The Animated Series	Barbara Gordon / Batgirl (voice)	Recurring role (6 episodes)
1993	Family of Strangers	Julie	Movie
1993	With Hostile Intent	Miranda Berkley	Movie
1993	Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story	Shari Karney	Movie
1993	House of Secrets	Marion Ravinel	Movie
1993	Dying to Remember	Lynn Matthews	Movie
1994	'	Mary Bennett	Movie
1994	Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story	Melissa Prentice	Movie
1994	Cries from the Heart	Karen	Movie
1994-95	Sweet Justice	Kate Delacroy	Main role (22 episodes)
1995	Zoya	Zoya Ossipov	Movie
1996	Babylon 5	Anna Sheridan	Episodes: "War Without End: Part 2", "Shadow Dancing", "Z'ha'dum"
1996	'	Emma Murphy	Movie
1997	Seduction in a Small Town	Sarah Jenks	Movie
1997	Childhood Sweetheart?	Karen Carlson	Movie
1998	'	Teresa Janovitch	Episode: "Relativity Theory"
1998	Murder at 75 Birch	Gwen Todson	Movie
1998	Her Own Rules	Meredith Sanders	Movie
1998	Touched by an Angel	Michelle Tanner	Episode: "The Peacemaker"
1999	'	Rebecca	Movie
1999	Switched at Birth	Sarah Barlow	Movie
2000	'	Donielle	Movie
2001	Sanctuary	Jo Ellen Hathaway	Movie
2002	Providence	Lorna Berlin	Episode: "Smoke and Mirrors"
2002	Presidio Med	Grace Bennett	Episode: "Once Upon a Family"
2003	Then Came Jones	Devon Jones-Thomas	Movie
2003	Storyline Online		Episode: "My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother"
2003	Hollywood Wives: The New Generation	Taylor Singer	Movie
2004	Heart of the Storm	Cassie Broadbeck	Movie
2005	Thicker Than Water	Natalie Travers	Movie
2005	7th Heaven	Marie Wagner	Episode: "Honor Thy Mother"
2006	Nip/Tuck	Shari Noble	Episode: "Shari Noble"
2007	Sacrifices of the Heart	Kate Weston / Anne Weston	Movie
2011	'	Vera Parks	Movie
2012	Dancing with the Stars	Herself, contestant	Dance competition

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1980	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special	The Miracle Worker
1980	Young Artist Award	Best Juvenile Actress in a TV Series or Special	Little House on the Prairie
1981	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	Little House on the Prairie
1982	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress in a Television Special	Splendor in the Grass
1983	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress in a Drama Series	Little House on the Prairie
1984	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress in a Drama Series	Little House on the Prairie
2000	Golden Boot Awards	Golden Boot	–
2006	TV Land Awards	Most Memorable Kiss	Little House on the Prairie

Footnotes

Sources

• Gilbert, Melissa (2009). Prairie Tale: A Memoir (1st ed.). Gallery Books. ISBN 1-416-59914-2