Melissa Gilbert

**Melissa Gilbert** (born May 8, 1964) is an American actress and writer. She is famous for acting as Laura Ingalls Wilder in _Little House on the Prairie_ (1974-1984). She has also acted in many other television programs and movies.  Gilbert had two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild. On June 9, 2009 her autobiography, _Prairie Tale: A Memoir_, was released.

## Personal life

Gilbert was born in Los Angeles. She was married to Bo Brinkman from 1988 until they divorced in 1992. She was married to Bruce Boxleitner from 1995 until they divorced in 2011. She married Timothy Busfield in 2013. They have two children.

### Health issues

Gilbert has battled alcoholism and drug abuse, which she wrote about in her 2009 autobiography. In January 2015 Gilbert decided to have her breast implants surgically removed for health reasons.

## Honors

For her contribution to the television industry, Gilbert has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6429 Hollywood Blvd in 1985. Her then-fiancée, Rob Lowe, was with her when her star was unveiled. She is one of the youngest actresses to have been honored with a star.

## 2016 Congressional election

On August 10, 2015, Gilbert announced her intentions to run for Michigan's 8th congressional district. She planned to run against Republican incumbent Mike Bishop.

### Movies

|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Year|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Film|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Role|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1977|_Circus, Lions, Tigers and Melissas Too_|Self||||||
|_Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A._|Kelly Sullivan|TV movie||||||
|1979|_Nutcracker Fantasy_|Clara|Voice|||||
|_The Miracle Worker_|Helen Keller|TV movie; Nominated for an Emmy Award||||||
|1980|_The Diary of Anne Frank_|Anne Frank|TV movie|||||
|1981|_Splendor in the Grass_|Wilma Dean 'Deanie' Loomis|TV movie|||||
|1983|_Choices of the Heart_|Jean Donovan|TV movie|||||
|_Little House: Look Back to Yesterday_|Laura Ingalls Wilder|TV movie||||||
|_Little House: Bless All the Dear Children_|Laura Ingalls Wilder|TV movie||||||
|1984|_Little House: The Last Farewell_|Laura Ingalls Wilder|TV movie|||||
|_Family Secrets_|Sara Calloway|TV movie||||||
|1985|_Sylvester_|Charlie||||||
|1986|_Drug Free Kids: A Parents' Guide_|Self|Video|||||
|_Choices_|Terry Granger|TV movie||||||
|_The Penalty Phase_|Leah Furman|TV movie||||||
|1987|_Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife_|Marian|TV movie|||||
|1988|_Killer Instinct_|Dr. Lisa DaVito|TV movie|||||
|1989|_Ice House_|Kay||||||
|1990|_Without Her Consent_|Emily Briggs|TV movie|||||
|_Forbidden Nights_|Judith Shapiro|TV movie||||||
|_Joshua's Heart_|Claudia|TV movie||||||
|_Donor_|Dr. Kristine Lipton|TV movie||||||
|_The Lookalike_|Gina/Jennifer|TV movie||||||
|1992|_With a Vengeance_|Janet King/Vanessa|TV movie|||||
|1993|_Family of Strangers_|Julie|TV movie|||||
|_With Hostile Intent_|Miranda Berkley|TV movie||||||
|_Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story_|Shari Karney|TV movie||||||
|_House of Secrets_|Marion Ravinel|TV movie||||||
|_Dying to Remember_|Lynn Matthews|TV movie||||||
|1994|_The Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story_|Mary Bennett|TV movie|||||
|_Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story_|Melissa Prentice|TV movie||||||
|_Cries from the Heart_|Karen|TV movie||||||
|1995|_Zoya_|Zoya Ossipov|TV movie|||||
|1996|_Christmas in My Hometown _ (a.k.a. _A Holiday for Love_) || Emma Murphy || TV movie|||||||
|1997|_Seduction in a Small Town_|Sarah Jenks|TV movie|||||
|_Childhood Sweetheart?_|Karen Carlson|TV movie||||||
|1998|_Her Own Rules_|Meredith Sanders|TV movie|||||
|1999|_Murder at 75 Birch_|Gwen Todson|TV movie|||||
|_The Soul Collector_|Rebecca|TV movie||||||
|_Switched at Birth_|Sarah Barlow|TV movie||||||
|2000|_A Vision of Murder: The Story of Donielle_|Donielle|TV movie|||||
|2001|_Sanctuary_|Jo Ellen Hathaway|TV movie|||||
|2003|_Hollywood Wives: The New Generation_|Taylor Singer|TV movie|||||
|2004|_Heart of the Storm_|Cassie Broadbeck|TV movie|||||
|2005|_Thicker Than Water_|Natalie Jones|TV movie|||||
|2007|_Sacrifices of the Heart_ originally titled _Spring Thaw_|Kate Weston/Anne Weston|TV movie|||||
|_Safe Harbour_|Ophelia|Direct-to-video||||||
|2011|_The Christmas Pageant_|Vera Parks|TV movie|||||

