Melissa Gilbert of Little House on the Prairie and author of new memoir Back To The Prairie

ABOUT MELISSA GILBERT AND BACK TO THE PRAIRIE

The New York Times bestselling author and star of Little House on the Prairie returns with a new hilarious and heartfelt memoir chronicling her journey from Hollywood to a ramshackle house in the Catskills during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Known for her childhood role as Laura Ingalls Wilder on the classic NBC show Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert has spent nearly her entire life in Hollywood. From Dancing with the Stars to a turn in politics, she was always on the lookout for her next project. She just had no idea that her latest one would be completely life changing.

When her husband introduces her to the wilds of rural Michigan, Melissa begins to fall back in love with nature. And when work takes them to New York, they find a rustic cottage in the Catskill Mountains to call home. But "rustic" is a generous description for the state of the house, requiring a lot of blood, sweat, and tears for the newlyweds to make habitable.

When the pandemic descends on the world, it further nudges Melissa out of the spotlight and into the woods. She trades Botox treatments for DIY projects, power lunching for gardening and raising chickens, and soon her life is rediscovered anew in her own little house in the Catskills.

MELISSA GILBERT BIO (FROM BIOGRAPHY.COM)

Born on May 8, 1964, in Los Angeles, California, Melissa Gilbert first found acting success playing Laura Ingalls on the dramatic series Little House on the Prairie from 1974 to 1982. She went on to act in several more TV roles as a child and teen and has continued to act into adulthood. In 2001, Gilbert was voted in as president of the Screen Actors Guild and won a second two-year term in 2003.

Born in Los Angeles, California, on May 8, 1964, Melissa Gilbert grew up in the entertainment business. She is the adopted daughter of actor Paul Gilbert and actress/dancer Barbara Crane (now Barbara Gilbert Cowan); her biological parents each had three children from previous marriages and, fearing they wouldn't be able to provide for Gilbert financially, put her up for adoption the day she was born. Gilbert's two siblings are also actors; Sara played Darlene in the series Roseanne and Jonathan played Willie Olson on Little House on the Prairie.

The sensitive, delicately pretty actor came to fame as a girl, playing Laura Ingalls on the NBC period drama series Little House on the Prairie, which ran from 1974 to 1983. (Gilbert was reportedly one of nearly 500 girls to audition for the part.) It was for her earnest, memorable portrayal of Laura that the actress became the youngest person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (in 1985, at 6429 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California). The series also starred Gilbert's brother, Jonathan Gilbert (as Willie Oleson), who was also adopted; Michael Landon (as Charlie Ingalls); Karen Grassle (as Caroline Ingalls); and Melissa Sue Anderson (as Mary Ingalls).

After Gilbert's father, Paul Gilbert, passed away in February 1975, Michael Landon became an important mentor and friend to the actress. She and Landon soon had a falling out, however, and the reportedly stars didn't speak to each other from the time that Little House on the Prairie ended until 1991.

While Melissa Gilbert has made several feature film appearances, the majority of her work over the years has been in television. She most often opted for roles as suffering, historically significant teenagers, such as in The Miracle Worker in 1979, The Diary of Anne Frank in 1980 and Splendor in the Grass in 1981. She remained prolific and eventually graduated to adult roles, including Choices in 1986 and A Family of Strangers in 1993.

Additionally, there were a few failed series attempts, including Little House: A New Beginning in 1982, Stand By Your Man in 1992 and Sweet Justice in 1994. In 2001, Gilbert was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild. She won a second two-year term in 2003. Gilbert later returned to the project that made her famous: She starred in the role originally played by Karen Grassle on television, as "Ma" in the touring production of Little House on the Prairie: The Musical. She also shared her details of her life in A Prairie Tale, a memoir published in 2009.

 

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