This young girl became a child star.  When she was a baby, her biological parents placed her for adoption.  Their careers came first, and they weren’t ready to care for her. Her adoptive parents kept the truth about her origins hidden until it was finally revealed.   

Melissa Gilbert was born on May 8, 1964, in Los Angeles and was adopted by Barbara and Paul Gilbert just a day after her birth. Her adoptive parents also took in her younger brother, Jonathan. Paul was a talented comedian and actor, while Barbara had a brief acting career.

Melissa grew up in a loving family, but her life took a turn when she was six years old, as her parents separated, and her father tragically passed away in 1976. It was believed for a long time that he died of a stroke.

Years later, Melissa learned that her father had taken his own life due to unbearable pain caused by a war injury. This revelation deeply affected her and motivated her to raise awareness about mental health issues.

Melissa believed that her biological parents were illustrious figures: her mother a prima ballerina, and her father a Rhodes Scholar.

But the truth was very different: her biological mother was a dancer, and her father a sign painter. They had placed her for adoption due to financial and personal struggles.

Despite these family secrets and her own challenges, Melissa achieved great success playing Laura Ingalls Wilder in the series Little House on the Prairie.

Today, she shares her life with her husband, Timothy Busfield, and their large family of eight grandchildren, living peacefully in the Catskill Mountains. Melissa’s story, told in her autobiography Back to the Prairie, is a true lesson in resilience and gratitude for life’s blessings.