### Television

|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Year|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Show|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Role|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Season #|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1974–83|_Little House on the Prairie_|Laura Ingalls Wilder|1–9|Two Young Artist Awards Nominated: Golden Globe Award||||||
|1992|_Stand By Your Man_|Rochelle Dumphy|1|||||||
|1992–95|_Batman: The Animated Series_|Barbara Gordon/Batgirl|1 & 2|Voice||||||
|1994–95|_Sweet Justice_|Kate Delacroy|1|||||||
|2012|_Dancing with the Stars_|Herself / contestant|14|Finished in 5th place||||||

|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Year|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Show|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Role|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Season|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Episode|style="background:#B0C4DE;"|Notes|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|rowspan=2|1972|_Gunsmoke_|Spratt's Child|18|4: "The Judgement"|||||||
|_Emergency!_|Jenny|2|10: "Dinner Date"|||||||||
|1978|_The Love Boat_|Rocky|2|3: "Julie's Dilemma/Who's Who/Rocky"||||||||
|1985|_Faerie Tale Theatre_|Gerda|4|2: "The Snow Queen"||||||||
|1991|_The Hidden Room_||1|4: "Spirit Cabinet"||||||||
|1996|_Babylon 5_|Anna Sheridan|3|17: "War Without End: Part 2" 21: "Shadow Dancing" 22: "Z'ha'dum"||||||||
|rowspan=2|1998|_The Outer Limits_|Teresa Janovitch|4|6: "Relativity Theory"|||||||
|_Touched by an Angel_|Michelle Tanner|5|10: "The Peacemaker"|||||||||
|rowspan=2|2002|_Providence_|Lorna Berlin|4|21: "Smoke and Mirrors"|||||||
|_Presidio Med_|Grace Bennett|1|7: "Once Upon a Family"|||||||||
|2005|_7th Heaven_|Marie Wagner|9|18: "Honor Thy Mother"||||||||
|2006|_Nip/Tuck_|Shari Noble|4|4: "Shari Noble"||||||||
|2009|_Chelsea Lately_|Herself|3|131: "Chelsea Lately"||||||||
|2010|_The Talk_|Herself / guest|1|Episode 29||||||||

## Other websites

- Official personal website
- Official campaign website

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Melissa Gilbert
- **image**: Melissa Gilbert after Drug Free America shoot - cropped (5242325680).jpg
- **caption**: Gilbert after a shoot for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America in December 2010
- **office2**: 26th President of the Screen Actors Guild
- **term start2**: 15 October 2001
- **term end2**: 22 Feberary 2005
- **predecessor2**: William Daniels
- **successor2**: Alan Rosenberg
- **party**: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic
- **birth name**: Melissa Ellen Gilbert
- **birth place**: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- **occupation**: Actress, director, producer, politician
- **spouse**:

- **children**: 2; 3 stepchildren
- **parents**: Paul Gilbert (actor), Paul Gilbert
Barbara Crane
- **relatives**: Jonathan Gilbert (brother)
Sara Gilbert (sister)